Govwatch

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5495 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5495

 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to exclude 
 certain military housing allowances from the calculation of household 
                    income, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 24, 2026

 Mr. Kim (for himself and Mr. Heinrich) 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 exclude 
 certain military housing allowances from the calculation of household 
                    income, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Military Dependents School Meal 
Eligibility Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR HOUSING FROM INCOME 
              CALCULATION.

    Section 9(b)(13) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(13)) is amended by striking ``on behalf of'' and 
all that follows through ``provision of law,''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON DIRECT CERTIFICATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than October 1, 2026, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall 
submit to Congress a report on the feasibility and cost of establishing 
procedures under which children who are members of a household of a 
member of a uniformed service may be certified as eligible for free or 
reduced price lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and free or reduced price breakfasts 
under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) 
without further application.
    (b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
evaluate a range of options for implementing the direct certification 
described in that subsection, including--
            (1) the use and sharing of data collected for the 
        calculation of the basic needs allowance under section 402b of 
        title 37, United States Code, and other assistance programs for 
        members of a uniformed service; and
            (2) the exclusion of non-service member income from the 
        calculation of household income under the Richard B. Russell 
        National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
                                 <all>
Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act of 2026

Full Text
