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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5640 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5640

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            December 20 (legislative day, December 16), 2024

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Booker) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.
                                 <all>
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