H.R. 6299: American Food for American Schools Act of 2016

114th Congress · introduced 2016-11-14 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-11-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-3] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

American Food for American Schools Act of 2016

Plain summary

American Food for American Schools Act of 2016 This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require school food authorities (SFAs) to request a waiver from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase foreign commodities or products for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). (Under current law, Buy American provisions require SFAs to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, domestic commodities or products for the NSLP. There are limited exceptions which permit the purchase of non-domestic products in circumstances when using domestic products is truly not practicable. If an SFA uses an exception, there is no requirement to request a waiver to purchase a foreign product or commodity, but the SFA must keep documentation justifying the exception.) USDA may not grant a waiver for an SFA to purchase foreign commodities or products unless: (1) the commodities or products are not produced or manufactured domestically in sufficient amounts or of satisfactory quality, (2) the domestic commodities or products would be significantly higher in price than foreign commodities or products, and (3) the SFA agrees to make the waiver publicly available on its website and meet other specified notification requirements.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

American Food for American Schools Act of 2016

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-3] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-3] reported raising $582,746 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr6299.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr6299 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114