II 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Subsidizing 

5 Childhood Obesity Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to the Centers for Disease Con2 trol, nearly one-fifth of children and adolescents ages 

3 2-19 have obesity. Black and Hispanic children and 

4 adolescents have higher rates of obesity than white 

5 children and adolescents. Children and adolescents 

6 from families with an income at or below 130 per7 cent of the federal poverty level also have higher 

8 rates of obesity compared to children and adoles9 cents whose family income is more than 350 percent 

10 of the Federal poverty level. 

11 (2) A study published in the New England 

12 Journal of Medicine found that if the child and ado13 lescent population of the United States continues on 

14 its current trajectory, a majority of today’s children 

15 will be obese by age 35. 

16 (3) Health-related behaviors, such as eating 

17 habits and physical activity patterns, develop early 

18 in life and often extend into adulthood. Overall, 

19 American children and youth are not achieving basic 

20 nutritional goals. The diets of American children 

21 and adolescents depart substantially from rec22 ommended patterns that put their health at risk. 

23 They consume excess calories and added sugars and 

24 have higher than recommended intakes of sodium, 

25 total fat, and saturated fats. 


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1 (4) According to a 2012 report from the Fed2 eral Trade Commission, the total amount spent on 

3 food marketing to children is about $1,800,000,000 

4 a year. 

5 (5) Companies market food to children through 

6 television, radio, internet and social media, maga7 zines, product placement in movies and video games, 

8 schools, product packages, toys, clothing and other 

9 merchandise, and almost anywhere a logo or product 

10 image can be displayed. 

11 (6) According to a comprehensive review by the 

12 National Academy of Medicine, television food adver13 tising affects children’s food choices, food purchase 

14 requests, diets, and health. 

15 (7) A 2006 report from the National Academy 

16 of Medicine confirmed that marketing of high-calorie 

17 foods to children and adolescents has been identified 

18 as one of the major contributors to childhood obe19 sity. 

20 (8) Nearly all foods advertised on television pro21 gramming intended for children are for products 

22 ‘‘high in nutrients to limit’’, as determined by the 

23 Federal Interagency Working Group, including satu24 rated fat, trans fat, sugar, and sodium. According to 

25 research from the University of Illinois Chicago, 


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1 children under 12 still see more than 1,000 food-re2 lated ads a year, most of them for unhealthy prod3 ucts. 

4 (9) Food and beverage companies dispropor5 tionately target advertising for many of their least 

6 nutritious brands to black and Hispanic youth, 

7 which contributes to health disparities. According to 

8 a study from the University of Connecticut, Black 

9 youth viewed 75 percent more ads than their white 

10 peers. The study also showed that disparities in ra11 cial and ethnic targeted advertising are widening. In 

12 2012, Black preschoolers, children, and teens saw 

13 approximately 60 percent more fast-food ads than 

14 their White peers, and in 2019, they saw approxi15 mately 75 percent more. Additionally, in 2019, fast16 food restaurants spent $318,000,000 to advertise on 

17 Spanish-language TV, a 33 percent increase from 

18 2012. The number of ads viewed by Hispanic pre19 schoolers and children increased 2 percent and 7 

20 percent respectively over the 7 year period, in con21 trast with a decline in ads viewed by preschoolers 

22 and children overall during the same time period. 

23 (10) According to a 2015 study in the Amer24 ican Journal of Preventative Medicine, eliminating 

25 the tax deduction for television advertising expenses 


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1 with respect to advertisements for unhealthy food 

2 and beverages that target children could reduce 

3 childhood obesity and save approximately 

4 $350,000,000 in healthcare costs over the course of 

5 a decade. 

6 SEC. 3. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR MARKETING DI7 RECTED AT CHILDREN TO PROMOTE FOOD 

8 OF POOR NUTRITIONAL QUALITY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part IX of subchapter B of chap10 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 280I. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR MARKETING DI13 RECTED AT CHILDREN FOR FOOD OF POOR 

14 NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OR BRANDS PRI15 MARILY ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD OF POOR 

16 NUTRITIONAL QUALITY. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be allowed 

18 under this chapter with respect to— 

19 ‘‘(1) any marketing primarily directed at chil20 dren for food of poor nutritional quality or brands 

21 primarily associated with food of poor nutritional 

22 quality, and 

23 ‘‘(2) any of the following which are incurred or 

24 provided primarily for purposes described in para25 graph (1): 


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1 ‘‘(A) Travel expenses (including meals and 

2 lodging). 

