The House extended a school meal lifeline; families are now waiting on the Senate

Lawmakers are racing the clock to pass a bill that would extend pandemic school meal waivers through the summer and next school year.

The House on Thursday passed a nearly $3 billion bill, 376-42, that would continue to provide more free meals for lower income families but not for all students who had been receiving them for the past two years.

Schools have felt the strain of rising food, gas and labor costs. Waivers passed by Congress at the start of the pandemic gave relief from regulations that monitor how,...