H.R. 649 would allow schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program to serve whole, reduced-fat, or low-fat milk that is flavored or unflavored to students. Under current law, schools must offer milk that is fat-free or low-fat and may only offer flavored milk if it is fat-free or low-fat. The bill would exclude the saturated fat in milk from calculations of the amount of such fat that is allowed under the program for an average meal.
The bill also would prohibit participating schools from purchasing or offering milk produced by China state-owned enterprises.
CBO expects that enacting the bill would not affect reimbursement rates or participation in the program, so there would be no effect on the cost of benefits. CBO estimates that the administrative costs to update the dietary regulations would be insignificant; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Susan Beyer. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
