Do you have time for milk? An overwhelmed house is, in some ways.

With one day to go until Congress plans to adjourn for the year and members head home for the holidays, the House got to work Wednesday, using its precious remaining time to pass legislation to ban whole milk back to American school cafeterias. .

An emergency aid package to finance the wars in Ukraine and Israel remained in limbo, thwarted by a Republican filibuster in the Senate. Talks between the two sides on how to tackle the wave of migration at the US border with Mexico showed no signs of a breakthrough. And lawmakers faced a daunting time crunch to take action on a dozen federal spending measures when they return after New Year’s Day, at which point they have just eight business days to avoid a partial government shutdown.

But none of that was on the agenda Wednesday in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has reached new heights of dysfunction and paralysis this year. Instead, sandwiched between a vote to formally authorize a months-old impeachment inquiry into President Biden and a resolution condemning college presidents for their testimony on tackling anti-Semitism, the House advanced arguments for and against the merits of full-fat dairy children forward.

“I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan, bicameral and utterly fantastic bill,” said Representative Lloyd K. Smucker, Republican of Pennsylvania. “And let’s not overlook the facts here: whole milk is truly the cream of the crop when it comes to providing these important vitamins and nutrients to growing children.”

The measure, which would reverse a ban on high-fat milk in schools that has been in place for more than a decade, passed by a vote of 330-99.

Recent research largely supports the thrust of the bill. But the healthy-sounding measure also had a sharp political undertone, like most legislation these days.

In 2010, as Michelle Obama, then the first lady, advocated for policy changes to combat childhood obesity, nutrition rules for schools participating in the federally supported meal program were updated to include a ban on whole milk, amid health guidelines that children should to avoid. Republicans then denounced the changes and, under pressure from the milk lobby and dairy-producing states, waited for an opportunity to reverse them.

So on Wednesday in the House of Representatives, their enthusiasm for the nutritional value of whole milk could hardly be contained. Leading the charge was Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican and chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, who sparked the debate by arguing that denying milk to children was equivalent to ruining Christmas.

“The nutrients in whole milk, such as protein, calcium and vitamin D, provide the fuel Santa needs to travel around the world in one night,” Ms Foxx said. “Whole milk is the unsung hero of his Christmas journey.”

“If whole milk is a good option to fuel Santa’s extraordinary Christmas Eve journey, why isn’t it an option for American schoolchildren in their lunchrooms?” Ms. Foxx asked, posing the question to lawmakers who advocated keeping the ban in place.

Unamused by the puns and resolute in his opposition, Representative Robert C. Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the education panel, argued that whole milk was less healthy than the low-fat alternatives.

“Whole milk contains much more saturated fat, cholesterol and calories than fat-free and low-fat milk,” he said.

Other lawmakers determined to ban single-use red-cap bottles from schools argued that what Congress should really be doing was promoting non-dairy alternatives.

“Soy provides the equivalent of the nutritional values ​​of whole milk,” said Representative Troy Carter, Democrat of Louisiana.

Ms Foxx responded that there was no problem with dairy alternatives in schools – just don’t call it milk.

“We are not ruling out soy drinks,” Ms. Foxx said. “It’s not milk. It is a plant food. It’s not milk, so you can’t call it soy milk. You can call it soy drink.”

The debate inspired some lawmakers to reminisce about milk-drinking in their own families. Rep. Mary Miller, Republican of Illinois, said whole milk had done her children’s bodies good.

“I raised my seven children on whole milk, and they are all normal weight,” she said.

The debate provided a few moments of levity, including some groans and eye-rolls in response to lawmakers really milking their speaking time.

But the timing ahead of a four-week recess, given the long list of unfinished business Congress is about to leave behind, was too much for some lawmakers.

Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts, posted an image on social media of a milk carton with a photo of Speaker Mike Johnson with the caption “Missing in Action.”

“Instead of providing aid to our allies or funding the government, Congress voted today on whether or not to do that [checks notes] Deregulate milk?” Mr Moulton wrote, alongside emojis of cows and cowboys. “Yes, but can @SpeakerJohnson please let us vote on important issues too?”

He voted in favor.