[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H5060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             DAIRY UPDATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday, 
September 27, was National Chocolate Milk Day.
  Chocolate milk is adored by millions of Americans nationwide and is a 
favorite among children. Seventy percent of the milk children consume 
is flavored, with chocolate being the most popular flavor. Chocolate 
milk is low in fat, high in nutrients, and packed with flavor.
  Milk consumption, Mr. Speaker, has been declining, however, and when 
the National School Lunch Program removed the most popular and 
nutritious option from schools to only serve fat-free milk, the numbers 
continued to drop. As a result of these detrimental policies, we have 
lost nearly a generation of milk drinkers, and those milk drinkers have 
lost access to the best nutrition.
  This detrimental policy was partially reversed when the USDA made a 
decision to once again allow 1 percent flavored milk back into school 
lunches, and I am grateful to Secretary Sonny Perdue for his leadership 
on the issue.
  To build on this momentum, I introduced the Whole Milk for Healthy 
Kids Act last year to once again allow whole milk, both flavored and 
unflavored, to be offered within the program because children can 
greatly benefit from the essential nutrients whole milk provides.
  Taking that one step further, I joined my colleague Fred Keller to 
introduce the GIVE MILK Act last month. The GIVE MILK Act, Mr. Speaker, 
gives families who use the WIC program, or Women, Infants, and Children 
program, more control over the nutrition of their children by making 2 
percent and whole milk available through the WIC program to any child 
over the age of 2.

                              {time}  0930

  Currently, WIC participants are limited to low-fat or nonfat milk, 
meaning they are missing all the nutrition that comes from that milk 
fat.
  This legislation will give families who depend on WIC more options 
when considering nutritional options for their children. It will also 
help increase milk consumption, which is a win for our dairy farmers.
  I talked about this legislation, among other things, when I had the 
pleasure of joining the folks at the National Milk Producers Federation 
last week on their new podcast, ``Dairy Defined''. We covered a lot of 
ground, including the importance that milk plays in our diets and how 
coronavirus has impacted the dairy industry.
  Safety net programs like the Dairy Margin Coverage program, coupled 
with the coronavirus relief efforts, have helped ease the burden 
somewhat on our producers, but times remain tough. We must continue to 
spread the word about these critical safety net programs so our 
Nation's dairy producers, those farm families, can take full advantage 
of all the tools at their disposal.
  If there has been one positive thing that has come out of this 
pandemic, it is that we have seen more families returning to the dining 
room table, Mr. Speaker. Milk consumption has seen an uptick in the 
past few months and more and more Americans are benefiting from the 
essential nutrients that whole milk provides.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by thanking the hardworking men 
and women who have the 24/7, 365-day-a-year job of running our dairy 
farms. Thank you for working tirelessly to ensure that we have access 
to delicious, nutritious, and top-quality milk.

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