I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2831 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny any deduction for 

marketing directed at children to promote the consumption of food of 

poor nutritional quality. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2013 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. CLAY, 

and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny any 

deduction for 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. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR MARKETING DI4 RECTED AT CHILDREN TO PROMOTE FOOD 

5 OF POOR NUTRITIONAL QUALITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part IX of subchapter B of chap7 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

8 items not deductible) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 280I. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR MARKETING DI2 RECTED AT CHILDREN TO PROMOTE FOOD 

3 OF POOR NUTRITIONAL QUALITY. 

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

5 under this chapter with respect to— 

6 ‘‘(1) any marketing directed at children for pur7 poses of promoting the consumption by children of 

8 food of poor nutritional quality, and 

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

10 provided primarily for purposes described in para11 graph (1): 

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

13 lodging). 

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

15 considered to constitute entertainment, amuse16 ment, or recreation or the use of a facility in 

17 connection with providing such goods and serv18 ices. 

19 ‘‘(C) Gifts. 

20 ‘‘(D) Other promotion expenses. 

21 ‘‘(b) FOOD OF POOR NUTRITIONAL QUALITY.—For 

22 purposes of this section, the term ‘food of poor nutritional 

23 quality’ means food and beverages that are determined by 

24 the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of 

25 Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Com26 mission) to be inconsistent with the most recent Dietary 


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1 Guidelines for Americans published under section 301 of 

2 the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research 

3 Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341). 

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

5 term ‘marketing’ means all product and brand advertising 

6 and promotional techniques directed at children, includ7 ing— 

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

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

10 media, and on the Internet (including third-party 

11 and company-sponsored websites), 

12 ‘‘(2) product packaging and labeling, 

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

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

15 or within a video game or mobile application, 

16 ‘‘(4) promotional content transmitted to per17 sonal computers and other digital or mobile devices, 

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

19 retail site, 

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

21 connection with the sale of a product or a product 

22 loyalty program, 

23 ‘‘(7) promotion character licensing, toy co24 branding and cross-promotions, 

25 ‘‘(8) celebrity endorsements, and 


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1 ‘‘(9) in-school marketing. 

2 For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term ‘directed 

3 at’ includes the use of measured media if the audience 

4 for such media will consist of 35 percent or more of chil5 dren. 

6 ‘‘(d) CHILD.—For purposes of this section, the term 

7 ‘child’ means an individual who is age 17 or under. 

8 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall (in con9 sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv10 ices and the Federal Trade Commission) prescribe such 

11 regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 

12 of this section.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 for such part IX is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 280I. Denial of deduction for marketing directed at children to promote 

food of poor nutritional quality.’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act in taxable years end19 ing after such date. 

Æ 


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