{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-marshall-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-strengthen-servicemember-food-quality-and-access-on-military-bases/", "Warnock, Marshall Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Servicemember Food Quality and Access on Military Bases", "2025-09-11", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "GA", "Raphael G. Warnock", "W000790", "www.warnock.senate.gov", "warnock", "https://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "The Commissary Healthy Options and servicemember Wellness (CHOW) Act would increase access to affordable healthy foods on military bases for servicemembers\n\nBipartisan legislation would launch a pilot program to provide servicemembers with a monthly commissary credit, giving servicemembers more food options\n\nLegislation expected to be incorporated into the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), annual legislation that sets defense policy and priorities, authorizes defense spending\n\nLegislation builds off March 2025 oversight effort led by Senator Warnock, which demanded answers from the Department of Defense (DOD) about poor-quality meals and food shortages at military bases in Georgia and across the country\n\nSenator Warnock: \u201cFor too long, servicemembers have lacked reliable access to quality, nutritious food options on base. This bipartisan legislation will launch a program to provide commissary credits to help servicemembers put healthy, tasty, and quality meals on the table\u201d\n\nSenator Marshall: \u201cHealthy troops are ready troops \u2013 and ensuring the brave men and women who protect our country have access to healthy and nutritious food should be a top priority\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen access to healthy and affordable food options for servicemembers on military bases. The bipartisan Commissary Healthy Options and servicemember Wellness (CHOW) Act would create a common-sense pilot program at two installations selected by the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide servicemembers with a monthly credit to use at their on-base commissary, ensuring they have access to affordable, healthy food. Commissaries, which are on-base grocery stores, provide better options for cooking at home, as well as ready-to-eat and easy-to-prepare meals at lower prices than off-base options. By increasing commissary usage, the program would give servicemembers a reliable alternative to limited dining facilities and costly fast food.\n\n\u201cFor too long, servicemembers have lacked reliable access to quality, nutritious food options on base. This bipartisan legislation will launch a program to provide commissary credits to help servicemembers put healthy, tasty, and quality meals on the table, so they can stay focused on the hard work of keeping our country safe,\u201d said Senator Warnock. \u201cThis is a critical next step in addressing food access and quality for our military; if this program proves effective in boosting food security and improving our military readiness, Congress should move to expand this program nationwide.\u201d\n\n\u201cHealthy troops are ready troops \u2013 and ensuring the brave men and women who protect our country have access to healthy and nutritious food should be a top priority,\u201d said Senator Marshall. \u201cI am proud to partner with Senator Warnock on the CHOW Act to take another meaningful step towards providing healthy alternatives to our servicemembers. This helps to make certain our troops set the standard for strength and peak physical fitness. I am happy to see my MAHA agenda implemented within our armed forces.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur service members should never have to worry about whether they can access healthy and affordable meals while serving on base,\u201d said Representative Panetta. \u201cThe CHOW Act would create a pilot program to expand commissary access and provide new options for nutritious, cost-effective food, helping to ease the burden on those living and working on installations. By ensuring our troops are properly nourished, we can strengthen their readiness and reaffirm our responsibility to support those who serve our nation.\u201d\n\nUnder the pilot, the implementation of which would rest with DOD, junior enlisted servicemembers would receive monetary credits that can only be used at commissaries. The program could ultimately expand nationwide should the benefit prove successful. For too long, the burden has been on junior enlisted servicemembers to make do with low allowances and limited dining options. This measure takes steps to expand access to affordable and healthy food, promote military readiness, and improve quality of life for those who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms.\n\nAbout 70 percent of all active-duty service members are overweight, and 21 percent are obese, according to a 2023 report by the American Security Project, a military think tank. Reporting from the New York Times highlights how recipes at the official dining facilities are codified to meet various nutritional standards, but many servicemembers find the results so unappetizing that they eat instead at fast-food restaurants on and off the base.\n\nIn March, Senator Warnock led a bipartisan, bicameral oversight effort demanding answers from the DOD regarding issues in providing servicemembers adequate and healthy food on military bases. The oversight effort followed reporting on issues with food quality and access at several Army installations\u2019 dining facilities. Senator Warnock and the lawmakers expressed their concerns over underinvestment in food options for members of the military, which has a direct relation to military readiness and retention rates.\n\nSenator Warnock has long been a leading advocate in the Senate for Georgia\u2019s military families. In 2022, Senator Warnock helped to pass the bipartisan PACT Act, the largest expansion of veterans\u2019 health benefits in decades. In March 2025, Senator Warnock introduced bipartisan legislation to lower housing costs for servicemembers and ensure servicemembers and their families receive their full housing allowance. He was also successful in securing multiple important wins for military families in the Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA, including helping secure a 14.5% raise for junior troops, who now earn about $3,000 to $6,000 more per year.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "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://www.warnock.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warnock-marshall-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-strengthen-servicemember-food-quality-and-access-on-military-bases/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8606559131294489, "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"}