Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 11/5/14

With Republican candidates taking control of the U.S. Senate after yesterday’s elections, various scenarios regarding current and future spending and other policies loom large:

• Congress is scheduled to consider the Childhood Nutrition Reauthorization Act next year, which also affects school lunch programs nationwide. (The USDA provided $5.7 million to support healthier meals and snacks in schools just three months ago.) The current authorization is scheduled to expire in September 2015.

• The political future of Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) was still up in the air mid-day Wednesday in a race against Republican challenger Mark Assini. The microbiologist and food safety proponent held a 605-vote lead over Assini, although about 2,800 absentee ballots have yet to be counted, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.


• And the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to expand the Clean Water Act could face more hurdles from a Republican Senate just months after the U.S. House rejected adoption of the “Waters of the United States” rule, which already was under scrutiny by Republican lawmakers.

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