This bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to cancel all outstanding school meal debt owed by households for both the school lunch and school breakfast programs within 180 days of enactment. The Secretary must use funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to reimburse local educational authorities for the amount of debt eliminated and provide confirmation of cancellation to affected households. The legislation also establishes a permanent authority for the Secretary to cancel future school meal debt using these same funds. Beyond school meal debt, the bill significantly expands the use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for other vital nutrition assistance programs. It extends the authorization for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to utilize Treasury funds until 2030 and explicitly permits the use of CCC funds for this program. Furthermore, the legislation amends the Emergency Food Assistance Program to allow the Secretary to use CCC funds as needed to support its operations, thereby broadening the financial resources available for these critical initiatives.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Agriculture and Food
School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act of 2025
USA119th CongressS-993| Senate
| Updated: 3/12/2025
This bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to cancel all outstanding school meal debt owed by households for both the school lunch and school breakfast programs within 180 days of enactment. The Secretary must use funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to reimburse local educational authorities for the amount of debt eliminated and provide confirmation of cancellation to affected households. The legislation also establishes a permanent authority for the Secretary to cancel future school meal debt using these same funds. Beyond school meal debt, the bill significantly expands the use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for other vital nutrition assistance programs. It extends the authorization for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to utilize Treasury funds until 2030 and explicitly permits the use of CCC funds for this program. Furthermore, the legislation amends the Emergency Food Assistance Program to allow the Secretary to use CCC funds as needed to support its operations, thereby broadening the financial resources available for these critical initiatives.