HR2326-119

What This Bill Does

The Dietary Guidelines Reform Act changes how the federal dietary guidelines are produced. It lengthens the default cycle from every 5 years to at least every 10 years, but lets USDA and HHS update sooner when dietary reference intakes or other evidence warrant it. It adds Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking, requires significant scientific agreement through an evidence-based review, creates an eight-member Independent Advisory Board with nutrition or food science expertise, requires public conflict-of-interest disclosures for advisory members, excludes non-dietary topics such as taxation, social welfare policy, food production practices, race, religion, and food labeling, and directs $5 million per year from section 32 funds for fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

Who Benefits and How

Nutrition researchers benefit because guideline questions must be tied to evidence-based review and strength-of-evidence ratings. Patients with nutrition-related chronic diseases benefit because the guidelines must include information relevant to common chronic diseases identified by CDC. Consumers seeking affordable dietary guidance benefit because recommendations must be affordable, available, and accessible to the general population. Congressional agriculture and health committees benefit from 90-day advance notice and justification before USDA and HHS update the guidelines.

Who Bears the Burden and How

USDA dietary guidelines staff must run a more formal rulemaking process, evidence review, board appointment process, and disclosure publication process. HHS nutrition policy staff must coordinate with the advisory board and the United States-Canada dietary reference intake process. Advisory committee members must file Office of Government Ethics Form 450 disclosures and accept public posting of conflict-management plans. Section 32 funding users bear opportunity costs because $5 million per year is reserved for dietary-guideline work through fiscal year 2029.

Key Provisions

• Amends the dietary guidelines schedule from every 5 years to at least every 10 years, with earlier updates allowed when the science justifies them.
• Requires APA rulemaking, evidence-based review, scientific-agreement ratings, and Healthy Eating Index relevance for guideline recommendations.
• Creates an Independent Advisory Board of up to eight nutrition or food science experts to generate scientific questions for updates.
• Requires public conflict disclosures and conflict-management plans for Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and Independent Advisory Board members.
• Provides $5 million per year from section 32 funds for fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to carry out the revised process.