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Dairy leader optimistic Whole Milk bill will pass House soon

Legislation allowing whole and 2% milk to return to school meal programs is a step closer to becoming law.

Matthew Herrick with the International Dairy Foods Association tells Brownfield the bill passed the Senate, and similar legislation has already passed the House in previous sessions. “It had more than 300 votes, and less than 100 no votes, so if the House does take it up, and we fully anticipate and expect that they will this year yet, probably in the month of December, I would expect it to pass with no problem.”

Herrick says there are some differences between the Senate bill and what the House of Representatives considered before, so House members will have to consider additional beverage options for schools. “Ensuring that lactose-free milks are available to kids, and if they don’t consume dairy milk, just making sure that they have access to other products that are nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk.”

Herrick says he’s expecting the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids bill to pass the house soon. “You don’t see a lot of bills that get in front of Congress these days and they’re passed unanimously, or to get more than 300 votes on the House side. That’s just not happening as much anymore, and the beauty of this is, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is, everybody loves it and everybody supports it.”

Herrick says dairy groups are asking House leaders and Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule a vote soon so that schools and processors can start bringing whole milk back by next school year.

AUDIO: Matthew Herrick from IDFA discusses the Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act passing the Senate with Brownfield’s Larry Lee