(Iowa Capital Dispatch) The governor’s “Make America Healthy Again” bill passed the Iowa House Tuesday, with several other bills related to K-12 student health requirements tagging along as amendments.
House File 2676 is Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal incorporating multiple different health-related proposals. The bill would require the state to “continuously request” waivers to the federal government implementing the state’s restrictions on purchasing unhealthy foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as through the federal Summer EBT program. The current waivers have been approved by the Trump administration.
The bill also would allow the over-the-counter distribution of ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasitic infections that some sources claimed could be used to prevent or treat symptoms COVID-19. It would eliminate certain food dyes and additives from school meal programs and vending machines.
The bill would also require Iowa medical school students to complete at least 40 hours of coursework on nutrition and metabolic health prior to graduation, and take a nutrition and metabolic health course every four years to remain certified as a physician after receiving their license.
Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, a physician, said many of the provisions in the bill will actively contribute to worse health outcomes for Iowans.
“I’m sorry to see that this legislation missed its mark at any meaningful policy that is going to make Iowans healthy, that’s going to make children healthy,” Baeth said. “… This was not crafted with science. This was crafted with politics.”
Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, floor manager for the bill, said it has long been “taboo” in politics to talk about the reasons behind Iowa’s high obesity rates, cancer rates and mental health problems. But he said the bill addresses these problems, as they are linked with poor diets and a lack of exercise — and that Iowans “who rely on SNAP face higher risk of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases due to inadequate nutrition.”
“I don’t say this to shame anybody, I raise it because it demands action,” Harris said. “Opponents claim we lack compassion for those in need. Let’s be clear that there is nothing compassionate about encouraging unhealthy eating. There is nothing compassionate about exposing our children to dyes and chemicals that are harmful to them, and there is nothing compassionate about pushing processed foods over meats, vegetables and fruits. We can’t force people to eat to have healthy lives and to eat well, but we can ensure taxpayer-funded programs promote it.”
Rep. Rob Johnson, D-Des Moines, spoke in opposition to the bill on religious grounds, saying the provisions limiting SNAP benefits are not “righteous.”
“As we consider this bill, I urge us to lead with both wisdom and compassion, remembering that behind every policy is a person made in the image of God, and to remember the words of Jesus,” Johnson said. “When people are hungry in our state, we have the ability to help when people were hungry. May it never be said that this chamber looked away. So I urge you do not vote for this bill, because God wouldn’t have voted for it either.”
Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, objected to Johnson’s comments, saying that what God would do about a piece of legislation is “a very dangerous place to go, and we should not be saying it.”
Proposal seeks to waive federal school lunch nutrition rules
There were several other provisions added successfully to the bill, largely dealing with K-12 schools. Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, introduced amendments requiring the use of the Presidential Fitness Test in schools, and for K-5 students to have two hours of physical activity a week. It also would require high school students to be involved in at least one cocurricular or extracurricular activity, such as sports, student government, theater, debate, scouting programs or youth groups.
Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said while she agrees participation in activities often benefits students, many children — and many schools — would not be able to meet the provisions of this requirement.
“It does not … consider the fact that there are kids who can’t afford to participate in these activities, who can’t take the time to participate in these activities, who don’t have the transportation to participate in these activities,” Konfrst said. “And then finally — as we’ve continued to underfund our schools — who don’t have these opportunities available to them in their schools anymore, because they’ve been cut at their schools.”
Rep. Derek Wulf, R-Hudson, introduced an amendment that he said is part of a “Make school lunch great again” bill passed by the House in 2025 directing the state Department of Education to apply for a waiver to the Federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to exempt sodium limits, whole grain requirements and fruit and vegetable variety stipulations. The education department would work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to adopt guidelines on food available in schools that both constitutes a “nutritionally adequate meal” while giving preference to “regional food sources, including beef, pork, dairy.”
Baeth said asking for an exclusion to sodium restrictions and whole grains requirements directly conflicts with the stated goals of the bill to improve Iowans’ health.
“If this is going to be a bill that is supposed to further the health of Iowans, we should not be experimenting on our children with our own homegrown, non-science-based menu,” Baeth said.
Limiting screen time, allowing ivermectin without prescription
One amendment passed with bipartisan support — a measure limiting screen time to an hour per day in instruction for K-5 students. However, several amendments proposed by Democrats failed, including measures requiring schools to have drinking water with a nitrate concentration of less than 3 milligrams per liter, having private schools test for radon exposure and removing the bill’s language on ivermectin.
Baeth said the division authorizing pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription — and give those pharmacists immunity from criminal and civil punishments, as well as professional discipline — would lead to more Iowans causing harm to themselves after reading misinformation about the drug. While there are FDA-approved reasons to take ivermectin, Baeth said people commenting in support of this measure have incorrectly said the drug can cure cancer or treat COVID-19.
“We saw emails saying, ‘oh, it’s safer than Tylenol.’ It is not,” Baeth said. “It causes seizures, causes comas, causes liver failure, causes Steven Johnson Syndrome. I encourage you to Google that if you haven’t seen it before, you will see people with their skin peeling off of their body. Perhaps that is why there is a clause in this bill that gives immunity to pharmacists who are handing this out now like candy, because people want to experiment on themselves from something they read on the internet.”
The measure passed the House in a 65-30 vote, and moves to the Senate. The Senate has passed its companion bill, Senate File 2367, through the committee process, meaning the measure is eligible for debate on the Senate floor.
