Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7259

Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act of 2026

Congress proposes to exclude military housing allowance from school meal income checks, boosting eligibility

Jan 27·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

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Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently in the House Committee on Education and Workforce. It has not moved since it was introduced in January 2026, meaning no action has occurred for five months. The committee must decide whether to hold a vote on the bill before it can move forward.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 5619 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 5619 (118th) →

Key Points

Congress would change how family income is counted for free or reduced-price school meals when a parent is in the uniformed services.
The bill excludes the Basic Allowance for Housing from the income calculation, which could help more military families qualify.
It also directs the Agriculture Department, working with the Defense Department, to report to Congress by Oct. 1, 2026 on making eligible military kids automatically approved without extra paperwork.
That report must look at options like using existing military benefit data and whether to ignore income from non-service members in the home when deciding eligibility.

EducationVeteransConsumer Protection

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Positive Impacts(4)

Military Active

Helps

Housing Assistance

Helps

Child Tax Credit

Helps

Student

Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jan 27, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Jan 27, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 7259

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.