3 ‘‘(B) Goods or services of a type generally 

4 considered to constitute entertainment, amuse5 ment, or recreation or the use of a facility in 

6 connection with providing such goods and serv7 ices. 

8 ‘‘(C) Gifts. 

9 ‘‘(D) Other promotion expenses. 

10 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) BRAND.—The term ‘brand’ means a cor12 porate or product name, a business image, or a 

13 mark, regardless of whether it may legally qualify as 

14 a trademark, used by a seller or manufacturer to 

15 identify goods or services and to distinguish them 

16 from the goods of a competitor. 

17 ‘‘(2) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means an indi18 vidual who is age 14 or under. 

19 ‘‘(3) DIRECTED AT.—The term ‘directed at’ in20 cludes the use of measured media if the audience for 

21 such media will consist of 25 percent or more of 

22 children. 

23 ‘‘(c) MARKETING.—For purposes of this section, the 

24 term ‘marketing’ means all advertising and promotional 

25 techniques, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) advertising (including product placement) 

2 on television and radio, in print media, in social 

3 media, mobile media and apps, and on the Internet 

4 (including third-party and company-sponsored 

5 websites), 

6 ‘‘(2) product packaging and labeling, 

7 ‘‘(3) advertising preceding a movie shown in a 

8 movie theater or placed on a video (DVD or VHS) 

9 or within a video game or mobile application, 

10 ‘‘(4) promotional content transmitted to per11 sonal computers and other digital or mobile devices, 

12 ‘‘(5) advertising displays and promotions at the 

13 retail site, including preferential placement, 

14 ‘‘(6) specialty or premium items distributed in 

15 connection with the sale of a product or a product 

16 loyalty program, 

17 ‘‘(7) character licensing fees, toy cobranding 

18 and cross-promotions, 

19 ‘‘(8) sponsorship of events, 

20 ‘‘(9) celebrity endorsements, and 

21 ‘‘(10) in-school advertising including corporate22 branded materials, corporate incentive programs, 

23 label redemption programs, fundraisers, signs, score24 boards, posters, vending machine fronts, in-school 


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1 TV and radio, corporate sponsorships, and market 

2 research activities. 

3 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after 

4 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, 

5 in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services and the Federal Trade Commission, shall promul7 gate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

8 the purposes of this section, including regulations defining 

9 the terms ‘directed at children’, ‘food of poor nutritional 

10 quality’, and ‘brand primarily associated with food of poor 

11 nutritional quality’, based on the National Academy of 

12 Medicine report described in section 3(b) of the Stop Sub13 sidizing Childhood Obesity Act, for purposes of this sec14 tion.’’. 

15 (b) STUDY BY NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

17 the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec18 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

19 shall enter into a contract with the National Acad20 emy of Medicine to develop procedures for the eval21 uation and identification of— 

22 (A) food of poor nutritional quality; and 

23 (B) brands that are primarily associated 

24 with food of poor nutritional quality. 


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1 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

2 the date of the enactment of this section, the Na3 tional Academy of Medicine shall submit to the Sec4 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

5 a report that establishes the proposed procedures de6 scribed in paragraph (1). 

7 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

8 for part IX of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 

9 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.’’. 

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax12 able years beginning 24 months after the date of the en13 actment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE FRESH FRUIT AND 

15 VEGETABLE PROGRAM. 

16 In addition to any other amounts made available to 

17 carry out the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program under 

18 section 19 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

19 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a), the Secretary of the Treas20 ury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall, on an annual basis, 

21 transfer to such program, from amounts in the general 

22 fund of the Treasury of the United States, an amount de23 termined by the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Sec24 retary’s delegate) to be equal to the increase in revenue 


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1 for the preceding 12-month period by reason of the 

2 amendments made by section 3 of this Act. 

Æ 


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