House vote advances ‘Make Texas Healthy Again' bill
'This is about the average Texan in the grocery store wanting to make healthy choices against a multi trillion dollar industry,' bill sponsor State Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston said as she presented the legislation on the House floor. 'Members we need to break the system and address chronic disease,' Hull added.
SB 25 would establish the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee to create nutritional guidelines for Texans and examine links between food additives and chronic health. The seven-member committee would be appointed by the governor.
The legislation would create additional physical education requirements for public school and charter school students. The bill also adds a requirement for the State Board of Education to adopt standards for students to learn about nutritional guidelines. Those guidelines would be recommended by the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee.
The bill mirrors some of the elements of the 'Make America Healthy Again' commission established by President Donald Trump and led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., also known as MAHA. The MAHA commission has raised concern over life expectancy in the United States falling below that of other comparable countries. The commission has called for an emphasis on nutrition, lifestyle, and physical activity and for addressing an 'over-reliance on medication and treatments.'
'This is about the MAHA parents coming together with the crunchy granola parents coming together to say we are sick and tired of being sick and tired,' Hull said during her layout. She confirmed that the legislation shares the goals of the Trump administration.
'I have personally spoken to the White House, who said they are looking to us, to Texas, to get this done, to stand for our children and our future,' Hull said during her bill layout.
The bill passed the Senate in March with unanimous support. That was not the case Sunday in the House.
The vote on Senate Bill 25 came after Democrats attempted to block the legislation six different times by raising a point of order. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle proposed amendments to the bill, 19 in all. Most of the proposed amendments were rejected.
The moves slowed down the process of passing SB 25, pushing back consideration of other legislation on the House calendar. The House faces a Tuesday deadline to advance Senate bills on second reading.
State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, voted against the bill, despite being in favor of many of the items in the legislation.
'I actually had high hopes for this bill when it was announced because some of the issues, especially dealing with chemicals, dealing with additives, are things that are important to me,' Wu said. 'What I did not expect was that this bill would turn into such a beast that there will be so many musts and shalls just jam down everyone's throats,' Wu continued, referencing concerns he had with the additional requirements on students that he believe could take time away from academics.
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, acknowledged that she saw flaws with the legislation, but she believes the bill will help Texans.
'A lot of the Democratic amendments you heard today were very sincerely put before you because we thought that there were things we could do that could make the bill better,' Howard said. 'But the fact is, I am going to be supporting this bill. I think it takes us in a good direction.'
Before the final vote, Hull told her colleagues that Kennedy had called her and praised the bill. 'This is the best bill in the entire nation. They are watching, and they want us to pass this bill,' Hull said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
7 minutes ago
- New York Post
Kamala Harris phones it in at youth voters summit with two-minute video keynote
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Kamala Harris made a rare public appearance at a youth voters event Friday, speaking for fewer than two minutes in a pre-recorded video address about the need to stay 'in the fight' — without giving any indication of her own future ambitions. The activist summit, which appeared to be sparsely attended, was aimed at 'building political power for Gen Z' and featured speeches from Harris, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Unlike the two House Democrats, Harris chose not to give her remarks in person. 'Keep building your political power, keep building community, keep building coalitions, keep challenging the status quo,' she said to the group gathered in the nation's capital. 'And born out of our love for our country, keep fighting to build a country and a nation. That works for everyone. And I look forward to continuing in the fight alongside you. You take care.' 3 Harris urged youth voters to stay 'in the fight' in a short, pre-recorded message played during the summit. Voters of Tomorrow Voters of Tomorrow senior director Kaya Jones had preceded Harris in the line-up and suggested actions by the Republican-held White House and Congress had taken a toll on youth organizing. 'The last few months have been really rough, and, um, yeah, let's just pause for that,' she said, leading to a brief moment of silence. Harris struck a similar tone in her remarks, saying: 'Your generation has grown up on the front lines of so many crises — from COVID and the climate crisis to gun violence and mental health.' 'It is critically important that we have organizations such as this who understand that we must be intentional about lifting up our young leaders and encouraging your ambition,' she added. 3 Pelosi predicted that Democrats would retake the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections. FOX News After a landslide loss to Trump in 2024, Harris pledged in her concession speech to 'never give up the fight' — but has yet to indicate whether she will enter the California governor's race next year or the presidential contest in 2028. 'On the campaign, I would often say, 'When we, fight, we win.' But here's the thing: Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn't mean we won't win,' she added after losing all seven swing states to Trump and becoming the first Democratic nominee in 20 years to lose the popular vote. 'We must stay in the fight, every one of us,' Harris also told students during a speech at Prince George's County Community College in Maryland before leaving office. 'And I ask you to remember the context in which you exist.' 3 'I look forward to continuing in the fight alongside you,' Harris said in the video. Voters of Tomorrow Pelosi, 83, said Friday she had 'no doubt that we will win the election with the House of Representatives' in 2026. 'By October — certainly by November, but by October, we will have — with the help of so many people working — we'll have taken what's his name's numbers down,' Pelosi said, eliding Trump's name in a pointed slight. Public polling shows the former vice president still at the front of the Democratic primary pack, with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg seen as the second-leading contender.
