[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10548 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10548
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect children's health
by denying any deduction for advertising and marketing directed at
children to promote the consumption of food of poor nutritional
quality.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 20, 2024
Ms. DeLauro introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect children's health
by denying any deduction for advertising and marketing directed at
children to promote the consumption of food of poor nutritional
quality.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Subsidizing Childhood Obesity
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly
one-fifth of children and adolescents ages 2-19 have obesity.
Black and Hispanic children and adolescents have higher rates
of obesity than white children and adolescents. Children and
adolescents from families with an income at or below 130
percent of the federal poverty level also have higher rates of
obesity compared to children and adolescents whose family
income is more than 350 percent of the Federal poverty level.
(2) A study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine found that if the child and adolescent population of
the United States continues on its current trajectory, a
majority of today's children will be obese by age 35.
(3) Health-related behaviors, such as eating habits and
physical activity patterns, develop early in life and often
extend into adulthood. Overall, American children and youth are
not achieving basic nutritional goals. The diets of American
children and adolescents depart substantially from recommended
patterns that put their health at risk. They consume excess
calories and added sugars and have higher than recommended
intakes of sodium, total fat, and saturated fats.
(4) According to a 2012 report from the Federal Trade
Commission, the total amount spent on food marketing to
children is about $1,800,000,000 a year.
(5) Companies market food to children through television,
radio, internet and social media, magazines, product placement
in movies and video games, schools, product packages, toys,
clothing and other merchandise, and almost anywhere a logo or
product image can be displayed.
(6) According to a comprehensive review by the National
Academy of Medicine, television food advertising affects
children's food choices, food purchase requests, diets, and
health.
(7) A 2006 report from the National Academy of Medicine
confirmed that marketing of high-calorie foods to children and
adolescents has been identified as one of the major
contributors to childhood obesity.
(8) Nearly all foods advertised on television programming
intended for children are for products ``high in nutrients to
limit'', as determined by the Federal Interagency Working
Group, including saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and sodium.
According to research from the University of Illinois Chicago,
children under 12 still see more than 1,000 food-related ads a
year, most of them for unhealthy products.
(9) Food and beverage companies disproportionately target
advertising for many of their least nutritious brands to black
and Hispanic youth, which contributes to health disparities.
According to a study from the University of Connecticut, Black
youth viewed 75 percent more ads than their white peers. The
study also showed that disparities in racial and ethnic
targeted advertising are widening. In 2012, Black preschoolers,
children, and teens saw approximately 60 percent more fast-food
ads than their White peers, and in 2019, they saw approximately
75 percent more. Additionally, in 2019, fast-food restaurants
spent $318,000,000 to advertise on Spanish-language TV, a 33
percent increase from 2012. The number of ads viewed by
Hispanic preschoolers and children increased 2 percent and 7
percent respectively over the 7-year period, in contrast with a
decline in ads viewed by preschoolers and children overall
during the same time period.
(10) According to a 2015 study in the American Journal of
Preventative Medicine, eliminating the tax deduction for
television advertising expenses with respect to advertisements
for unhealthy food and beverages that target children could
reduce childhood obesity and save approximately $350,000,000 in
healthcare costs over the course of a decade.
SEC. 3. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR MARKETING DIRECTED AT CHILDREN TO
PROMOTE FOOD OF POOR NUTRITIONAL QUALITY.
(a) In General.--Part IX of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 280I. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR MARKETING DIRECTED AT CHILDREN FOR
FOOD OF POOR NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OR BRANDS PRIMARILY
ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD OF POOR NUTRITIONAL QUALITY.
``(a) In General.--No deduction shall be allowed under this chapter
with respect to--
``(1) any marketing primarily directed at children for food
of poor nutritional quality or brands primarily associated with
food of poor nutritional quality, and
``(2) any of the following which are incurred or provided
primarily for purposes described in paragraph (1):
``(A) Travel expenses (including meals and
lodging).
``(B) Goods or services of a type generally
considered to constitute entertainment, amusement, or
recreation or the use of a facility in connection with
providing such goods and services.
``(C) Gifts.
``(D) Other promotion expenses.
``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) Brand.--The term `brand' means a corporate or product
name, a business image, or a mark, regardless of whether it may
legally qualify as a trademark, used by a seller or
manufacturer to identify goods or services and to distinguish
them from the goods of a competitor.
``(2) Child.--The term `child' means an individual who is
age 14 or under.
``(3) Directed at.--The term `directed at' includes the use
of measured media if the audience for such media will consist
of 25 percent or more of children.
``(c) Marketing.--For purposes of this section, the term
`marketing' means all advertising and promotional techniques,
including--
``(1) advertising (including product placement) on
television and radio, in print media, in social media, mobile
media and apps, and on the Internet (including third-party and
company-sponsored websites),
``(2) product packaging and labeling,
``(3) advertising preceding a movie shown in a movie
theater or placed on a video (DVD or VHS) or within a video
game or mobile application,
``(4) promotional content transmitted to personal computers
and other digital or mobile devices,
``(5) advertising displays and promotions at the retail
site, including preferential placement,
``(6) specialty or premium items distributed in connection
with the sale of a product or a product loyalty program,
``(7) character licensing fees, toy cobranding and cross-
promotions,
``(8) sponsorship of events,
``(9) celebrity endorsements, and
``(10) in-school advertising including corporate-branded
materials, corporate incentive programs, label redemption
programs, fundraisers, signs, scoreboards, posters, vending
machine fronts, in-school TV and radio, corporate sponsorships,
and market research activities.
``(d) Regulations.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade
Commission, shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to
carry out the purposes of this section, including regulations defining
the terms `directed at children', `food of poor nutritional quality',
and `brand primarily associated with food of poor nutritional quality',
based on the National Academy of Medicine report described in section
3(b) of the Stop Subsidizing Childhood Obesity Act, for purposes of
this section.''.
(b) Study by National Academy of Medicine.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury
(or the Secretary's delegate) shall enter into a contract with
the National Academy of Medicine to develop procedures for the
evaluation and identification of--
(A) food of poor nutritional quality; and
(B) brands that are primarily associated with food
of poor nutritional quality.
(2) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, the National Academy of Medicine
shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury (or the
Secretary's delegate) a report that establishes the proposed
procedures described in paragraph (1).
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part IX of
subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the end
the following new item:
``Sec. 280I. Denial of deduction for marketing directed at children for
food of poor nutritional quality or brands
primarily associated with food of poor
nutritional quality.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to amounts paid or incurred in taxable years beginning 24 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM.
In addition to any other amounts made available to carry out the
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program under section 19 of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a), the Secretary of
the Treasury (or the Secretary's delegate) shall, on an annual basis,
transfer to such program, from amounts in the general fund of the
Treasury of the United States, an amount determined by the Secretary of
the Treasury (or the Secretary's delegate) to be equal to the increase
in revenue for the preceding 12-month period by reason of the
amendments made by section 3 of this Act.
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