I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2496 
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to establish a dairy nutrition 
incentive program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 31, 2025 
Mr. COSTA (for himself, Mr. LANGWORTHY, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. NEWHOUSE, 
Mr. PANETTA, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. VAN ORDEN, Mr. MILLER of Ohio, Mr. 
ROGERS of Alabama, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. RILEY of New 
York, and Mr. EVANS of Colorado) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to establish 
a dairy nutrition incentive program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dairy Nutrition Incen-
tive Program Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. DAIRY NUTRITION INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 31. DAIRY NUTRITION INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DAIRY PRODUCT.—The term ‘dairy prod-
uct’ means a product for which cow’s milk is listed 
as— 
‘‘(A) the first ingredient on the labeled in-
gredients list of the product; or 
‘‘(B) the second ingredient on the labeled 
ingredients list of the product, if the first listed 
ingredient is water. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a State or local governmental entity; 
and 
‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization. 
‘‘(3) FLUID
MILK.—The term ‘fluid milk’ 
means any variety of pasteurized cow’s milk that— 
‘‘(A) is packaged in liquid form; and 
‘‘(B) contains vitamins A and D at levels 
consistent with the Food and Drug Administra-
tion standards, and applicable State and local 
standards, for fluid milk. 
‘‘(4) NATURALLY NUTRIENT-RICH DAIRY.—The 
term ‘naturally nutrient-rich dairy’ means— 
‘‘(A) fluid milk; 
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‘‘(B) yogurt and other cultured cow’s milk 
dairy products; and 
‘‘(C) cheese (including nonstandardized 
cheese) made from cow’s milk. 
‘‘(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 
the dairy nutrition incentive program established 
under subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
shall establish a dairy nutrition incentive program under 
which the Secretary shall develop and test methods to in-
crease the purchase and consumption of naturally nutri-
ent-rich dairy by members of households that receive bene-
fits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program 
by providing an incentive for the purchase of naturally nu-
trient-rich dairy at the point of purchase to members of 
households purchasing food using those benefits. 
‘‘(c) GRANTS OR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the program, 
the Secretary shall enter into cooperative agreements 
with, or provide grants to, eligible entities, on a com-
petitive basis, for projects that meet the purpose of 
the program described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking 
to enter into a cooperative agreement or receive a 
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grant under the program shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require. 
‘‘(3) SELECTION
CRITERIA.—The Secretary 
shall develop and make public criteria for evaluating 
proposed projects in applications submitted under 
paragraph (2), which shall incorporate a scientif-
ically based strategy designed to improve diet quality 
and nutritional outcomes through the increased pur-
chase of naturally nutrient-rich dairy. 
‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In entering into cooperative 
agreements and awarding grants under the program, 
the Secretary shall give priority to projects that— 
‘‘(A) maximize the percentage of funds 
used for direct incentives for participants in the 
supplemental nutrition assistance program; 
‘‘(B) include a project design— 
‘‘(i) that provides incentives when nat-
urally nutrient-rich dairy is purchased 
using benefits under the supplemental nu-
trition assistance program; and 
‘‘(ii) in which the incentives earned 
may be used only to purchase naturally nu-
trient-rich dairy; 
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‘‘(C) include project sites that serve mem-
bers of households that participate in the sup-
plemental nutrition assistance program; and 
‘‘(D) incorporate the use of point-of-sale 
systems that can electronically issue incentives 
earned under the program. 
‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—An 
eligible entity may request funds from the Secretary, 
pursuant to section 16, to offset initial costs to en-
able electronic benefits transfer technology for elec-
tronic point-of-sale systems described in paragraph 
(4)(D) for projects sites selected under the program. 
‘‘(d) EVALUATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
for an independent evaluation of each project carried 
out under the program that measures, to the max-
imum extent practicable, the effect of incentives on 
purchases of naturally nutrient-rich dairy by mem-
bers of households that receive benefits under the 
supplemental nutrition assistance program. 
‘‘(2) 
METHODOLOGY
REQUIREMENT.—The 
independent evaluation under paragraph (1) shall 
use rigorous methodologies, such as random assign-
ment or other methods that are capable of producing 
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scientifically valid information regarding activities 
that are effective. 
‘‘(3) DISCONTINUANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), subject to availability of 
funds, nothing in this section shall limit the 
continuation of a project carried out under the 
program. 
‘‘(B) 
NONCOMPLIANCE.—The 
Secretary 
may discontinue a project or close a project site 
under the program if the project— 
‘‘(i) does not comply with the require-
ments under this section; 
‘‘(ii) does not comply with the require-
ments of the grant awarded or cooperative 
agreement entered into under the program, 
as applicable; or 
‘‘(iii) if the Secretary determines that 
the results of the independent evaluation of 
the project under paragraph (1) are not 
satisfactory. 
‘‘(4) PUBLIC
DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make publicly available the results of each 
independent evaluation carried out under paragraph 
(1). 
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‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than December 31 of the 
first full calendar year following the date of establishment 
of the program, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agri-
culture of the House of Representatives a report that in-
cludes a description of— 
‘‘(1) the status of each project carried out 
under the program; and 
‘‘(2) the results of each completed evaluation 
under paragraph (1) during the period covered by 
the report. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—There is appro-
priated to the Secretary, out of any funds in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $10,000,000 
for each fiscal year to carry out this section. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In addition to the 
funds made available under paragraph (1), 
there is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 
for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year there-
after. 
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‘‘(B) APPROPRIATIONS
IN
ADVANCE.— 
With respect to any funds made available under 
subparagraph (A), only funds appropriated in 
advance specifically to carry out this section 
shall be available to carry out this section. 
‘‘(3) EVALUATION COSTS.—Of the funds made 
available to carry out this section for a fiscal year, 
the Secretary shall use not more than 7 percent to 
carry out subsection (d). 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON USE.—Funds made avail-
able to carry out this section shall not be used for 
any project that limits the use of benefits under the 
supplemental nutrition assistance program.’’. 
(b) TRANSITION FROM HEALTHY FLUID MILK IN-
CENTIVES PROJECTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 
(referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall transition projects carried out under section 
4208 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 
(7 U.S.C. 2026a) to be carried out as part of the 
dairy nutrition incentive program established under 
section 31 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. 
(2) NO INTERRUPTION.—In carrying out para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that— 
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(A) there is no interruption in projects 
being carried out under section 4208 of the Ag-
riculture Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 
2026a) during the transition described in that 
paragraph; and 
(B) any additional authorities or flexibili-
ties under the dairy nutrition incentive program 
established under section 31 of the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 shall be applied to the 
projects described in subparagraph (A). 
(3) REPEAL.—Effective 1 year after the date 
on which the Secretary certifies that the Secretary 
has completed carrying out paragraph (1), section 
4208 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 
(7 U.S.C. 2026a) is repealed. 
Æ 
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