[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 131 (Friday, July 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37089-37092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17406]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
National School Lunch, Special Milk, and School Breakfast
Programs; National Average Payments/Maximum Reimbursement Rates
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces the annual adjustments to: The
``national average payments,'' the amount of money the Federal
Government provides States for lunches, afterschool snacks and
breakfasts served to children participating in the National School
Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; the ``maximum reimbursement
rates,'' the maximum per lunch rate from Federal funds that a State can
provide a school food authority for lunches served to children
participating in the National School Lunch Program; and the rate of
reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to nonneedy children in a
school or institution which participates in the Special Milk Program
for Children. The payments and rates are prescribed on an annual basis
each July. The annual payments and rates adjustments for the National
School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs reflect changes in the Food
Away From Home series of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers. The annual rate adjustment for the Special Milk Program
reflects changes in the Producer Price Index for Fluid Milk Products.
These payments and rates are in effect from July 1, 1999 through June
30, 2000.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Mary Jane Whitney, Section Chief,
School Programs Section, Policy and Program Development Branch, Child
Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center
Drive, Room 1007, Alexandria, VA 22302 or phone (703) 305-2620.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Special Milk Program for Children--Pursuant to section 3 of the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1772), the
Department announces the rate of reimbursement for a half-pint of milk
served to nonneedy children in a school or institution which
participates in the Special Milk Program for Children. This rate is
adjusted annually to reflect changes in the Producer Price Index for
Fluid Milk Products (Code 0231), published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the Department of Labor.
For the period July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000, the rate of
reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to a nonneedy child in a
school or institution which participates in the Special Milk Program is
12.75 cents. This reflects a decrease of 1.41 percent in the Producer
Price Index for Fluid Milk Products (Code 0231) from May 1998 to May
1999 (from a level of 141.7 in May 1998 to 139.7 in May 1999).
As a reminder, schools or institutions with pricing programs which
elect to serve milk free to eligible children continue to receive the
average cost of a half-pint of milk (the total cost of all milk
purchased during the claim period divided by the total number of
purchased half-pints) for each half-pint served to an eligible child.
National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs--Pursuant to
sections 11 and 17A of the National School Lunch Act, (42 U.S.C. 1759a
and 1766a), and section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, (42
U.S.C. 1773), the Department annually announces the adjustments to the
National Average Payment Factors and to the maximum Federal
reimbursement rates for lunches and afterschool snacks served to
children participating in the National School Lunch Program and
breakfasts served to children participating in the School Breakfast
Program. Adjustments are prescribed each July 1, based on changes in
the Food Away From Home series of the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
Department of Labor. The changes in the national average payment rates
for schools and residential child care institutions for the period July
1, 1999 through June 30, 2000 reflect a 2.49 percent increase in the
Price Index during the 12-month period May 1998 to May 1999 (from a
level of 160.6 in May 1998 to 164.6 in May 1999).
Section 103(b) of the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105-336, enacted October 31, 1998
amended section 11(a)(3)(B) of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1759a(a)(3)(B)) and changed the method of computing the annual
adjustments to the national average payment rates for meals and
afterschool snacks served to needy children. Effective July 1, 1999,
the annual adjustments to the payment rates for free and reduced price
meals under section 11(a)(2) of the National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1759a(a)(2)), section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1773) and section 17A(c) of the National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1766a(c)), authorized under section 11(a)(3)(B) of the National
School Lunch Act are rounded down to the nearest whole cent. This
complements section 704(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, enacted August
22, 1996, which amended section 11(a)(3)(B) of the National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(3)(B)) to change the method for computing
the annual adjustments to the national average payment rates for meals
and afterschool snacks served to nonneedy children. Effective July 1,
1997, the annual adjustments to the payment rates for paid meals under
Section 4 of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753), and
Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773)
[[Page 37090]]
and paid afterschool snacks under section 17A(c) of the National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766a(c)), authorized under section 11(a)(3)(B) of
the National School Lunch Act, were rounded down to the nearest whole
cent. Thus, these two statutory amendments implement a provision
wherein annual adjustments to the national average payment rates for
all lunches served under the National School Lunch Program, breakfasts
served under the School Breakfast Program, and afterschool snacks
served under the National School Lunch Program are rounded down to the
nearest whole cent.
Lunch Payment Levels--Section 4 of the National School Lunch Act
(42 U.S.C. 1753) provides general cash for food assistance payments to
States to assist schools in purchasing food. The National School Lunch
Act provides two different Section 4 payment levels for lunches served
under the National School Lunch Program. The lower payment level
applies to lunches served by school food authorities in which less than
60 percent of the lunches served in the school lunch program during the
second preceding school year were served free or at a reduced price.
The higher payment level applies to lunches served by school food
authorities in which 60 percent or more of the lunches served during
the second preceding school year were served free or at a reduced
price.
To supplement these Section 4 payments, section 11 of the National
School Lunch Act provides special cash assistance payments to aid
schools in providing free and reduced price lunches. The section 11
National Average Payment Factor for each reduced price lunch served is
set at 40 cents less than the factor for each free lunch.
