The bill
Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025
S. 222, 119th Congress — read as touching Meat & Dairy Processing.
Sponsored by
Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS]
ID: M001198
Follow the money
The bill
S. 222, 119th Congress — read as touching Meat & Dairy Processing.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
24 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
The alignment
This bill's text tracks the "Introduction" section, p. 335-337 of the Mandate for Leadership.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Became Public Law No: 119-69.
January 13, 2026
📍 Current Status
This bill has become law!
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another masterpiece of legislative lunacy. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 - because what every child needs is a glass of whole milk to wash down their processed chicken nuggets and sugary snacks.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The bill's stated purpose is to allow schools participating in the school lunch program to serve whole milk, because apparently, the current options of reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free milk are just too darn healthy. The real objective, however, is to line the pockets of dairy lobbyists and farmers who've been whining about declining milk sales.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to permit schools to serve whole milk, including flavored and unflavored organic or non-organic options. It also changes the definition of "saturated fat" to exclude milk fat, because who needs accurate labeling when you can just redefine reality? Additionally, it inserts language about food allergies, because what's a little anaphylaxis between friends?
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects: dairy farmers, lobbyists, and politicians looking for a cheap way to buy votes from rural constituents. Oh, and let's not forget the kids who'll be guzzling whole milk like it's going out of style - their arteries will thank them later.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a perfect example of the "disease" of legislative capture, where special interests hijack policy to serve their own agendas. The real impact will be on children's health, as they're fed more saturated fat and calories under the guise of "healthy" milk options. Meanwhile, dairy farmers and lobbyists will reap the benefits, and politicians will get to tout their "support for agriculture" while ignoring the long-term consequences.
Diagnosis: This bill is a classic case of "Lobbyist-Induced Legislative Lunacy" (LILL), characterized by symptoms such as:
* Inflated rhetoric about "healthy kids" * Convenient redefinition of scientific terms * Ignoring evidence-based nutrition guidelines * Prioritizing special interests over public health
Treatment: A healthy dose of skepticism, a strong stomach for the absurdity of it all, and a willingness to call out the obvious lies and corruption. Unfortunately, this bill will likely pass with flying colors, because who needs science or common sense when you have powerful lobbies and gullible voters?
Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No organization contributions found
No committee contributions found
This bill has 10 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
ID: W000800
Top Contributors
10
ID: M001243
Top Contributors
10
ID: F000479
Top Contributors
10
ID: G000386
Top Contributors
10
ID: G000555
Top Contributors
10
ID: H001079
Top Contributors
10
ID: K000383
Top Contributors
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ID: R000584
Top Contributors
10
ID: C000880
Top Contributors
10
ID: E000295
Top Contributors
10
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 46 nodes and 39 connections (38 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $199,125
Showing top 19 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 2 helped.
Section 2(a)(1)(A)(ii) allows schools to serve whole milk (including organic or nonorganic) and other fluid milk options, expanding dairy product offerings in school lunch programs, which benefits dairy processors and producers.
Section 2(a)(1)(A)(ii) permits nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk (e.g., soy, oat, almond milk) if they meet Secretary-established standards, which could increase demand for crops used in such beverages (e.g., soybeans, oats, almonds).
This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.
— 302 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Re-evaluate excessive regulation. As for baby formula regulations generally, labeling regulations and regulations that unnecessarily delay the manufacture and sale of baby formula should be re-evaluated.80 During the Biden Administration, there have been devastating baby formula shortages. Return to the Original Purpose of School Meals. Federal meal programs for K–12 students were created to provide food to children from low-income families while at school.81 Today, however, federal school meals increasingly resemble enti- tlement programs that have strayed far from their original objective and represent an example of the ever-expanding federal footprint in local school operations. The NSLP and SBP are the two largest K–12 meal programs provided by federal taxpayer money. The NSLP launched in 1946 and the SBP in 1966, both as options specifically for children in poverty.82 During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal policymakers temporarily expanded access to school meal programs, but some lawmakers and federal officials have now proposed making this expansion per- manent.83 Yet even before the pandemic, research found that federal officials had already expanded these programs to serve children from upper-income homes, and these programs are rife with improper payments and inefficiencies. Heritage Foundation research from 2019 found that after the enactment of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in 2010, the share of students from middle- and upper-income homes receiving free meals in states that participated in CEP doubled, and in some cases tripled—all in a program meant for children from families with incomes at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line (Children from homes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible for free lunches, while students from families at or below 185 percent of poverty are eligible for reduced-priced lunches).84 Under CEP, if 40 percent of students in a school or school district are eligible for federal meals, all students in that school or district can receive free meals. However, the USDA has taken it even further, improperly interpreting the law85 to allow a subset of schools within a district to be grouped together to reach the 40 