PSI Sci
New here? Follow the money and the votes · Not sure of your district? Find your U.S. House member · Find your state legislators

H.R. 6000: MEAD Act

Before you vote › Federal bills

H.R. 6000: MEAD Act

114th Congress · introduced 2016-09-13 · Taxation · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2016-09-13 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Sanford, Mark [R-SC-1] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

MEAD Act

Plain summary

Mead Equality And Definition Act of 2016 or the MEAD Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify rules regarding the taxation of mead (honey wine) and other agricultural wines. The bill repeals the limitations on adding wine spirits to an agricultural wine or using any coloring material, herbs, or other flavoring material (except hops in the case of honey wine) in the production. The Department of the Treasury must modify regulations for the production of agricultural wine to allow: (1) the use of spirits in the production of agricultural wine; and (2) additional ingredients to be added during the production of mead, including limited amounts of fruits, vegetables, spices, and other ingredients that are suitable for human food consumption and safe for use in an alcoholic beverage. In modifying the regulations, Treasury must also: eliminate limitations on the quantity of hops used in mead; specify certain requirements for the density of the honey and water mixture when additional ingredients are added to mead; limit the alcohol content of mead to 24% by volume; and allow an agricultural wine to be produced for research and development without an approved formula, as long as the wine is not marketed or sold prior to approval of the formula. The bill also: (1) specifies a tax rate of 22.6 cents per gallon for mead containing not more than 0.64 grams of carbon dioxide per hundred milliliters of mead, and (2) allows a credit against such tax on meads for small domestic producers.

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

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

MEAD Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

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.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Sanford, Mark [R-SC-1] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Paul Tonko (D-NY)

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.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong114-hr6000 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114