Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) wants to eliminate waivers that that give students free lunches.
This program is part of the omnibus appropriations bill, which is a Democrats-backed plan that extends nutrition waivers allowing schools to serve free meals to students during the pandemic. The program was extended recently by President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Now many Republicans including McConnell are opposing the renewal of the plan. The waivers will remain until the end of the school year and if the waivers are dropped, schools will see a 40% reduction in government reimbursements.
Many schools won’t be able to afford the high costs of food provisions and will face fines for failing to meet federal requirements.
