[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1958 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1958

To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to authorize the Secretary of 
   Agriculture to make grants for startup costs of school breakfast 
                               programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 1999

   Mr. Kohl introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to authorize the Secretary of 
   Agriculture to make grants for startup costs of school breakfast 
                               programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINANCIAL INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAMS.

    Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Startup Grants for School Breakfast Programs.--
            ``(1) Definition of eligible school.--In this subsection, 
        the term `eligible school' means a school that agrees to 
        operate the school breakfast program established with the 
        assistance provided under this subsection for a period of not 
        less than 3 years.
            ``(2) Grants.--The Secretary may make grants to State 
        educational agencies, from funds made available to the 
        Secretary, for a fiscal year, to assist eligible schools in 
        initiating school breakfast programs.
            ``(3) Payment rates.--A State educational agency shall use 
        grants made available under this subsection during the first 
        fiscal year an eligible school initiates a school breakfast 
        program--
                    ``(A) to increase by not more than 5 cents the 
                annually adjusted payment for each breakfast served by 
                the eligible school; or
                    ``(B) to assist eligible schools with non-recurring 
                expenses incurred in initiating school breakfast 
                programs.
            ``(4) Funds supplementary.--A grant under this subsection 
        shall supplement any payment to which a State educational 
        agency is entitled under subsection (b).
            ``(5) Plan.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
        subsection, a State educational agency shall submit to the 
        Secretary a plan to initiate school breakfast programs 
        conducted in the State, including a description of the manner 
        in which the State educational agency shall provide technical 
        assistance and funding to eligible schools in the State to 
        initiate the programs.
            ``(6) State educational agency preferences.--In making a 
        grant under this subsection for a fiscal year to initiate 
        school breakfast programs, the Secretary shall provide a 
        preference to a State educational agency that--
                    ``(A) has in effect a State law that promotes the 
                expansion of State participation in the school 
                breakfast program during the year;
                    ``(B) has significant public or private resources 
                that will be used to carry out the expansion of the 
                school breakfast program during the year;
                    ``(C)(i) has not more than 55 percent of schools in 
                the State that are participating in the school lunch 
                program also participating in the school breakfast 
                program; or
                    ``(ii) has not more than 30 percent of the students 
                in the State receiving free or reduced price lunch also 
                receiving free or reduced price breakfasts; and
                    ``(D) serves an unmet need among low-income 
                children, as determined by the Secretary.
            ``(7) Reallocation.--The Secretary shall act in a timely 
        manner to recover and reallocate to other State educational 
        agencies or States any amount made available to a State 
        educational agency or State under this subsection that is not 
        used by the agency or State within a reasonable period (as 
        determined by the Secretary).
            ``(8) Application.--The Secretary shall allow application 
        by State educational agencies on an annual basis for grants 
        under this subsection.
            ``(9) Preferences by state educational agencies and 
        states.--In allocating funds within the State, each State 
        educational agency shall give preference for assistance under 
        this subsection to an eligible school that demonstrates the 
        greatest need for assistance for a school breakfast program, 
        based on the percentage of children not participating in the 
        school breakfast program, as determined by the State 
        educational agency.
            ``(10) Maintenance of effort.--The expenditure of funds 
        from State and local sources for the maintenance of the school 
        breakfast program shall not be diminished as a result of grants 
        made available under this subsection.''.
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