S. 1129

119 S1129 IS: Dietary Guidelines Reform Act of 2025
 U.S. Senate
 2025-03-25
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 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 1129  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   March 25, 2025   Mr. Marshall  introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry    A BILL
To amend the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 to improve the dietary guidelines, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Dietary Guidelines Reform Act of 2025  .
2.
Establishment of dietary guidelines
(a)
In general
Section 301(a) of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 5341(a) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
by striking the paragraph designation and heading and all that follows through  five years  in the first sentence and inserting the following:
(1)
In general
At least every 10 years,
 ; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:  Rulemaking requirements under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to the development of each report under this paragraph. ;
(2)
by indenting paragraphs (2) and (3) appropriately;
(3)
in paragraph (2), by striking  shall  and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following:
shall—
(A)
be based on significant scientific agreement that is determined by evidence-based review (as defined in paragraph (9)(A));
(B)
be current at the time that the report is prepared;
(C)
be derived from the questions generated under paragraph (5)(E);
(D)
address high-priority areas of concern to advance health outcomes;
(E)
be designed to achieve nutritional adequacy and promote health, as specified by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, through the consumption of food, including nutrients and bioactive food components occurring naturally and in fortified foods;
(F)
include nutritional and dietary information relevant to individuals with common nutrition-related chronic diseases, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and
(G)
include recommendations that are affordable, available, and accessible for the general population.
 ;
(4)
by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (8);
(5)
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
(3)
Frequency
The Secretaries may publish the report required under paragraph (1) more frequently than required under that paragraph if the Secretaries determine that more frequent publication is necessary to promote health based on updated dietary reference intake values specified by—
(A)
the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and
(B)
other relevant scientific advancements based on continuous review of the totality of publicly available scientific evidence.
(4)
Notification of update
(A)
In general
Not later than 90 days before the Secretaries plan to update a report under paragraph (1), the Secretaries shall submit notification of that plan, in writing, to the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committees on Agriculture and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
(B)
Justification
The notification under subparagraph (A) shall include a justification for updating the report.
(5)
Independent Advisory Board
(A)
In general
Not later than 90 days after the Secretaries submit a notification under paragraph (4)(A), the Secretaries shall establish an Independent Advisory Board (referred to in this paragraph as the  Board ).
(B)
Members
The Board shall comprise not more than 8 members, of which—
(i)
4 shall be appointed by the Secretaries, 2 of whom shall not be Federal employees; and
(ii)
1 shall be appointed by each of the highest-ranking Member on each Committee described in paragraph (4)(A) of the opposite political party of the President of the United States.
(C)
Expertise
Each member appointed to the Board shall have expertise in nutrition science or food science, including academic and applied experience.
(D)
Meetings
(i)
In general
The first meeting of the Board shall take place on or after the date that is 90 days after the Secretaries submit a notification under paragraph (4)(A).
(ii)
Quorum
A  6/8  majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Board.
(E)
Duties
Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the Board, the Board shall submit to the Secretaries and the Committees described in paragraph (4)(A) a list of scientific questions based on the proposed report under paragraph (1), which questions shall be used to inform the work of the Secretaries on that report and any relevant work of the Committees described in paragraph (4)(A).
(F)
Termination
The authority of the Board shall terminate, and the Board shall disband, immediately after carrying out subparagraph (E).
(6)
Dietary reference intake updates
(A)
In general
The Secretaries shall coordinate with the Joint United States-Canada Dietary Reference Intake Working Group to ensure that the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine update the dietary reference intake values to represent the most up-to-date understanding of nutritional science.
(B)
Updates
The Joint United States-Canada Dietary Reference Intake Working Group is encouraged—
(i)
to initiate at least 1 dietary reference intake update per year; and
(ii)
to identify updates that are of highest priority and necessitate review.
(7)
Exclusion
The information and guidelines contained in each report required under paragraph (1) shall not be based on or include topics that are not relevant to dietary guidance, as determined by the Secretaries, in consultation with the Independent Advisory Board established under paragraph (5), including taxation, social welfare policies, purchases under Federal feeding programs, food and agricultural production practices, food labeling, socioeconomic status, race, religion, ethnicity, culture, or regulations relating to nutrition.
 ; and
(6)
by adding at the end the following:
(9)
Evidence-based review
(A)
Definition of evidence-based review
In this paragraph, the term  evidence-based review  means a process under which—
(i)
the totality of the scientific evidence relevant to a question of interest is collected, analyzed, and evaluated;
(ii)
scientific studies, conclusions, and recommendations are rated, adhering strictly to standardized, generally accepted evidence-based review methods; and
(iii)
external peer review is conducted by nongovernment experts with recognized expertise in quality-of-evidence evaluation.
(B)
Strength of evidence
Each guideline contained in a report published under paragraph (1) shall be assigned a rating by the Secretaries for the strength of evidence used, including the extent to which the guideline will improve the Healthy Eating Index.
(10)
Transparency
(A)
Disclosure
Any individual appointed to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee or an Independent Advisory Board established under paragraph (5) shall provide full disclosure of all financial and nonfinancial conflicts of interest relevant to their membership using the Office of Government Ethics Form 450 (or successor form).
(B)
Publication
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 30 days after the date on which a Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is established, the Secretaries shall make publicly available—
(i)
the disclosures required under subparagraph (A), categorized by the name of the individual; and
(ii)
a detailed plan for managing any disclosed conflicts of interest, including financial or ethical conflicts of interest, preferences, values, and beliefs.
(11)
Funding
Of the funds made available by section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 ( 7 U.S.C. 612c ), the Secretary of Agriculture shall make available to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, to remain available until expended.
 .
(b)
Controlling report
The 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans published by the Secretaries under section 301(a)(1) of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 5341(a)(1) ) (as in effect before the date of enactment of this Act) shall be considered the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans until the publication of the first report under that section (as amended by subsection (a)).