Eliminate unpaid meal debt from schools and remove burdensome application paperwork for qualifying families.
I will eliminate unpaid meal debt and remove burdensome application paperwork for qualifying families.
Occurrences
Expand “Rural” Access to Funding: Raise the outdated USDA population cap from 20,000 to 50,000 so more North Jersey towns can qualify for broadband and infrastructure funding to help improve schools, hospitals, and essential services in underserved communities.
Evidence
Introduced by Rep. Josh Gottheimer on 04/07/2025; the bill’s summary says it increases access to free school lunches and breakfasts, eliminates reduced-price school meal programs, and allows states to use Medicaid participation data to directly certify students for free school meals, which allows schools to approve meals without a separate application.
Congress.gov lists the bill status as Introduced, with the latest action on 04/07/2025 being referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. The summary states that direct certification would allow schools to approve meals without a separate application and that the bill increases free-meal eligibility to 224% of poverty while eliminating reduced-price programs.
The bill text amends the National School Lunch Act to strike reduced-price meal references, raise free-meal eligibility to 224% of poverty, authorize Medicaid-based direct certification for free lunches or breakfasts without further application, and increase the Community Eligibility Provision multiplier.
Assessments
Gottheimer materially pursued the promise by introducing H.R. 2680, the Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025. The bill directly matches the pledge: it would eliminate reduced-price meal debt by expanding free-meal eligibility and ending the reduced-price category, and it would reduce application burdens by allowing Medicaid-based direct certification without a separate application. However, the available evidence shows the measure was only introduced and referred to committee, with no enactment or implemented policy change. Under the rubric, a serious legislative attempt that did not achieve the promised outcome is scored as never with effort credited.