Department of Health and Human Services: FY2018 Budget Request (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Sept. 14, 2017 |
| Report Number |
R44360 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
James D. Werner, Coordinator Section Research Manager |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is a policy document that provides federally developed, nutrition-based recommendations for Americans two years of age and older. The guidelines are statutorily mandated under the 1990 National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act (P.L. 101-445), which requires the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) to jointly publish the DGA policy document at least once every five years.
The DGA forms the basis for all federal nutrition policies, including the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The guidelines also
influence food and nutrition labeling;
guide local, state, and national health promotion and disease prevention initiatives; and
inform various organizations and industries (e.g., products developed and marketed by the food and beverage industry).
To facilitate publication of the DGA policy document, a conference report from the House Committee on Appropriations directed HHS and USDA to establish a Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) on a periodic basis. The DGAC is an independent group of experts from outside the federal sector, generally in the fields of nutrition and medicine, whose work is solely advisory and time-limited. The DGAC is tasked with reviewing the scientific data relevant to nutritional guidance and making recommendations to the Secretaries of HHS and USDA regarding changes to the DGA policy document.
The 571-page Scientific Report of the 2015 DGAC (2015 DGAC's report) was made public on February 19, 2015, and was used by the departments, along with public comments and input from other federal agencies, to inform the drafting of the 2015-2020 DGA policy document.
Because the DGA influences nutrition policy, the guidelines are of interest to public health, nutrition, agriculture, and food industry stakeholders. Following the release of the 2015 DGAC's report, HHS and USDA received 29,000 written comments during the 75-day comment period, as well as 73 oral comments at a March 2015 public meeting. Stakeholders flagged several concerns with the report, particularly with the scope of the DGAC's recommendations and the process by which the DGAC made its conclusions and recommendations, along with concerns regarding several specific recommendations.
In response to concerns surrounding the scope of the 2015 DGAC's report and the process used to develop the 2015-2020 DGA, several DGA-related policy riders were included in the FY2016 omnibus appropriations law (P.L. 114-113), prior to the release of the 2015-2020 DGA. As mandated by Congress, the National Academies of Medicine (NAM) are, for the first time, required to review the DGA and its development process due to concerns with the "quality of scientific evidence and extraneous factors" that were included in the 2015 DGAC's report.
HHS and USDA issued the 2015-2020 DGA on January 7, 2016. This most recent DGA provides five overarching guidelines for the general population, accompanied by several "Key Recommendations" that provide further guidance on how individuals can follow the five guidelines.
