President Donald Trump won back the White House on a clear and resonant promise to bring prices down and restore affordability for American families after years of Bidenflation. In his State of the Union address, he said, “We are doing really well… prices are plummeting downward.” His focus on affordability resonates with the millions of Americans who are feeling the squeeze in their daily lives.
Voters handed Republicans governing control because they wanted relief at the kitchen table. Keeping that trifecta, and the coalition that delivered it, depends on proving that promise wasn’t just campaign rhetoric. It requires action.
But even as the administration works to bring costs down, a looming unintended consequence caused by a state patchwork of ingredient laws threatens to upend that progress and send grocery prices sharply in the opposite direction.
INFLATION HELD AT 2.4% IN FEBRUARY AS AFFORDABILITY WOES PERSIST
A recent economic study warns that a rapidly forming state-by-state patchwork of ingredient regulations could raise grocery prices nationwide by 12% if Congress fails to implement a federal uniform framework. That’s hundreds of dollars more per household per year, and money hardworking families simply don’t have to spare.
If Republicans want to protect their governing majority and help Trump make life affordable for Americans, they cannot allow grocery bills to spike on their watch.
The problem is straightforward. Instead of one clear national standard for ingredient safety and transparency, states are hurtling toward 50 different sets of rules. Small businesses, grocery stores, and farmers alike would face enormous burdens trying to navigate conflicting state requirements that turn into added costs for consumers at the checkout counter.
The data don’t lie: Without federal action, grocery bills are about to get a lot higher.
At a moment when affordability is felt at the checkout counter, dominates kitchen-table conversations, and is the top issue for voters, Congress has an opportunity not just to prevent higher prices, but to deliver a solution voters overwhelmingly support and score political points ahead of the midterm elections while they’re at it.
New polling out of competitive congressional battleground districts shows a clear political winner for Republicans hoping to keep their majority this fall. Seventy-five percent of battleground voters say they’re more likely to support a candidate who champions a federal ingredient safety and transparency standard. And two-thirds of voters would be more likely to support a candidate who supports a federal ingredient safety and transparency standard that prevents the 12% price hike on groceries that could be caused by a state patchwork. This is exactly the kind of issue that wins elections because it directly affects family budgets.
Fortunately, the administration recognizes the urgency. In December, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signaled that a national food standard is “on the table for discussion.” In an interview with Bloomberg, Kennedy expressed openness to a national standard “that is working for the states and working for the federal government, and that works for industry.”
Kennedy also acknowledged the impracticality of a fragmented approach, noting that manufacturers “don’t want to have rules in 50 different markets; that’s impossible.” And in a recent interview with Joe Rogan, the secretary also stressed the need to reform Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) food additives and take action to bolster front-of-package labeling.
At Americans for Ingredient Transparency, we could not agree more. Lawmakers should pass a uniform national ingredient and transparency standard inclusive of three key provisions: GRAS reform to ensure rigorous FDA review of new ingredients; front-of-package labeling to bring key nutrition facts to the front of the packaging for easier identification; and new digital disclosure requirements, like QR codes, for consumers seeking more ingredient information beyond what can fit on the label. The legislation we are proposing will not only head off a cost crunch for consumers, but also codify the very initiatives Kennedy is pushing for so that these reforms cannot be undone by future shifts in power on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Support for this approach isn’t just strong, it’s overwhelming. Trump’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio, found 87% of registered voters across the 28 most competitive House districts in the country believe ingredient regulation and labeling should be handled nationally rather than on a state-by-state basis.
Trump knows how to bring prices down for Americans. Kennedy understands the stakes. Now Congress must act.
Americans want ingredient transparency, and they want it done in a way that doesn’t drive up grocery prices and works for their family. They want one clear national standard that ends the 50 competing mandates that drive prices up.
Trump has made affordability a defining priority of his administration. Members of Congress in both parties should reinforce that mission by acting now to pass national ingredient transparency standards before a costly state patchwork takes hold.
American families deserve to know what’s in their food, and they deserve to be able to afford it. With the one national uniform framework passed by Congress, they can have both.
Andy Koenig serves as Senior Advisor for Americans for Ingredient Transparency and is a former special assistant to President Donald Trump.
