Senate Struggles to Find Funds for Better School Lunches

Yesterday, the Obama Administration released a report on child nutrition titled “Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation” which outlines the findings and recommendations of the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, including ways to improve the quality and healthfulness of food served in schools. The report’s release has reignited debate over the pending renewal of the Child Nutrition Act, which funds the National School Lunch Program as well as School Breakfast, Milk and Afterschool Snack. These federal programs contribute over $13 billion annually to schools across the country to provide meals to low-income students. The programs expire this September and the pending reauthorization bill is not without controversy.

The Obama Administration report concludes that federal nutrition standards for federally-subsidized meals (i.e. National School Lunch) should be updated and improved to bring students more healthful lunches. Additionally, the report recommends that federal reimbursements for meals under the programs should be increased to support healthier options. At the same time, the report also suggests that food sold at schools that isn’t federally subsidized, like a la carte and vending machine options, should also be aligned with nutritional standards. This change would ensure that students that don’t participate in federally-subsidized meals also receive the benefits of more healthful eating.

The current version of a bill to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act under consideration in Congress is called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and takes into account many of the Obama Administration’s recommendations. However, these policy changes would increase costs under the program. As a result, the bill’s author, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), sought to offset increased costs associated with these changes with cuts from other programs.

According to the cost estimate produced by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the proposed bill would cut $2.2 billion from the environmental quality incentives program (EQIP), which provides payments to farmers for implementing environmental conservation practices, over 10 years. Additionally, the bill would cut $1.3 billion over ten years from the Nutrition Education program. Finally, a complicated accounting change in the legislation would result in $1 billion in ten-year savings for the Commodity Support program that requires schools to purchase commodity foods through the National School Lunch Program. Overall, the $4.5 billion in savings would go to support spending increases for higher quality meals and to ensure that more students participate in nutrition programs.

Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 Savings and Spending
($ in millions, outlays)

According to some legislators like Representative George Miller (D-CA), the additional $4.5 billion for child nutrition is not nearly enough to meet the goals outlined in the Obama Administration’s report. In fact, he will be searching for additional funding cuts to help offset additional spending for the National School Lunch Program and other child nutrition efforts. His goal is to increase spending on child nutrition by as much as $10 billion.

Of course, the offsets included in the proposed bill have inspired some opposition. Specifically, the EQIP is considered a valuable program for farmers that is already oversubscribed and underfunded. Senator Lincoln has suggested that she will look for other places to find offsets to spare EQIP if necessary.

The bill as it stands also violates House and Senate Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules and the new Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, even with the $4.5 billion in offsets because the bill will increase deficit spending by $68 million over the next five years, according to CBO. However, it will decrease spending by $11 million over a ten year period. A PAYGO violation certainly doesn’t mean Congress can’t pass the bill as is (PAYGO rules can always be waived), but it does mean that supporters will have to get it through a few more procedural hurdles.

Clearly, discussions and negotiations around the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 are far from over. The House has yet to consider a version of the bill and the Senate bill was just reported out of committee. But, both House and Senate leaders have announced their commitment to reauthorizing the bill by the end of the year. Coupled with the current White House attention to child nutrition, there is likely to be a flurry of activity coming up soon. Check back with Ed Money Watch for updates.