{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5109", "Lawler, Beyer, and Peters Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Combat Rising Childhood Obesity and Diabetes", "2025-12-02", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Michael Lawler", "L000599", "lawler.house.gov", "lawler", "https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 12/2/25\u2026 Yesterday, Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Don Beyer (VA-08), and Scott Peters (CA-50) introduced the bipartisan Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act to address growing public health concerns regarding rising childhood obesity rates and diet-related chronic diseases such as diabetes. The legislation would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement clear nutrient and health warning labels and ban junk food advertisements targeting children.\n\nIt would also direct the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand research programs on the health effects of ultra-processed foods and requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lead a national initiative to educate children and families on nutrient warning labels and the health risks associated with ultra-processed foods.\n\nOver the last two decades, the availability and consumption of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods with little nutritional value has increased dramatically, and increasing evidence links consumption of these ultra-processed foods to negative health outcomes. According to the CDC, nearly 15 million Americans aged 2-19 years are living with obesity, increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, asthma, sleep apnea, and other diet-related chronic diseases.\n\n\u201cChildhood diabetes is affecting more and more families in our communities, and we have a responsibility to address it with commonsense, bipartisan solutions. I\u2019m proud to be a co-lead of this legislation, which improves transparency in food labeling and gives parents clearer information to help families make informed choices about what their kids consume. Supporting parents with facts, not burdens, is an important part of protecting children\u2019s health and reducing long-term medical costs for families in the Hudson Valley,\u201d said Congressman Lawler.\n\n\u201cToday, one in five American children are living with heightened risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other diet-related chronic diseases. Congress must take bold action to protect the health of our youngest citizens. Our legislation would do just that by empowering families with the tools and information they need to make healthier choices while holding the food and beverage industry accountable for targeting our children with unhealthy products,\u201d said Congressman Beyer.\n\n\u201cChildhood obesity has more than tripled over the last four decades, due in large part to ultra-processed and calorie-dense foods marketed to kids. Families should know exactly what their child is eating without marketing gimmicks or misleading packaging. That\u2019s why I reintroduced the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act, which creates a clear front-of-package labeling requirement for junk foods, stops companies from pushing them on kids, and helps families make informed choices to keep their children healthy,\u201d said Congressman Peters.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s thrilling to see this bill introduced in the House. If passed, this bill would establish the US as a global leader in taking action to promote health for kids,\u201d said Dr. Lindsey Smith Taillie, Professor at the University of North Carolina and Co-Director of the UNC Global Food Research Program. \u201cScientific evidence shows that front-of-package labels like the ones proposed give parents the information they need to make healthy choices for their children.\u201d\n\nFull text of the bill can be found HERE.\n\nCongressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5109"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6552950255572796, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}