HouseH.R. 9950119th Congress
Healthy Commissaries, Healthy Families Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9950 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9950
To provide healthy food options in military commissaries, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2026
Mr. Barrett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide healthy food options in military commissaries, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Healthy Commissaries, Healthy
Families Act''.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM TO PROVIDE HEALTHY FOODS TO COMMISSARIES.
(a) Program Required.--The Director of the Defense Commissary
Agency shall carry out a program to increase the availability,
visibility, affordability, and promotion of healthy foods at
commissaries located in the United States in accordance with this
section.
(b) Director of Healthy Foods.--The Director of the Defense
Commissary Agency shall appoint an officer or employee of the Defense
Commissary Agency to serve as the Director of Healthy Foods for
commissaries.
(c) Plan.--
(1) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services
and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a plan to improve the
availability of healthy foods at commissaries located in the
United States. Such plan shall include--
(A) a strategy and timeline for the availability of
healthy foods at commissaries;
(B) an identification of actions that will be taken
to incorporate the use of local farmers and farmers
markets in the provision of healthy foods to
commissaries;
(C) an identification of actions and resources
necessary to accomplish the items described in
paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (d); and
(D) any recommendations of the Secretary for
administrative or legislative action to improve the
availability of healthy foods at commissaries and
accomplish the items described in paragraphs (1)
through (6) of subsection (d).
(2) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
submission of the plan required by paragraph (1), the Secretary
of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the
Secretary of Agriculture shall provide a briefing on such plan
to the appropriate congressional committees.
(d) Interagency Cooperation.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the submission of the plan required by subsection (c)(1), the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and
the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly establish procedures to
improve healthy food options at commissaries, including procedures to--
(1) coordinate nutrition research;
(2) share best practices for procuring healthy foods and
related items;
(3) increase the availability of healthy foods at
commissaries;
(4) identify farmers, farmers markets, and other community
entities located near commissaries that can assist in making
healthy foods available at commissaries;
(5) promote nutrition education and information for
military families; and
(6) share relevant data among the Department of Defense,
the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department
of Agriculture.
(e) Community Outreach.--The Director of Healthy Foods, in
consultation with designees of the Secretary of Health and Human
Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall conduct outreach to
agricultural producers, farmers markets, and farmers within the local
area of a commissary to identify opportunities to increase
participation by such producers, farmers markets, and farmers in
providing healthy foods at commissaries.
(f) Public Resources.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the submission of the plan required by subsection (c)(1), the Director
of the Defense Commissary Agency shall make publicly available on the
website of the Defense Commissary Agency resources relating to healthy
foods specific to each commissary location, including identification of
farms, farmers markets, and other healthy food resources available near
each such location.
(g) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the submission
of the plan required by subsection (c)(1), the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the
Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on the implementation of this section, including--
(1) the implementation such plan;
(2) outreach conducted under subsection (e);
(3) the availability of healthy foods at commissaries, any
sales trends or consumer demands related to such availability,
the cost of making such healthy foods available, any challenges
in procuring such healthy foods, and an estimate of the
satisfaction of military families with such healthy foods; and
(4) any recommendations of the Secretary of Defense for
administrative or legislative action with respect to the
implementation of such plan.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committees on Armed Services of the House
of Representatives and the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; and
(C) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
(2) Healthy food.--The term ``healthy food'' means food
consistent with the most recent dietary guidelines published in
accordance with section 301(a) of the National Nutrition
Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341(a)).
(i) Termination.--The requirements of this section shall terminate
on December 31, 2030.
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