Sponsors (3)
The bill rapidly reduces hunger and financial barriers for low-income students and households by using CCC resources to cancel school meal debt and expand emergency food assistance, but it reallocates Commodity Credit Corporation funds in ways that could pressure the federal budget, weaken other farm supports, and create administrative and incentive challenges.
Low-income students and their families will have outstanding school meal debts erased, removing barriers to school meals and reducing stigma tied to owing money.
Low-income individuals and families will have increased access to supplemental and emergency food through expanded use of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and TEFAP, reducing food insecurity.
Local educational agencies (LEAs) will be reimbursed for cancelled meal debt using CCC funds, offsetting revenue losses for schools and reducing local budget pressure.
Using CCC funds to reimburse LEAs and expand emergency nutrition assistance diverts CCC resources away from other Commodity Credit Corporation agricultural and farm-support activities, potentially reducing support for farmers and rural communities.
Expanding CCC authority to cover these nutrition measures could increase federal outlays or budgetary pressure because the bill does not specify a funding limit for such uses.
Rapid implementation timelines and new administrative requirements may strain USDA, LEAs, states, and nonprofits, causing delays in reimbursements, confirmations, or commodity distributions during the transition.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Cancels all household school meal debts and directs the Secretary to pay LEAs those amounts using Commodity Credit Corporation funds and notify affected households.
Cancels and eliminates all household school meal debts for lunches (including community eligibility) and breakfasts under the federal child nutrition laws, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to pay the amounts owed to local school authorities using Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds. The Secretary must notify each affected household and complete cancellation and payment within 180 days of enactment. Also clarifies and expands statutory authority for the Secretary to use CCC funds to carry out certain nutrition programs, explicitly permitting CCC funds to be used where necessary to operate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Act activities.
Introduced March 12, 2025 by John Karl Fetterman · Last progress March 12, 2025