S. 174: HeLP America Act

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S. 174: HeLP America Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-01-25 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S229-239)

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Official title

HeLP America Act

Plain summary

Healthy Lifestyles and Prevention America Act or the HeLP America Act - Establishes or expands programs regarding children's nutrition and physical activity in schools and with child care providers, including expanding the free fruit fruit program and promoting equal opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in schools and colleges. Sets forth provisions to expand healthy activities in the community, including permitting use of schools for recreational and nutritional purposes during nonschool hours, awarding grants for sports and athletic programs for individuals with disabilities, awarding grants to establish community gardens, requiring physical activity guidelines for the general public, and promoting breastfeeding among working mothers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase taxes on tobacco products, allow a wellness program credit for employers, exclude from an employee's income the fees paid by an employer to an athletic or fitness facility on the employee's behalf, and disallow a deduction for expenses relating to advertising or marketing of any tobacco product. Establishes a program to assist federal departments and agencies in integrating health goals into their activities. Establishes requirements for federal buildings, including requirements for: (1) application of menu labeling requirements to food establishments and nutritional standards for food provided in such buildings, (2) prompts encouraging individuals to use stairs, and (3) installation of bicycle storage areas. Sets forth provisions to reduce the sodium content of processed food and restaurant food, expand nutritional labeling requirements, establish a front-label food guidance system, and strengthen health literacy. Authorizes the FTC to regulate children’s advertising as an unfair act or practice in or affecting commerce. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to: (1) impose an industry-wide penalty on manufacturers of cigarettes for failure to achieve youth tobacco use reduction goals; and (2) make grants to eligible entities to analyze body mass index measurements of children Expands coverage of preventive services through Medicaid and the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. Establishes a training program for health professionals related to the prevention, identification, and treatment of overweight patients, obesity, and eating disorders.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s174.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s174 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112