554), also known as the Cheeseburger Bill, sought to protect producers and retailers of foods—such as McDonald's Corporation—from an increasing number of suits and class action suits by obese consumers.
The Act stated that food-producing or retailing corporations cannot be legally held responsible for obesity, heart disease, or other health-related issues caused by consumption of their food, save for situations where actual food quality or handling was held responsible for such issues.
The Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2005, but did not receive a Senate vote.
The bill was reintroduced in 2005 by Florida Republican Congressman Ric Keller.
Keller had taken the maximum level of PAC donations up to $300,000 for his personal campaign funding from restaurants including McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King.