percent threshold, As a result, a school with zero low-income students could be grouped together with schools with high levels of low-income students, and as a result all the students in the schools within that group (even schools without a single low-in- come student) can receive free federal meals.86 Schools can direct resources meant for students in poverty to children from wealthier families. Furthermore, the NSLP and SBP are among the most inaccurate federal programs according to PaymentAccuracy.gov, a project of the U.S. Office of Man- agement and Budget and the Office of the Inspector General.87 Before federal auditors reduced the rigor of annual reporting requirements in 2018, the NSLP had wasted nearly $2 billion in taxpayer resources through payments provided to ineligible recipients.88 Even after the auditing changes, which the U.S. Government — 303 — Department of Agriculture Accountability Office said results in the USDA not “regularly assess[ing] the pro- grams’ fraud risks,” the NSLP wasted nearly $500 million in FY 2021.89 The SBP now wastes nearly $200 million annually.90 Despite the ongoing effort to expand school meals under CEP and the evidence of waste and inefficiency, left-of-center Members of Congress and President Biden’s Administration have nonetheless proposed further expansions to extend federal school meals to include every K–12 student—regardless of need.91 The Administra- tion recently proposed expanding federal school meal programs offered during the school year to be offered during the summer as part of the “American Families Plan,” and also proposed expanding CEP. Other federal officials, including Senator Bernie Sanders (I–VT), have, in recent years, proposed expanding the NSLP to all students.92 To serve students in need and prevent the misuse of taxpayer money, the next Administration should focus on students in need and reject efforts to transform federal school meals into an entitlement program. Specifically, the next Administration should: l Promulgate a rule properly interpreting CEP. The USDA should issue a rule that clarifies that only an individual school or a school district as a whole, not a subset of schools within a district, must meet the 40-percent criteria to be eligible for CEP. Education officials should be prohibited from grouping schools together. l Work with lawmakers to eliminate CEP. The NSLP and SBP should be directed to serve children in need, not become an entitlement for students from middle- and upper-income homes. Congress should eliminate CEP. Further, the USDA should not provide meals to students during the summer unless students are taking summer-school classes. Currently, students can get meals from schools even if they are not in summer school, which has, in effect, turned school meals into a federal catering program.93 l Restore programs to their original intent and reject efforts to create universal free school meals. The USDA should work with lawmakers to restore NSLP and SBP to their original goal of providing food to K–12 students who otherwise would not have food to eat while at school. Federal school meals should be focused on children in need, and any efforts to expand student eligibility for federal school meals to include all K–12 students should be soundly rejected. Such expansion would allow an inefficient, wasteful program to grow, magnifying the amount of wasted taxpayer resources. Reform Conservation Programs. Farmers, in general, are excellent stewards of the land, if not for moral or ethical considerations, then out of self-interest to
— 302 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Re-evaluate excessive regulation. As for baby formula regulations generally, labeling regulations and regulations that unnecessarily delay the manufacture and sale of baby formula should be re-evaluated.80 During the Biden Administration, there have been devastating baby formula shortages. Return to the Original Purpose of School Meals. Federal meal programs for K–12 students were created to provide food to children from low-income families while at school.81 Today, however, federal school meals increasingly resemble enti- tlement programs that have strayed far from their original objective and represent an example of the ever-expanding federal footprint in local school operations. The NSLP and SBP are the two largest K–12 meal programs provided by federal taxpayer money. The NSLP launched in 1946 and the SBP in 1966, both as options specifically for children in poverty.82 During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal policymakers temporarily expanded access to school meal programs, but some lawmakers and federal officials have now proposed making this expansion per- manent.83 Yet even before the pandemic, research found that federal officials had already expanded these programs to serve children from upper-income homes, and these programs are rife with improper payments and inefficiencies. Heritage Foundation research from 2019 found that after the enactment of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in 2010, the share of students from middle- and upper-income homes receiving free meals in states that participated in CEP doubled, and in some cases tripled—all in a program meant for children from families with incomes at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line (Children from homes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible for free lunches, while students from families at or below 185 percent of poverty are eligible for reduced-priced lunches).84 Under CEP, if 40 percent of students in a school or school district are eligible for federal meals, all students in that school or district can receive free meals. However, the USDA has taken it even further, improperly interpreting the law85 to allow a subset of schools within a district to be grouped together to reach the 40 percent threshold, As a result, a school with zero low-income students could be grouped together with schools with high levels of low-income students, and as a result all the students in the schools within that group (even schools without a single low-in- come student) can receive free federal meals.86 Schools can direct resources meant for students in poverty to children from wealthier families. Furthermore, the NSLP and SBP are among the most inaccurate federal programs according to PaymentAccuracy.gov, a project of the U.S. Office of Man- agement and Budget and the Office of the Inspector General.87 Before federal auditors reduced the rigor of annual reporting requirements in 2018, the NSLP had wasted nearly $2 billion in taxpayer resources through payments provided to ineligible recipients.88 Even after the auditing changes, which the U.S. Government
Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.