{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://riley.house.gov/2025/12/16/congressman-riley-celebrates-house-passage-of-whole-milk-for-healthy-kids-act/", "Congressman Riley Celebrates House Passage of Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act", "2025-12-16", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Josh Riley", "R000622", "riley.house.gov", "riley", "https://riley.house.gov/news/", "scraper", "Bill Supports Upstate Dairy Farmers and Students\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Representative Josh Riley (NY-19) helped deliver final congressional passage of the bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act (S.222), which has now passed both the House and the Senate and is headed to the President\u2019s desk. Riley cosponsored the legislation to expand milk options in schools and strengthen a key, reliable market for Upstate New York dairy farmers.\n\n\u201cIn Upstate New York, our dairy farmers are the backbone of our economy. I am committed to doing everything I can to connect them with our local schools and communities,\u201d said Rep. Riley. \u201cI cosponsored the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act on day one, and am happy to see it pass the Senate and the House. Now, it\u2019s time to send this bill to the President\u2019s desk and deliver for Upstate\u2019s dairy industry and students.\u201d\n\nWatch Rep. Riley\u2019s full remarks HERE.\n\nWhy Schools Lost Access to Whole Milk \u2014 and Why It\u2019s Time to Fix It:\n\nAccording to the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), whole and 2% milk were removed from school menus in 2012 under nutrition rules focused on cutting fat. Since then, updated research has shown that milk at all fat levels has a neutral or positive effect on children\u2019s health. Despite the new science, the old rules stayed in place.\n\nThat gap hurts farmers and students. Whole milk is a higher-value product, and with margins tighter than ever, farmers need predictable, stable buyers like our schools. And kids are more likely to drink whole milk\u2014meaning better nutrition in the classroom and less waste in the cafeteria. When milk goes untouched, students lose out and farmers do too.\n\nThe Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act brings federal policy in line with current science and simply gives local schools the option to offer whole milk again. It does not mandate what any school must serve.\n\nThe Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is supported by the New York State School Boards Association.\n\nRead Riley\u2019s letter to Speaker Johnson HERE.\n\nCongressman Riley is committed to supporting Upstate dairy farmers and ensuring kids have access to fresh, healthy food:\n\nFebruary 2025: Co-sponsored the Fair Milk Pricing for Farmers Act (H.R.295) to increase transparency in milk pricing by dairy manufacturers.\n\nFebruary 2025: Co-sponsored the Dairy Farm Resiliency Act (H.R.294) to\n\nApril 2025: Introduced the Honor Farmer Contracts Act(H.R.2396) to require USDA to uphold its promise to America\u2019s farmers by unfreezing funding for previously signed agreements and contracts.\n\nJuly 2025: Introduced the Local Farmers Feeding our Communities Act (H.R. 4782) to connect local farmers with community food programs and fight hunger across NY-19.\n\nNovember 2025: Introduced the Farm to School Act (H.R.6065) to connect local food to schools across Upstate New York and nationwide.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "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://riley.house.gov/2025/12/16/congressman-riley-celebrates-house-passage-of-whole-milk-for-healthy-kids-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3607700131833553, "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"}