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For Immediate Release
Contact: massie.press@mail.house.gov
Contact #: 202-225-3465

Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) announces the introduction of H.R. 8374, the Interstate Milk Freedom Act. This bill prohibits federal interference with the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products that are packaged for direct human consumption.

"Executive branch agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), do not and should not have the power to shut down trade between peaceful farmers and willing consumers," said Rep. Massie. "It is Congress's job to legislate. The Interstate Milk Freedom Act would make it easier for families to buy the milk of their choice by reversing the criminalization of specific dairy farmers."

If two states have legalized the sale of unpasteurized milk, the Interstate Milk Freedom Act prevents federal departments, agencies, or courts from taking any action to prohibit or restrict the traffic of milk between those two states. Although Congress has never passed a ban on raw milk, the FDA issued a regulation banning the interstate sale of raw milk in capitulation to a lawsuit decided in 1986. 

This legislation was introduced as an amendment to the 2018 Farm Bill. It was also introduced as a standalone bill in 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2021. 

Original cosponsors of H.R. 8374 include Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), and Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA).
 
Massie owns 50 head of cattle on his off-the-grid farm in northeast Kentucky. 

The text of the Interstate Milk Freedom Act is available at this link. 

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