USDA to ease school meal standards

Newly minted Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is expected to unveil a new rule Monday aimed at giving schools more flexibility in meeting federal nutrition standards for school lunches.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Friday that Perdue and Sen. Pat RobertsCharles (Pat) Patrick RobertsGrassley gambles on drug price bill despite GOP doubts The Hill's Morning Report - Trump seizes House impeachment vote to rally GOP Pompeo on Senate run: 'I always leave open the possibility that something will change' MORE (R-Kan.) will make the announcement at the Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Va., where they are expected to eat lunch with the students.

Republicans have long been trying to dial back the standards that became a pillar of former first lady Michelle ObamaMichelle LeVaughn Robinson ObamaAnna Wintour dodges question on Melania Trump's fashion: Michelle Obama 'is the example that I admire' Michelle Obama weighs in on Trump, 'Squad' feud: 'Not my America or your America. It's our America' Poll: Michelle Obama most admired woman in the world MORE’s initiative to curb childhood obesity in the U.S.

Roberts introduced legislation with Sen. Debbie StabenowDeborah (Debbie) Ann StabenowDemocratic senator slams DeVos: 'I think we should send her back' Democrats grill USDA official on relocation plans that gut research staff USDA expected to lose two-thirds of research staff in move to Kansas City MORE (D-Mich.) last year to give schools two more years to meet new reductions on sodium, but the bill never passed.

Renewed efforts to ease the federal standards came as disappointing news to some advocates.

The American Heart Association was quick to push back. In a statement, the group’s CEO, Nancy Brown, said the current standards are already working and that 99 percent of schools are in compliance.

“Improving children’s health should be a top priority for the USDA, and serving more nutritious foods in schools is a clear-cut way to accomplish this goal,” she said.

“Rather than altering the current path forward, we hope the agency focuses more on providing technical assistance that can help schools get across the finish line, if they haven’t done so already.”