Whole milk would return to school lunch cafeterias under a bipartisan bill set for final congressional action this week in the House as lawmakers wrap up their work for the year. The Senate is expected to confirm the Trump administration’s top agricultural trade negotiator. 

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would overturn a 2010 ban on full-fat and 2% milk in the USDA school lunch program. The measure is on track for a House floor vote this week, said Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson. 

The legislation would allow schools to serve flavored and unflavored reduced-fat (2%) and whole milk. Those varieties are prohibited under current law that mandates flavored milk be fat free and traditional milk be 1% fat at most. Thompson has said the ban is based on outdated science.

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission has endorsed whole milk.

The bill on tap for this week should bolster the dairy industtry, Thompson, R-Pa., told Agri-Pulse in September.

The Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent in November. Ahead of that action, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., had placed a hold on the bill because of her concerns about the stigma associated with lactose-intolerant children requesting milk alternatives.

Alsobrooks got assurances from Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., to work together on the issue.

Health cost fight moves to House

After the Senate last week rejected dueling health-care plans, House leaders have set up a vote for this week on a Republican bill that would extend association health plans, which allow smaller companies and the self-employed to access health insurance savings associated with bigger group coverage.

The House GOP measure doesn’t include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of this month. Disagreement over how to handle the matter led to the longest government shutdown in history, which ended last month after Senate Republicans agreed to give Democrats a vote on the ACA tax credits.

Democrats say without intervention, health-insurance premiums will soar for middle-income Americans. Jan. 30 is the next deadline for Congress to pass a government funding bill to avert a government shutdown.

Key Trump trade pick confirmation vote teed up

President Donald Trump’s choice to oversee U.S. agricultural negotiations is set for a Senate confirmation vote this week.

The nomination of Julie Callahan to be chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee in mid-November. If approved by the full Senate as expected, she’d move to the chief ag negotiator position from her current role as assistant USTR for agricultural affairs and commodity policy.

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Callahan has worked at the agency's agricultural affairs since 2016, after holding roles in the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department. Also up for a confirmation vote this week is John Walk, nominated for USDA inspector general, and Mindy Brashears, Trump’s pick to be USDA undersecretary of food safety.

Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EST):

Monday, Dec. 15

4 p.m. – House Rules Committee meets on the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, H.R. 845, which would remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list.  

8:30 a.m. – USDA releases backlogged export sales for week ended Nov. 20

Tuesday, Dec. 16

2 p.m. – House Rules Committee meets on the Republican bill, Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, H-313 Capitol

4 p.m. –  The House Energy Dominance Caucus and Carbon Utilization Research Council co-host a discussion, “CCUS 101: The Role of Carbon Capture, Utiliization and Storage in Unleashing American Energy,” 2045 Rayburn. 

Wednesday, Dec. 17

Noon – The Meat Import Council of America holds a members-only webinar on cargo theft trends. 

Thursday, Dec. 18

2 p.m. –  United Soybean Board webinar, “Soybean Oils and Health Benefits of Soy”

8:30 a.m. – Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Consumer Price Index for November.

8:30 a.m. – USDA releases backlogged export sales for week ended Nov. 27

Friday, Dec. 19

Noon – The Meat Import Council of America holds a members-only webinar on tariffs11 a.m. – USDA releases Food Expenditure Series report 11 a.m. – USDA releases Food Price Outlook.

3 p.m. – USDA Cattle on Feed report.

For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.