Senators push to extend pandemic school lunch waivers
The bill was introduced on a Thursday by Democrat and Republican parties
(CNN) - A bipartisan group of senators is trying to extend pandemic school meal waivers that gave districts extra federal funds and flexibilities to provide free food to more kids and to cope with supply chain and labor issues.
Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, introduced a bill on Thursday that would give the US Department of Agriculture the authority to extend the waivers through September 2023, instead of having them expire June 30, 2022.
The legislation -- which has the other 49 Senate Democrats as co-sponsors, as well as Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine -- would also require schools to craft plans to transition back to normal meal operations.
"All the issues that affect other parts of the economy are affecting our school programs," Stabenow told CNN, referencing the spike in food prices, supply chain breakdowns and labor shortages. "We gave them extra financial support to be able to juggle these increased costs. And those costs have not gone away."
Congress did not include an extension of the waivers in the full-year spending bill that lawmakers approved earlier this month. As a result, districts are set to see a 40% reduction in meal reimbursements from the USDA and will have to meet strict federal nutrition and serving requirements after this school year.
The latest extension effort, however, faces many hurdles. It needs at least 10 GOP votes to pass the chamber. Stabenow, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, hopes to include the provision in the additional Covid-19 funding package the Biden administration is requesting from Congress.
