OVERNIGHT REGULATION: Schools lobby against first lady’s lunch rules

Welcome to OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your daily rundown of news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Thursday evening in Washington and we’re ready for Friday when Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” is back for its third season, giving us a new show to binge on. Here’s the latest in the regulatory world:

 

THE BIG STORY

Strict school lunch regulations, school administrators say are pushing kids to order fast-food at lunch and run to 7-Eleven for Big Gulps at the end of the school day.

As Congress considers reauthorizing the Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act, which is set to expire on Sept. 30, members of the School Nutrition Association took to Capitol Hill on Thursday to urge lawmakers to roll back provisions of first lady Michelle Obama’s prized healthy school lunch requirements.

{mosads}Under the act, schools are forced to serve 100 percent whole grain bread and pasta, require students to take a half cup of fruit and vegetables with every meal and reduce sodium levels in elementary, middle and high schools to 935 mg, 1,035 mg and 1,080 mg, respectively, by 2017.

As a result, schools officials say student participation in school lunch programs has declined, more food is going to waste and in some districts students are ordering in.

“We have a new problem where we have to police the front doors,” said Debbie Beauvais, district supervisor of school nutrition services at three school districts in the Rochester, N.Y. area. “Security is turning into a concierge because fast food trucks are pulling up. Kids are texting the local pizzeria and pizzas are showing up at lunch.”

Of the students who are eating the school lunch, Beauvais said 23 percent are throwing away the half-cup of fruit or vegetables they are forced to take, which cost on average 26 cents each. With $112,320 spent on 432,000 cups of fruit or vegetables served a year, that’s $25,834 wasted.

SNA members are asking Congress to do away with the requirement for each student to take a half cup of fruit and vegetables, revert back to the 2010 standard that required only half of all grains offered to be whole grain rich and leave sodium levels where they are until research proves further benefits to children.

However, during the congressional staff briefing, Kelly Horton, a legislative assistant for Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), said 93 percent of schools are complying with the current standards.

“Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater,” she said.

If schools want to stop students from buying soda and junk food, Horton said maybe they shouldn’t allow their students to leave the campus.

“This is a whole environment change that needs to happen,” she said. “So many people have diabetes and obesity and end up in the hospital later in their lives and they’re not living as long as they should. I just want to bring in that whole global perspective.”

SNA President Julia Bauscher said some schools have successfully implemented the healthy lunch requirements, but the school nutrition programs are extremely diverse in size and in the percentage of meals that are free and reduced.

“I think right off the bat we admitted that the Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act has created a lot of positive change in school meals and we certainly don’t want to roll back school meal standards to where we were prior to the implementation,” said Lynn Harvey, chief of school nutrition services at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.  

“We’re asking for just some sensible flexibility around a few things that were included in the act.”

 

ON TAP FOR FRIDAY

The House Energy and Commerce Energy and Power Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed ozone rule. http://1.usa.gov/1FCeXcM

The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will also hold a hearing to discuss oversight failures behind a radioactive incident at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. http://1.usa.gov/1Jxg6K1

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

The Obama administration will publish 181 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Friday’s edition of the Federal Register.

Here’s what to watch for:

–The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will loosen the rules for pilots flying internationally.

Older pilots will no longer be required to be accompanied by a younger pilot once they turn 60 years old, under the new rules from the FAA.

The FAA is raising the so-called pilot pairing requirement to 65 years of age, at which point pilots would be required to fly with a younger pilot for backup.

The changes go into effect immediately. http://bit.ly/1GAJVsM

–The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will push new speed limits for trains in wake of the fatal crash in Philadelphia last month that killed eight people.

The FRA is issuing a safety advisory that offers recommendations for how railroads can enforce speed limits on passenger trains.

The safety advisory goes into effect immediately. http://bit.ly/1KIpEkV

–The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider loosening the protections for radioactive material.

In response to a petition from the Nuclear Energy Institute, the agency says it is considering new exemptions for the physical protection requirements around radioactive material. http://bit.ly/1MMADJf

–The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose new air pollution rules for the use of methyl bromide.

The proposed rules would allow for the critical use of limited amounts of methyl bromide, which was commonly used as a pesticide before it was phased out in 2005.

“Methyl bromide is an odorless, colorless, toxic gas which is used as a broadspectrum pesticide,” the agency writes. “Methyl bromide was once widely used as a fumigant to control a variety of pests such as insects, weeds, rodents, pathogens, and nematodes.”

The public has 30 days to comment. http://bit.ly/1B67APy

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW

Neighborhood diversity: The Obama administration’s controversial plan to diversify America’s wealthiest neighborhoods is facing backlash on Capitol Hill from critics who say the president is in search of an “unrealistic utopia.” http://bit.ly/1Gv0Kn4

Housing discrimination: During a congressional hearing, HUD chief Julian Castro defended a controversial housing discrimination rule that seeks to end decades of deep-rooted segregation. http://bit.ly/1MtZC35

Pizza: The Michelle Obama-backed school meal regulations are so strict they are giving students an incentive to order pizza from nearby restaurants during lunch, critics of the rules say. http://bit.ly/1GwAHMc

Gay marriage: A strong majority of Americans expect the Supreme Court to come down in favor of same-sex marriage, according to a new poll. http://bit.ly/1S8AZgj

Pot: A medical marijuana measure that cleared a key Senate panel Thursday has pot advocates optimistic. http://bit.ly/1FMIOjR

Guns: The Supreme Court has declined to take up a major gun rights case, Yahoo News reports. http://yhoo.it/1IxIlW1

 

BY THE NUMBERS

65 percent: Expect the Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage in all 50 states.

55 percent: Support same-sex marriage.

62 percent: Believe transgender people are widely discriminated against.

(Source: A poll from the Public Religion Research Institute  http://bit.ly/1cOwozG)

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Instead of living with neighbors you like and choose, this breaks up the core fabric of how we start to look at communities,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said about a housing rule aimed at ending segregation and encouraging minorities to move into wealthy neighborhoods. “That just brings unease to everyone in that area.

“People have to feel comfortable where they live,” he added. “If I don’t feel comfortable in my own backyard, where do I feel comfortable?”

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-staging.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-staging.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-staging.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and@wheelerlydia.

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