Military Nutrition Improvement Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1781 To require the Comptroller General of the United States to assess the quality and nutrition of food available at military installations for members of the Armed Forces. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 20, 2021 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require the Comptroller General of the United States to assess the quality and nutrition of food available at military installations for members of the Armed Forces. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Nutrition Im- 4 provement Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1781.IS S1781 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1781 IS SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY 1 AND NUTRITION OF FOOD AVAILABLE AT 2 MILITARY INSTALLATIONS FOR MEMBERS OF 3 THE ARMED FORCES. 4 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Comptroller General of the 5 United States shall conduct an assessment of the quality 6 and nutrition of food available at military installations for 7 members of the Armed Forces. 8 (b) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by sub- 9 section (a) shall include the following: 10 (1) A description of the extent to which data is 11 being collected on the nutritional food options avail- 12 able at military installations for members of the 13 Armed Forces, including the fat, sodium, and fiber 14 content of hot line foods. 15 (2) An assessment of the extent to which the 16 Department of Defense has evaluated whether the 17 nutritional food options described in paragraph (1) 18 meet or exceed the daily nutrition standards for 19 adults set forth by the Department of Agriculture. 20 (3) A description of how the Secretary inte- 21 grates and coordinates nutrition recommendations, 22 policies, and pertinent information through the 23 Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Re- 24 search. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1781.IS S1781 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1781 IS (4) An assessment of the extent to which the 1 Department of Defense has evaluated how such rec- 2 ommendations, policies, and information affect 3 health outcomes of members of the Armed Forces or 4 retention rates for those members who do not meet 5 physical standards set forth by the Department. 6 (5) A description of how the Secretary gathers 7 input on the quality of food service options provided 8 to members of the Armed Forces. 9 (6) An assessment of how the Department of 10 Defense tracks the attitudes and perceptions of 11 members of the Armed Forces on the quality of food 12 service operations at military installations in terms 13 of availability during irregular hours, accessibility, 14 portion, price, and quality. 15 (7) An assessment of access by members of the 16 Armed Forces to high-quality food options on mili- 17 tary installations, such as availability of food outside 18 typical meal times or options for members not lo- 19 cated in close proximity to dining facilities at a mili- 20 tary installation. 21 (8) Such recommendations as the Comptroller 22 General may have to address any findings related to 23 the quality and availability of food options provided 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1781.IS S1781 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1781 IS to members of the Armed Forces by the Department 1 of Defense. 2 (c) BRIEFING AND REPORT.— 3 (1) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp- 5 troller General shall brief the Committees on Armed 6 Services of the Senate and the House of Representa- 7 tives on the status of the assessment conducted 8 under subsection (a). 9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 10 briefing under paragraph (1), the Comptroller Gen- 11 eral shall submit to the Committees on Armed Serv- 12 ices of the Senate and the House of Representatives 13 a report on the assessment conducted under sub- 14 section (a). 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1781.IS S1781 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS