II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2876 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 21, 2023 Mr. Fetterman (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse , and Mr. Welch ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To require the Secretary of Agriculture to cancel existing school meal debt.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act of 2023 . 2. Cancellation of school meal debt (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall cancel and eliminate all debts owed by households as of the date of enactment of this Act for school meals under— (1) the school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq. ); and (2) the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1773 ). (b) Payment of cancelled debt The Secretary shall use the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to pay the amount of debt cancelled under subsection (a) to each local educational authority to which the debt is owed by the applicable households.