[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1367 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1367

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish 
  programs to promote increased consumption of milk in schools and to 
             improve the nutrition and health of children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2003

 Mr. McConnell (for himself, Mr. Bayh, and Mr. Fitzgerald) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish 
  programs to promote increased consumption of milk in schools and to 
             improve the nutrition and health of children.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Child Nutrition Improvement Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMPTION OF MILK IN SCHOOLS.

    (a) Fluid Milk.--
            (1) In general.--Section 9(a) of the Richard B. Russell 
        National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)) is amended by 
        striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Fluid milk.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Lunches served by schools 
                participating in the school lunch program under this 
                Act--
                            ``(i) shall offer students fluid milk; and
                            ``(ii) shall offer students a variety of 
                        flavored and unflavored milk, as determined by 
                        the school.
                    ``(B) Fluid milk products.--A school or institution 
                that participates in the school lunch program under 
                this Act--
                            ``(i) may offer a la carte fluid milk 
                        products to be sold in addition to and, at the 
                        option of the school, adjacent to fluid milk 
                        offered as part of a reimbursable meal; and
                            ``(ii) shall not directly or indirectly 
                        restrict the sale or marketing of fluid milk 
                        products by the school (or by a person approved 
                        by the school) at any time or any place--
                                    ``(I) on the school premises; or
                                    ``(II) at any school-sponsored 
                                event.''.
            (2) Application.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        applies to an agreement or contract entered into on or after 
        the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Increased Consumption of Milk in Schools.--Section 12 of the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(q) Increased Consumption of Milk in Schools.--
            ``(1) In general.--To encourage healthier nutritional 
        environments in schools and institutions receiving funds under 
        this Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et 
        seq.) (other than section 17 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1786)), the 
        Secretary shall establish a program under which any such school 
        or institution may (in accordance with paragraph (3)) receive 
        an increase in the reimbursement rate for free and reduced 
        price meals otherwise payable under this Act and the Child 
        Nutrition Act of 1966, if the school or institution implements 
        a plan for improving the nutritional value of meals consumed in 
        the school or institution by increasing the consumption of 
        fluid milk in the school, as approved by the Secretary in 
        accordance with criteria established by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Plans.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of the program 
                established under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
                establish criteria for the approval of plans of schools 
                and institutions for increasing consumption of fluid 
                milk.
                    ``(B) Criteria.--An approved plan may--
                            ``(i) establish targeted goals for 
                        increasing fluid milk consumption throughout 
                        the school or institution or at school or 
                        institution activities;
                            ``(ii) improve the accessibility, 
                        presentation, positioning, or promotion of 
                        fluid milk throughout the school or institution 
                        or at school or institution activities;
                            ``(iii) improve the ability of a school or 
                        institution to tailor the plan to the customs 
                        and demographic characteristics of--
                                    ``(I) the population of the school 
                                or institution; and
                                    ``(II) the area in which the school 
                                or institution is located; and
                            ``(iv) provide--
                                    ``(I) packaging, flavor variety, 
                                merchandising, refrigeration, and 
                                handling requirements that promote the 
                                consumption of fluid milk; and
                                    ``(II) increased standard serving 
                                sizes for fluid milk consumed in middle 
                                and high schools.
                    ``(C) Administration.--In establishing criteria for 
                plans under this subsection, the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) take into account relevant research; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) consult with school food service 
                        professionals, nutrition professionals, food 
                        processors, agricultural producers, and other 
                        groups, as appropriate.
            ``(3) Reimbursement rates and incentives.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of administering 
                the program established under paragraph (1), the 
                Secretary shall annually provide reimbursement rates 
                and incentives for free and reduced price meals 
                otherwise payable under this Act and the Child 
                Nutrition Act of 1966 of not less than 2 cents and not 
                more than 10 cents per meal, to reflect the additional 
                costs incurred by schools and institutions in 
                increasing the consumption of fluid milk under the 
                program.
                    ``(B) Criteria.--The Secretary may vary the 
                increase in reimbursement rates and incentives for free 
                and reduced price meals based on the degree to which 
                the school or institution adopts the criteria 
                established by the Secretary under paragraph (2).''.

SEC. 4. IMPROVED NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL OF CHILDREN.

    Section 12 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1760) (as amended by section 2(b)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(r) Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Level of Children.--
            ``(1) Definition of healthy school environment program.--In 
        this subsection, the term `healthy school environment program' 
        means a program that--
                    ``(A) is designed to improve the environment of a 
                school with respect to the nutrition and physical 
                activity level of children enrolled in the school; and
                    ``(B) includes steps to improve and make available 
                healthy food choices (including fruits, vegetables, and 
                dairy products).
            ``(2) Program.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to 
        provide grants to schools that implement healthy school 
        environment programs.
            ``(3) Administration.--In carrying out the program, the 
        Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with--
                    ``(A) nonprofit organizations;
                    ``(B) educational and scientific institutions;
                    ``(C) Federal, State, and local agencies; and
                    ``(D) other entities that contribute funds or in-
                kind services for the program.
            ``(4) Acceptance of funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, the Secretary may accept funds from an entity 
        referred to in paragraph (3) solely for use in carrying out the 
        program under this subsection.''.
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