As authorized under sections 8 and 11 of the National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1757, 1759a), maximum reimbursement rates for each type
of lunch are prescribed by the Department in this Notice. These maximum
rates are to ensure equitable disbursement of Federal funds to school
food authorities.
Afterschool Snack Payments in Afterschool Care Programs--Section
17A of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766a) establishes
National Average Payments for free, reduced price and paid afterschool
snacks as part of the National School Lunch Program.
Breakfast Payment Factors--Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) establishes National Average Payment Factors for
free, reduced price and paid breakfasts served under the School
Breakfast Program and additional payments for free and reduced price
breakfasts served in schools determined to be in ``severe need''
because they serve a high percentage of needy children.
Revised Payments
The following specific Section 4, Section 11 and Section 17A
National Average Payment Factors and maximum reimbursement rates for
lunch, the afterschool snack rates and breakfast rates are in effect
from July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000. Due to a higher cost of
living, the average payments and maximum reimbursements for Alaska and
Hawaii are higher than those for all other States. The District of
Columbia, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam use the figures
specified for the contiguous States.
National School Lunch Program Payments
Section 4 National Average Payment Factors--In school food
authorities which served less than 60 percent free and reduced price
lunches in School Year 1997-98, the payments for meals served are:
Contiguous States--paid rate--19 cents, free and reduced price rate--19
cents, maximum rate--27 cents; Alaska--paid rate--30 cents, free and
reduced price rate--30 cents, maximum rate--42 cents; Hawaii--paid
rate--22 cents, free and reduced price rate--22 cents, maximum rate--31
cents.
In school food authorities which served 60 percent or more free and
reduced price lunches in School Year 1997-98, payments are: Contiguous
States--paid rate--21 cents, free and reduced price rate--21 cents,
maximum rate--27 cents; Alaska--paid rate--32 cents, free and reduced
price rate--32 cents, maximum rate--42 cents; Hawaii--paid rate--24
cents, free and reduced price rate--24 cents, maximum rate--31 cents.
Section 11 National Average Payment Factors--Contiguous States--
free lunch--179 cents, reduced price lunch--139 cents; Alaska--free
lunch--291 cents, reduced price lunch--251 cents; Hawaii--free lunch--
210 cents, reduced price lunch--170 cents.
Afterschool Snacks in Afterschool Care Programs--The payments are:
Contiguous States--free snack--54 cents, reduced price snack--27 cents,
paid snack--5 cents; Alaska--free snack--88 cents, reduced price
snack--44 cents, paid snack--8 cents; Hawaii--free snack--63 cents,
reduced price snack--31 cents, paid snack--5 cents.
School Breakfast Program Payments
For schools ``not in severe need'' the payments are: Contiguous
States--free breakfast--109 cents, reduced price breakfast--79 cents,
paid breakfast--21 cents; Alaska--free breakfast--174 cents, reduced
price breakfast--144 cents, paid breakfast--30 cents; Hawaii--free
breakfast--127 cents, reduced price breakfast--97 cents, paid
breakfast--23 cents.
For schools in ``severe need'' the payments are: Contiguous
States--free breakfast--130 cents, reduced price breakfast--100 cents,
paid breakfast--21 cents; Alaska--free breakfast--208 cents, reduced
price breakfast--178 cents, paid breakfast--30 cents; Hawaii--free
breakfast--151 cents, reduced price breakfast--121 cents, paid
breakfast--23 cents.
Payment Chart
The following chart illustrates: The lunch National Average Payment
Factors with Sections 4 and 11 already combined to indicate the per
lunch amount; the maximum lunch reimbursement rates; the reimbursement
rates for afterschool snacks served in afterschool care programs; the
breakfast National Average Payment Factors including ``severe need''
schools; and the milk reimbursement rate. All amounts are expressed in
dollars or fractions thereof. The payment factors and reimbursement
rates used for the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico
and Guam are those specified for the contiguous States.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN09JY99.039
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This action is not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) and thus is exempt from the provisions of that
Act.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), no new recordkeeping or reporting requirements have been
included that are subject to approval from the Office of Management and
Budget.
This action is exempted from review by the Office of Management and
Budget under Executive Order 12866.
National School Lunch, School Breakfast and Special Milk Programs
are listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under No.
10.555, No. 10.553 and No. 10.556, respectively, and are subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental
consultation with State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015,
subpart V, and the final rule related notice published at 48 FR 29114,
June 24, 1983.)
Authority: Sections 4, 8, 11 and 17A of the National School
Lunch Act, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 1753, 1757, 1759a, 1766a) and
sections 3 and 4(b) of the Child Nutrition Act, as amended, (42
U.S.C. 1772 and 42 U.S.C. 1773(b)).
Dated: July 2, 1999.
Samuel Chambers, Jr.,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 99-17406 Filed 7-8-99; 8:45 am]
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