Womack Introduces JOE ActLegislation Prevents Government Overreach, Protects School-Based Enterprises and House of GroundsThe Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 required the implementation of nutrition standards for foods sold in schools. Prior to this law’s passage, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not have authority to establish regulatory requirements for food sold in other areas of the school campus or at other times of the day. In June 2013, the USDA published an interim final rule to expand the new nutritional standards to all foods sold in schools. Compliance with these new, expanded regulations will be detrimental to the success of school-based enterprises across the country, including Harrison High School’s House of Grounds. The Jumpstarting Occupational-learning and Entrepreneurship (JOE) Act, a bill today introduced by Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3), exempts school-based enterprises from these new requirements that will effectively run them out of business by significantly limiting the hours of operation and the types of food and beverage they can sell. The bill ensures that schools across the country can continue to provide their students with practical, real-world experience in these hands-on learning laboratories. Upon introduction, Congressman Womack released the below statement: “This is yet another example of out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats tightening their grip on the American people without considering the consequences – consequences that, this time, will prevent high school students in Harrison and across the country from gaining valuable skills and experience that will prepare them to be leaders,” said Womack. House of Grounds, a student-run coffee shop operated by Harrison High School’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) program in Harrison, Arkansas, is a school-based enterprise that teaches students entrepreneurial skills as part of the school’s small business operations curriculum. It has been in operation for five years. The final text of the bill can be found here. ###
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