[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E672-E673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REINTRODUCTION OF THE AMERICAN FOOD FOR AMERICAN SCHOOLS ACT OF 2023

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 13, 2023

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, today I reintroduce the ``American Food 
for American Schools Act.'' I thank Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) for his 
support as the original cosponsor and U.S. Senators, Mike Braun (R-IN), 
and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), for sponsoring the companion.
  This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would strengthen enforcement 
of the existing ``Buy American'' requirements under the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture's (USDA) in-school meal programs. Current law requires 
school districts to purchase domestically sourced food products for all 
federally funded in-school meals and afterschool snacks under the 
National School Lunch Program. However, even in agricultural 
communities like California's Central Valley, school districts continue 
to misuse taxpayer dollars to buy imported foods, unnecessarily, 
without informing parents. In numerous cases, these same imported foods 
have been recalled due to safety concerns and outbreaks of foodborne 
diseases. This is especially troubling as those same foods could have 
been sourced locally in the first place as required by federal law.
  That is why our bipartisan bill would increase public transparency by 
allowing parents to know from where the food served to their children 
in school comes. School districts would be required to obtain a waiver 
from USDA to use federal taxpayer dollars to purchase foreign-sourced 
food products, when unavailable domestically. By requiring USDA to post 
on line all waivers granted for purchases of foreign-sourced foods 
served to students, our bill would provide American farmers the 
opportunity to seek out school districts in need of affordable, 
domestically grown foods.
  In the 115th Congress, we included a ``Buy American'' enforcement 
provision for the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Program in 
the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334), commonly 
known as the 2018 Farm Bill. We also clarified the seafood caught by 
Untied States-flag vessels or within our Exclusive Economic Zone at sea 
are domestically sourced foods for the USDA in-school meal programs. 
This was a first step in addressing this critical issue for American 
farmers and parents with school-age children. Now, Congress needs to 
finish the job by passing our ``American Food for American Schools 
Act'' into law.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope all Members will join us in cosponsoring the 
``American Food for American Schools Act.'' Our Nation's schoolchildren 
should be served nutritious, American-grown foods produced under the 
strictest food safety standards in the world, as required by federal 
law. That is exactly what our bill would accomplish. I look forward to 
working with the Committee on Education and Labor to ensure that our 
bipartisan bill is included in any future Child Nutrition 
Reauthorization or the upcoming Farm Bill.

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