Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, before I start talking today, I just want to pause for a moment to take a quick drink of the most nutritious, delicious drink known to humankind. So here is to healthy bones and here is to all the hard-working dairy farmers across Kansas and across America.

This summer, the Senate Agriculture Committee worked together to pass this legislation through the committee on a bipartisan basis. Special thanks to our chairman and to our ranking member for working on this with us.

This bill will allow for whole and reduced milk, as well as nutritionally equivalent nondairy options, to be served in schools. This corrects a decades-old policy made here in Congress that consequently created over 10 years of kids without having access to whole milk in schools and, indeed, created a whole generation of young Americans with weak bones.

Passing the Whole Milk for Health Kids Act through the Senate is a huge win for schools, for students, for parents, and for American dairy farmers. We are giving students more choices, schools more flexibility, and ensuring a brighter future for our farmers.

Whole milk delivers 13 essential nutrients and has enough fat content to help students absorb vitamins like A, D, E, and K. It is also packed with protein that helps keep the student full all the way through those long afternoon math classes and then on through gym and on through their sports activities, until they get home at night for dinner. Simply put, it is one of the healthiest--it is the healthiest--option in the cafeteria.

Bringing whole milk and nutritionally equivalent beverages to schools would help fight early onset osteoporosis, osteopenia, and other diet- related diseases by providing students with critical nutrients-- nutrients like calcium, potassium, and vitamin D--that we are all lacking today.

It strengthens bones. It helps your immune system. It builds healthy habits, and it tastes great.

As the grandson of a dairy farmer, as an OB-GYN for over 30 years, it may seem like I am a bit biased, but I assure you this legislation is a slam-dunk solution for our Nation.

Of course, there is always room to improve our public health, and I look forward to working with our colleagues who, I understand, also have a few thoughts on this legislation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, before we wrap up this Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, I just want to go back over a couple things as well. Senator Welch, it is always a pleasure to work with you. Whether we are trying to connect high-speed internet or give milk to schools, it is always a joy. I appreciate your hard work and greatly appreciate your staff and my staff as well. I think our staff never gets enough credit. They did all the heavy lifting--the chairman and ranking member, of course, and their staff, and the Ag Committee's staff as well.

Senator Alsobrooks, thank you so much for coming down this morning and educating me on this disability issue as well. And I see the Senator from New Mexico Mr. Lujan is here as well and is also engaged in this effort, and we appreciate his support and many, many, many others.

So a big thanks. This has been a multiyear process for my staff, a personal goal. I was raised on whole milk. I didn't know there was anything except whole milk, and I always wondered why all of a sudden our youth weren't drinking any milk.

And just many of us prefer the taste of it, and guess what, nutritionally, I think it has some really great qualities as well.

Mr. President, I would like to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 111, S. 222.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source