Committee delays reauthorization of healthy school meal rules

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) says he needs more time to finish writing legislation to reauthorize healthy-meal requirements for schools. 

The Senate Agriculture Nutrition & Forestry Committee was expected to mark up a package reauthorizing the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act on Thursday. But Roberts, the panel’s chairman, is still negotiating parts of the bill with Democrats and waiting on the Congressional Budget Office to release cost estimates for new provisions in the proposed legislation.

{mosads}”I am continuing negotiations with Ranking Member (Debbie) Stabenow (D-Mich.) to get a bipartisan, budget-neutral agreement to move forward with child nutrition reauthorization,” he said in a news release. “We’re nearly at the finish line.”

The committee will instead meet Thursday to mark up legislation to reauthorize the Mandatory Price Reporting Act, the National Forest Foundation Act and the U.S. Grain Standards Act.

The Mandatory Price Reporting Act requires packers and importers of cattle, swine and lamb to report to the Department of Agriculture the details of livestock and meat transactions.

The National Forest Foundation Act funds the foundation that ensures the nation’s forests and grasslands are maintained, and the U.S. Grain Standards Act establishes official marketing standards for grains and oilseeds.

The committee has not set a date to mark up a reauthorization for the federal school lunch and breakfast programs.