Health and Fitness : ‘MAHA’ bill passes in the House, addressing K-12 requirements and Ivermectin

The Iowa House passed a bill that will waive school lunch nutritional rules and make Ivermectin an over the counter drug. 

The “Make America Health Again” bill passed on Tuesday, in the Iowa House along with other bills that are related to K-12 health requirements.

House File 2676 incorporates multiple health-related proposals. It would require the state to “continuously request” waivers to the federal government reflecting the states rules on purchasing healty foods through the SNAP and EBT summer program. The bill would also eliminate certain food dyes and additives from school lunches and vending machines.

The bill also allows Ivermectin to be sold over-the-counter. First discovered in the 1970s, the drug is a derivative of avermectin which was used to treat parasites. According to the NIH National Library of Medicine, Ivermectin is a Multifaceted Drug With a Potential Beyond Anti-parasitic Therapy.

Emerging studies have suggested that it may help to treat "inflammatory conditions, viral infections, and cancers. Ivermectin’s anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anticancer effects." Traditionally, it has been used to treat parasitic diseases, like scabies and malaria.

The study goes on to explain, "More recently, it has been discovered that ivermectin can be used as an anti-inflammatory to treat rosacea. It has also been suggested that ivermectin can inhibit the proliferation of tumorigenic cells that lead to the management of certain cancers."

The bill also requires medical school students in Iowa, to complete 40 hours of coursework on nutrition and metabolic health before graduation. They would also be required to take a nutrition and metabolic health course every four years to maintain certification as a licensed physician.

Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, said that “Opponents claim we lack compassion for those in need. Let’s be clear that there is nothing compassionate about encouraging unhealthy eating. There is nothing compassionate about exposing our children to dyes and chemicals that are harmful to them, and there is nothing compassionate about pushing processed foods over meats, vegetables and fruits. We can’t force people to eat to have healthy lives and to eat well, but we can ensure taxpayer-funded programs promote it.”

Rep. Rob Johnson, D-Des Moines, opposed the bill on religious grounds saying that limiting SNAP benefits is not “righteous," saying, "God wouldn’t have voted for it either.”

Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, introduced amendments that require the use of the Presidential Fitness Test in schools, and K-5 students have two hours of physical activity a week. The amendment would also require high school students to be involved in one cocurricular or extracurricular activity, like sports, student government, theater, debate, scouting programs or youth groups.

Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, disagreed saying that some kids can't afford to participate, or don't have the time or transportation to participate.

Rep. Derek Wulf, R-Hudson, added an amendment that is part of a “Make school lunch great again” bill passed by the House in 2025. It directs the state Department of Education to apply for waivers to the Federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to exempt sodium limits, whole grain requirements and fruit and vegetable variety stipulations and work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to adopt guidelines on food available in schools that would make a “nutritionally adequate meal” and give preference to “regional food sources, including beef, pork, dairy.”

An amendment that would limit screen time to one hour per day during instruction in K-5, had bipartisan support.

Amendments proposed by Democrats that didn't pass which included requiring schools to have drinking water with a nitrate concentration of less than 3 milligrams per liter, private schools which would require them to test for radon exposure and removing language on ivermectin.

The Housepassed the measure in a 65-30 vote, it will now move to the Senate. The Senate has already passed a companion bill, Senate File 2367, through committee and the measure is now eligible for debate on the Senate floor.