Senate Panel Keeps Funds for School Meals

WASHINGTON — Setting the stage for clashes between House and Senate Republicans, a Senate committee on Wednesday rejected House GOP plans to shift control of the school meals program to the states and cut other nutrition programs for children.

The action emphasizes the reluctance of Senate Republicans to follow their House colleagues in transferring responsibility for social programs from the federal government to the states.

The Senate Agriculture Committee voted, 11 to 7, to approve a measure that would cut $19 billion over five years from projected spending on nutrition programs. Nearly all the savings would come from tightening eligibility for food stamps, on which the federal government spends $27 billion annually.

But the proposal leaves virtually untouched popular federal school meals programs and a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. It does take a small amount of money from other relatively minor nutrition programs. One Democrat joined all 10 Republican members in voting for approval.

“In my own view, I would not block-grant the school lunch program,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said shortly before the committee vote. “It works pretty well as it is.”

Democrats and the White House, while not embracing the Senate plan, expressed relief that it was much more moderate than the House bill.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, said that while the House bill is a “complete disaster for children,” the Senate bill at least “preserves the integrity of the school lunch program and other child nutrition programs.”

The Senate proposal will be offered as an addition to the major welfare reform package that passed the Senate Finance Committee last month.