Senator Marshall’s Statement On Democrat Blocking Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. released the following statements after the Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Stabenow (D-MI), blocked the opportunity for a vote on the Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act. This legislation led by Senator Marshall in the senate passed in the U.S. House yesterday with bipartisan support. 

“Access to healthy and nutritious whole milk should not be controversial,” Senator Marshall said. “I was heartened to see the overwhelming bipartisan support for our bill last night in the House. With this momentum, we thought we had a real opportunity to come together and get a bipartisan win in the senate to close out the year. Instead, our measure was blocked for reasons that remain unclear and misguided. But make no mistake, the fight to get delicious whole milk in the lunch line is far from over.” 

BACKGROUND: 

• U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. introduced the The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act in June 2023. This bipartisan legislation would amend the Richard Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools participating in the program to serve whole milk as part of the National School Lunch Program. 
• The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) reports that nearly 90% of Americans do not meet their daily dairy intake recommendations. This legislation expands healthy milk options in schools to improve our students’ nutrition intake and will be a critical step in improving child nutrition health outcomes. 
• In 2010, Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act which amended nutrition standards in the School Lunch Program. Among the changes, the law mandated that flavored milk must be fat-free within the program.
• In May of 2017, the USDA announced a rule that allowed schools to receive waivers for low-fat (1%) flavored milk, rather than only fat-free.
• Leading nutritionists have found that whole dairy fats have no negative effect on a diet, and may even reduce risk of heart disease.