Washington, DC — Today, Representative Lucy McBath (D – GA) and the House Education and Labor Committee voted to pass H.R. 8450, the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act out of committee. Two pieces of McBath’s legislation, H.R. 7603 the WIC Healthy Beginning Act, and H.R. 5684 The Bark Act, were included in the overall bill. The WIC Healthy Beginnings Act would encourage competition, reduce costs, and improve quality of infant formula by creating a publicly available online database, a critical piece of legislation in the face of national shortages.

“No child, regardless of the zip code they live in or the state they are born into, should have to face the pain that comes with going hungry,” McBath said. “Ending childhood hunger in the United States is something every American can get behind.”

The bill that passed committee today also included another piece of McBath’s legislation. H.R. 5684 or The Bark Act, sponsored by Rep. Jaime Raskin (D – MD), encourages charitable donations of pet food and supplies to animal shelters across America by waiving donor liability, which has been a longstanding deterrent for retailers to their donating of massive amounts of pet food to shelters.

“Shelter pets should not go hungry, especially when large food retailers nationwide are throwing away surplus food,” said McBath. “This bill will help protect our furry friends, and nurture shelter animals as they await adoption into their forever homes.

The Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act passed committee with a vote of 27-20.