# 119-hr-7542: Kids Need Lunch Act

119-hr-7542, Kids Need Lunch Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7542
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7542
- Congress: 119
- Title: Kids Need Lunch Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-12
- Sponsor: Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**This bill would create universal free lunch for every child in participating schools** and set a federal system to stop and reimburse school meal debt. It replaces income-based pricing with a single federal payment rate and a new debt-reimbursement process. - The federal payment for each free lunch would be fixed at $4.86 and adjusted yearly using the Consumer Price Index for food away from home. - Schools must not collect unpaid lunch charges as a condition of program participation. The Secretary of Agriculture would have 60 days after the law's effective date to set up a reimbursement program and 180 days to complete reimbursements for delinquent meal debt. - The Secretary would collect delinquent-debt data from State agencies and school food authorities and a Comptroller General report to Congress would follow within 2 years.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Free school lunches for every student: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would make every child in a participating school eligible for free lunch. This would take effect one year after enactment. It would set the federal payment for each free lunch at $4.86. Each year the rate would be adjusted by the Consumer Price Index for food away from home. St…
- No collection, federal payback for lunch debt: benefit, medium. If enacted, schools would be barred from collecting unpaid lunch charges as a condition of program participation. That ban would begin on the date of enactment. The Agriculture Secretary would set up a federal reimbursement program to pay schools for delinquent meal debt. The Secretary must design…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act
- 119-hr-562: BLUE Pacific Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-7542 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7542)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3077)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [119-hr-562: BLUE Pacific Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-562)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7542 (as of 2026-04-21).