S. 3146Senate118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 12:32 PM UTC

The Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to create a voluntary Food Loss and Waste Reduction Certification Program. It aims to cut food waste, boost donations of excess wholesome food to charities, and encourage alternative disposal methods like composting. The program applies to a wide range of food‑related entities, including farms, manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, schools, and government bodies.

Key Provisions

Defines “eligible participants” such as farms, food producers, retailers, restaurants, schools, and government agencies that can join the program.
The Secretary of Agriculture must establish a voluntary certification program and publish criteria within 18 months, requiring participants to document food donations or disposal over a 12‑month period.
Third‑party certifiers, accredited by recognized accreditation bodies (preferably higher‑education institutions), will review and certify eligible participants based on the published criteria.
Certified participants receive promotion through voluntary labeling and USDA website listings, highlighting their waste‑reduction efforts.
The program is coordinated with the FDA and EPA, and authorizes $3 million per fiscal year from 2024‑2028 to fund its implementation.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text: CR S5214-5215)

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee

October 26, 2023

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

October 26, 2023

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text: CR S5214-5215)

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee

October 26, 2023

Floor Debate

3 members

What members said about S. 3146 on the floor

1 Republican2 Democrats

Sen. Jack ReedD-RI · Oct 26, 2023

Madam President, I am reintroducing the Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act with Senators Blumenthal, Whitehouse, Merkley, Baldwin, Warren, Van Hollen, and Sanders. This…

Madam President, I am reintroducing the Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act with Senators Blumenthal, Whitehouse, Merkley, Baldwin, Warren, Van Hollen, and Sanders. This legislation would finally fully close a loophole that allows publicly traded corporations to deduct the cost of multimillion-dollar bonuses from their corporate tax bills. At a time when the gulf in pay between CEOs and average workers is 272 to 1, it is infuriating that U.S. taxpayers are being forced to subsidize lavish executive compensation packages, but that is what is happening.

Under section 162(m) of the Tax Code, publicly traded corporations cannot deduct more than $1 million in compensation paid to their top executives. But section 162(m) does not cover compensation paid to all public company employees, and corporations have long exploited this loophole to claim tax deductions for executive compensation packages that far exceed $1 million. Indeed, publicly traded corporations are offering these lucrative compensation deals to ever increasing numbers of executives--not just a few at the very top of the organization.

Both Republican and Democratic administrations have recognized the need to close loopholes in section 162(m). Indeed, both President Trump and President Biden signed laws based on earlier versions of my legislation in order to curtail the abuse of this deduction. This includes ensuring that performance-based compensation is actualjy counted as compensation under section 162(m) and increasing the number of highly paid executives who are subject to section 162(m). Partially tightening the law in these ways has saved taxpayers well over $9.2 billion. But the full loophole has still not been closed and taxpayers continue to subsidize billions of dollars in extravagant compensation.

The Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act would address the remaining gaps by applying section 162(m) restrictions to all employees of publicly traded corporations so that all compensation is subject to a deductibility cap of $1 million per employee.

To be clear, under my bill, publicly traded corporations would still be able to pay their executives as much as they desire, but individual compensation packages above and beyond $1 million would no longer be subsidized through our Tax Code. This is a matter of fairness. It ensures that corporations and shareholders--not hard-working taxpayers--are shouldering the cost of the multimillion-dollar compensation packages they provide to their top earners.

I thank Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, the AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, MIT Professor Simon Johnson, Take On Wall Street, and the Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project for their support. I urge our colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this legislation and pressing for its passage.

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · Oct 26, 2023

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. John ThuneR-SD · Oct 26, 2023

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · Oct 26, 2023

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued October 26, 2023

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3146

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 26, 2023

Mr. Durbin (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a voluntary program to reduce food loss and waste, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act.

Food loss and waste certification program

Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

210B.

Food loss and waste certification program

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Apparently wholesome food

The term apparently wholesome food has the meaning given the term in subsection (b) of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 U.S.C. 1791(b)).

(2)

Certified participant

The term certified participant means an eligible participant that has been certified under subsection (d).

