{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://stivers.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364004", "Stivers Urges USDA to Make School Lunch Rules More Flexible", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Steve Stivers", "S001187", "stivers.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "**CLICK HERE FOR STIVERS' LETTER TO SECRETARY VILSACK**\n   \nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 At the urging of school nutrition officials, Congressman Steve Stivers (R \u2013 OH) today sent a letter with 28 bipartisan cosigners to Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to permanently eliminate a grain and protein limit that makes it difficult for local school officials to address children\u2019s nutritional needs in school meals.\nThis letter closely follows a bill (the School Nutrition Flexibility Act) that Congressman Stivers sponsored with Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH) in March of 2013.\u00a0 That bill has 47 bipartisan cosponsors.\nLast year, the USDA issued a final rule for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which placed new restrictions on school meals.\u00a0 Included in the USDA\u2019s final rule was a strict, unsuitable protein and grain limit that, for example, holds school meals for eighth graders and kindergarteners to the same standard.\nThe School Nutrition Flexibility Act is endorsed by the School Nutrition Association and has attracted bipartisan support from Members of Congress representing urban, suburban, and rural communities from across the country. On March 6, 2013, Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate, the Sensible School Lunch Act (S. 427).\n -30-", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://stivers.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364004"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5020589344203472, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}