Hunger Free Schools Act
Latest action · Jan 4, 2010 Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 19, 2009
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Hunger Free Schools Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make performance awards to states that demonstrate outstanding performance or show substantial improvement in directly certifying as eligible for free meals under the school lunch and breakfast programs any children whose families are eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. (Direct certification eliminates the need for such families to submit applications for participation in the school lunch and breakfast programs.)
Requires each state that directly certifies less than 95% of their children who are eligible for direct certification to implement: (1) a corrective action plan for the current school year; and (2) a direct certification improvement plan, approved by the Secretary, for the following school year.
Requires direct certification of children who are members of a household that includes a child: (1) who is eligible for and receiving assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) or title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP]) of the Social Security Act; and (2) whose income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level. Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to assist them in implementing such certification program.
Allows local educational agencies (LEAs) to directly certify children whose household is eligible for a supplemental subsistence allowance for low-income members of the Armed Forces with dependents.
Permits schools and LEAs to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs that are based not on applications for such meals, but on: (1) estimates, made from recent socioeconomic data, of the number of children eligible for such meals; or (2) if the school or LEA is from a high poverty area, the direct certification of a specified minimum percentage of their students as eligible for free meals due to their eligibility for certain other public assistance. Requires such schools and LEAs to provide free meals to all their students under the school lunch and breakfast programs and cover, from nonfederal sources, the costs of serving such meals that exceed the assistance received under such programs.
Cosponsors 29
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 19, 2009 to Jul 13, 2010; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-TX | Al Green | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-CO | Jared Polis | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| R-MO | Jo Ann Emerson | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-NJ | Robert E. Andrews | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-CA | Susan A. Davis | Original | Nov 19, 2009 |
| D-PA | Chaka Fattah | Dec 2, 2009 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Dec 2, 2009 | |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Dec 3, 2009 | |
| D-IL | Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | Jan 13, 2010 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Jan 26, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | Feb 22, 2010 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Mar 12, 2010 | |
| D-NY | Charles B. Rangel | Mar 16, 2010 | |
| D-OR | David Wu | Mar 16, 2010 | |
| D-OH | Mary Jo Kilroy | Mar 16, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Laura Richardson | Apr 14, 2010 | |
| D-MO | Wm. Lacy Clay | Apr 22, 2010 | |
| D-PA | Robert A. Brady | May 6, 2010 | |
| D-NY | Timothy H. Bishop | May 13, 2010 | |
| D-OH | Dennis J. Kucinich | Jun 14, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Joe Baca | Jun 23, 2010 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Jun 30, 2010 | |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Jul 13, 2010 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Nov 19, 2009 |
| Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee | Referred Jan 4, 2010 | |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Nov 19, 2009 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Dec 1, 2009 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 4, 2010Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.
- Dec 1, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Nov 19, 2009Introduced in House
- Nov 19, 2009Referred to House Education and Labor
- Nov 19, 2009Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 111-47 | IMPROVING CHILDREN'S HEALTH: STRENGTHENING FEDERAL CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS61 pages | Education and Workforce Committee | Mar 2, 2010 |
| Serial No. 111-18 | THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET: IMPACT OF THE RECESSION AND OF THE RECOVERY ACT68 pages | Budget Committee | Dec 9, 2009 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1343 | Hunger Free Schools Act | Related bill | Jun 24, 2009 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve and expand direct certification procedures for the national school lunch and school breakfast programs, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Hunger Free Schools Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Child health
- Department of Agriculture
- Education
- Education of the disadvantaged
- Education programs funding
- Elementary and secondary education
- Food assistance and relief
- Government information and archives
- Medicaid
- Military personnel and dependents
- Poverty and welfare assistance
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 19, 2009Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
