Tom Tiffany: “First of all, merry Christmas. My bipartisan amendment prevents the USDA from issuing any rule that bans any of the milk…”

“First of all, merry Christmas. My bipartisan amendment prevents the USDA from issuing any rule that bans any of the milk covered in this bill, including chocolate milk. This would ensure that all types and flavors of milk are available to schoolchildren and not subject to bureaucratic rulemaking. Some may ask why are we focusing on this issue. Unfortunately, it is because the USDA has set its sights on getting rid of chocolate milk in schools. It is now up to us to act. This summer, it was reported that the Department of Agriculture is considering a ban on chocolate milk in elementary and middle schools. USDA issued a proposed rule that would set a new nutrition standard for school meals. These new standards could limit the availability of flavored milk, like chocolate and strawberry, in high schools while children in elementary and middle schools would have no access at all. For those of you with young children or grandchildren, go and ask them what they think about USDA's new rule. I think I can speak for most folks when saying that when I was young, chocolate milk was usually the highlight of having lunch at school, but this new rule would mean that roughly 30 million students who participate in the USDA's school meal programs would no longer be able to have chocolate milk, or any flavored milk for that matter.…”