December 19, 2025

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act—legislation I am proud to cosponsor—passed the House this week and is now headed to the President’s desk.

So, what is this bill and why does it matter?

Back in 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act—legislation connected to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to target childhood obesity—mandated that schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) could only serve students low-fat or fat free milk.

While perhaps good intentioned, the misguided law not only hurt America’s dairy farmers, but it also decreased child nutrition. Whole and 2% milk is full of nutrients, vitamins, and good fats that help kids grow stronger. Not only this, but studies have shown that kids like the taste of whole and 2% milk over low-and no-fat varieties. As most parents know, if your kid doesn’t like the taste of something, you’d be hard-pressed to get them to eat or drink whatever it may be.

In the backdrop of all this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in 2020 that 79 percent or more of youth ages 9-13 fall short of the Dietary Guideline’s recommended dairy intake. Increasing milk options in schools is a way to address this and something I’ve been working on for years.

I helped secure language in the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that required USDA to allow NSLP-participating schools to serve flavored low-fat and fat-free milk.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 builds on this and allows NSLP-participating schools to offer whole and 2% milk to students at breakfast and lunch.

That’s something that both our dairy farmers and families can get ‘udderly’ excited about—pun intended.

The House’s key pieces of legislation this week focused on unleashing American energy production, strengthening reliability while keeping costs affordable. Here’s what was passed:

The SPEED Act, which is aimed at reducing a prolonged federal permitting process and serial litigation that slows or thwarts energy production, infrastructure projects, forest management, and more.

The Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, which seeks to restore the regulatory certainty needed to conduct mining operations across the country.

The Reliable Power Act, which would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the needed authority to ensure that federal regulations impacting power generation do not affect energy reliability.

The Power Plant Reliability Act, which would allow states and grid operators to contest the closure of a power plant if the closure harms reliability.

The House also passed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act to address rising health care costs, lowering premiums for all Americans and improving coverage accessibility.

The bill would:

Increase transparency by requiring Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)—the middlemen who manage drug costs—to disclose to employers exactly how much is spent on prescriptions, rebates, and related expenses.

Lower premiums by providing funding for Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments, which help lower-income enrollees with out-of-pocket expenses, keeping insurers from increasing premiums to offset CSRs.

Expand health care access by allowing employers—including self-employed workers— to join together across industries to purchase affordable, high-quality insurance. The bill would also make it easier for small businesses to offer coverage and strengthens a 2019 rule that allows workers to use tax-free money from their employer to buy their own insurance and pay premiums with pre-tax dollars.

This was the final session week of Congress for the year. When we return, there will be significant work ahead, including funding the government before the new deadline on January 30, 2026. There will also be a vote on a clean extension of the Obamacare enhanced subsidies that will expire at the end of the year.

This week, I met with Randy Clarke, CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), to discuss WMATA's expansive operations throughout our National Capital Region.

My Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD), and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for WMATA, and I was glad to hear from Randy about how he is wisely stewarding taxpayer money to reduce crime, increase revenue, and ensure more on-time arrivals at all stations.

WMATA is the mode of transportation for tens-of-thousands of people throughout the DMV, and I am proud to be a strong federal partner in its operations.

Congratulations to the Elkins Elks for winning the 4A State Football Championship last weekend!

Their head coach, Zach Watson, also won the 2025 Farm Bureau Insurance Awards’ 4A Coach of the Year. And Brooks Williams was awarded the 4A Defensive Player of the Year award.

Other Third District winners include:

Overall Player of the Year – Jeff Regan, Rogers

7A Defensive Player of the Year – Braxton Lindsey, Rogers

6A Offensive Player of the Year – Kane Archer, Greenwood

6A Defensive Player of the Year – Zander Gonzalez, Shiloh Christian

Hats off to these players for an excellent season!

CONSTITUENT SPOTLIGHT

This week’s Constituent Spotlight is a triple header: Lisa Williams, Principal of Rogers High School, Jayna Moffit, Assistant Principal of Rogers Heritage High School, and Tom Woodruff, a marketing teacher at Rogers High School.

Lisa was recently named the 2026 Principal of the Year by the Arkansas Association of Secondary School Principals. She has served as principal since 2022, having previously served as assistant principal at Rogers High School.

Under Williams’ leadership, Rogers High School has seen a 31 percent reduction in discipline referrals and scored an impressive 95 percent staff retention rate—all while serving a student body of more than 2,400. These accomplishments stand as a testament to her strong and effective leadership.

Jayna was also honored as the 2026 Assistant Principal of the Year. She has been at Rogers Heritage High School since 2023, following her tenure in the same position at Siloam Springs High School.

Tom was honored with the 2025 Daniel L. Pilkinton Award for his exceptional contributions to public education at the Arkansas School Boards Association’s Annual Conference. With 50 years of service, he holds the distinction of being the longest-tenured teacher in the school district.

Congratulations and thank you to these outstanding educators for going above and beyond this year to invest in the next generation.

Read more from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette HERE.

With the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act on its way to being signed into law, I want to hear from you.

Do you support schools offering whole and 2% milk in their cafeterias?

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Talk Business: Honored Anthony building houses University of Arkansas wood, housing research

River Valley Democrat-Gazette: Fort Smith Police Department Detective Eric Restine named Sebastian County Officer of the Year

Talk Business: Health tech innovation program kicks off next year in Northwest Arkansas

Wishing you a blessed holiday season filled with love and joy. 

As we gather with friends and family in the coming days, I encourage you to take stock and be thankful for the blessings in your life both big and small.

Thank you for your support and all you do. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Have a great weekend ahead, and I hope to see you around! Be sure to check out my website, X, and Instagram pages in the meantime.

From The Front...

Congressman Steve Womack
Arkansas Third District

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