(3)

Eligible participant

The term eligible participant means—

(A)

a contractor that has entered into a contract with an executive agency, the Senate, or the House of Representatives for the provision, service, or sale of food in the United States;

(B)

a State, local, municipal, or Tribal government;

(C)

a corporation, partnership, organization, or association;

(D)

a farm or a food producer, manufacturer, processor, holder, or packer;

(E)

a retail grocer;

(F)

a restaurant or similar food service establishment;

(G)

an institution of higher education or a consortium of those institutions; or

(H)

a primary or secondary school or a consortium of those institutions.

(4)

Excess

The term excess, with respect to food, means that the food would otherwise be discarded.

(5)

Food

The term food means food (as defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) that is intended for human consumption.

(6)

Program

The term program means the Food Loss and Waste Reduction Certification Program established under subsection (b).

(7)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

(b)

Establishment

The Secretary shall establish a voluntary program, to be known as the Food Loss and Waste Reduction Certification Program—

(1)

to certify eligible participants in accordance with subsection (d); and

(2)

to promote certified participants in accordance with subsection (e).

(c)

Purposes

The purposes of the program are—

(1)

to reduce food loss and waste;

(2)

to increase donations of excess, apparently wholesome food to nonprofit organizations that provide food assistance to individuals in need; and

(3)

to increase the use of alternative disposal methods for food, such as redirection to animal feed, anaerobic digestion, and composting.

(d)

Certification

(1)

Criteria

(A)

In general

(i)

Establishment and publication

Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act, the Secretary shall establish and publish in the Federal Register criteria for the certification of an eligible participant under the program.

(ii)

Inclusions

Criteria described in clause (i) shall include the submission to a third-party certifier accredited under paragraph (3) of documentation from 12 consecutive months on the quantity of food that the eligible participant—

(I)

has donated to nonprofit organizations that provide food assistance for individuals in need; or

(II)

has sent to be disposed of.

(B)

Stakeholder input

The Secretary shall solicit comments from interested parties prior to the establishment or revision of the criteria described in subparagraph (A).

(C)

Revisions

(i)

In general

The Secretary shall revise the criteria described in subparagraph (A) on a periodic basis.

(ii)

Publication

The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register criteria revised under clause (i) not later than 270 days before the effective date of the revised criteria, including an explanation of the revisions.

(2)

Accreditation bodies

(A)

In general

Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act, the Secretary shall establish a process to recognize accreditation bodies to accredit third-party certifiers under paragraph (3)(A).

(B)

Standards

The Secretary shall recognize an accreditation body under subparagraph (A) if the accreditation body meets such standards as the Secretary shall establish.

(3)

Third-party certifiers

(A)

In general

Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act, the Secretary shall establish a process for accreditation bodies recognized under paragraph (2) to accredit third-party certifiers to review and certify eligible participants under the program.

(B)

Standards

An accreditation body recognized under paragraph (2) shall accredit a third-party certifier under subparagraph (A) if the third-party certifier meets such standards as the Secretary shall establish.

(C)

Preference

In accrediting third-party certifiers under subparagraph (A), an accreditation body recognized under paragraph (2) shall give preference to institutions of higher education that have expertise in food loss and waste reduction.

(D)

Certification

A third-party certifier accredited under subparagraph (A) shall review and certify an eligible participant under the program if the eligible participant meets the criteria established under paragraph (1).

(4)

Publication

The Secretary shall maintain on a publicly available website of the Department of Agriculture—

(A)

a list of accreditation bodies recognized under paragraph (2); and

(B)

a list of third-party certifiers accredited under paragraph (3).

(e)

Promotion

(1)

In general

The Secretary shall promote a certified participant under the program, including through—

(A)

voluntary labeling established under paragraph (2); and

(B)

such other communications as the Secretary determines to be appropriate relating to the products, buildings, practices, and policies of the certified participant, such as—

(i)

publication on the website of the Department of Agriculture of information relating to the certified participant; and

(ii)

holding events to promote the certified participant or otherwise relating to the program.

(2)

Voluntary labeling

The Secretary shall establish 1 or more voluntary labels that indicate that a certified participant is certified under the program.

(f)

Interagency coordination

The Secretary shall carry out this section in coordination with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in accordance with the memorandum of understanding revised under section 3 of the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act.

(g)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, including for the hiring of additional personnel, $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until expended.

Memorandum of understanding

The Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall revise, in accordance with section 210B of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (as added by section 2), the agreement signed on December 17, 2020, relating to cooperation and coordination on food loss and waste.