The Hill
7 minutes ago
- The Hill
Democrat Wiley Nickel may suspend NC Senate campaign: Reports
Former Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), who launched his campaign for Senate in April, is now mulling whether to suspend his campaign and instead enter the race for an open district attorney position in Wake County, two local stations and Semafor reported Friday. A shift from Wiley would open up the Senate field for former Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who has not yet formally launched his campaign but is expected to do so next week, Axios reported. Many Democrats are hoping for the former governor to run for a seat that is wide open after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced he would not seek reelection. Wiley served one term in Congress, from 2022 to 2024, opting not to run again after his district was re-drawn to heavily favor Republicans. Nickel is instead considering entering the race for the open district attorney position in Wake County, the state's most populous, WNCN and WRAL reported. Democrats are hoping North Carolina could be a prime pickup opportunity in the upcoming midterms. The party would need to flip four seats to gain control of the upper chamber. The general election is shaping up to be a showdown between Cooper and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who is running with the blessing of President Trump. Tills's successful reelection bid in 2020 became the most expensive race in Senate history after a close challenge from Democrat Cal Cunningham. The Republican senator announced he would not seek reelection in June after Trump mulled backing a challenger over Tillis's opposition to the 'big, beautiful bill.' After Tillis announced he would retire, the Cook Political Report rated the race a toss-up.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
GOP Senator Breaks Ranks to Demand Epstein Files Release
A Republican senator has demanded that Donald Trump 'release the damn files' to end the roiling Jeffrey Epstein crisis. Thom Tillis, who is not seeking re-election to his North Carolina seat, became the first Republican in the upper chamber to intervene in Epstein. He also suggested that the administration might be hiding something 'really disturbing' about the late sex offender, who was a close friend of the president for at least 15 years. 'Either it's a nothing burger ... or it's something really disturbing, and that's actually even a more compelling reason to release it,' Tillis told Axios at an Axios News Shapers event Wednesday. Republicans have been plunged into crisis on Epstein since the Justice Department published a July 7 memo saying that there would be no further investigation and that no files would be released—after years of MAGA hype that the files contained sensational secrets about powerful Democrats. The memo set off MAGA calls for Trump to release the files—which he and his Attorney General, Pam Bondi, have refused to do. 'It makes no sense to me,' Tillis said about the administration's refusal to share the files. Tillis joins the likes of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and, most vocally, former 'first buddy' Elon Musk to express suspicion over Trump's attempts to sweep the problem under the rug. A slew of House Republicans are also furious. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is leading an effort with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California to force a vote on legislation requiring the files' full release. At least 10 other House Republicans have endorsed the move, including longtime MAGA members Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Others include South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, Texas Rep. Keith Self, Ohio Rep. Max Miller, Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett, Florida Rep. Cory Mills, Arizona Rep. Elijah Crane, Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison, New Jersey Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, and Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett. That equates to enough Republicans to pass the bill out of the House if every Democrat supports it. Trump's reticence over the issue has backfired. The cagier he's grown, the more that Republicans demand answers. Last week the president turned to lashing out at the 'weaklings' who believed the Epstein 'bulls---' in the clearest sign yet of a divide emerging within the president's coalition. 'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls---,' hook, line, and sinker,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.' But after facing increased pressure from his fanbase Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release in court of any and all 'pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,' in the Epstein investigation. Epstein was convicted of one count of soliciting an underage prostitute in a 2008 sweetheart plea deal. But he was arrested in July 2019 on new sex trafficking charges. He was found dead by hanging in his cell in Manhattan's Metropolitan Detention Center five weeks later. His partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction. Trump's connection to Epstein spanned decades. In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine: 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.'
