Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague the Senator from Kansas, and I wanted to join him in drinking a glass of whole milk. My only regret is it is not Vermont milk, but I have got to tell you the best milk is made in Vermont.

Thank you very much.

As the Senator was saying, this is a very serious thing in two ways. No. 1, we have to have good nutrition for our kids, and the Senator from Kansas has outlined why milk is so good.

Of course, I remember growing up and going to grammar school, and I looked forward to milk. We had milk breaks, and it made a difference to pay attention in those afternoon classes and to be active in your sports activities right after that.

The second reason is that the dairy farming industry is not so much an industry as it is a way of life, and in Vermont, the hardest working people we have are our dairy farmers. It is a hard, hard job, but it is one where families have done it from generation to generation.

There is enormous pride in being custodians of the landscape and caring for the animals and the herd, and in providing nutritious milk for the community. And there is a lot of pressure on our farmers. This whole milk bill is an acknowledgment of the extraordinary contribution that the dairy farmers in the State of Vermont make to the entire State of Vermont and that the dairy farmers in America make to all of America, including, of course, those wonderful dairy farmers in the great State of Kansas.

Now, on this bill, we have had incredible cooperation from our Senators, who have raised a very important concern: Some people are lactose intolerant. They can't drink milk. And the way the legislation was written--but, actually, because of something that went back to the Truman years--there is some suggestion that is a disability.

I want to thank Senator Alsobrooks, who is here, for bringing this to our attention, along with Senator Warnock, in working with us to try to get through this so that there is no question about this being a ``disability.'' This is about folks who can drink milk having access to milk, and it is about honoring our dairy farmers for the work that they do.

I am really happy to be here with my colleague. I understand Senator Alsobrooks may have some questions, and I will yield to her for that purpose.

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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Alsobrooks, as usual she is right, and there are two points. One is we want to make certain that the parents have the ability, on behalf of their children, to choose an alternative that is best for their kids. So this is not about forcing people to drink milk or depriving parents of the responsibility and power they have to make certain that their kids are healthy. So thank you so much, Senator Alsobrooks, for that.

And then, secondly, the lactose intolerance point the Senator makes is valid, and that is why I am enthusiastically looking forward to working with her, so we make certain there is no stigma associated with a person who is lactose intolerant.

So thank you so much for your cooperation on this, Senator, and you have my commitment to work with you to try to resolve what is an anomaly and shouldn't be there.

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