I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 945 

To amend the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act to support small and very small meat and poultry processing 

establishments, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

Ms. PINGREE (for herself, Mr. BAIRD, and Ms. KUSTER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act to support small and very small 

meat and poultry processing establishments, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Local 

5 Processing Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. HACCP GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES FOR SMALLER 

2 AND VERY SMALL POULTRY AND MEAT ES3 TABLISHMENTS. 

4 (a) POULTRY ESTABLISHMENTS.—The Poultry Prod5 ucts Inspection Act is amended by inserting after section 

6 14 (21 U.S.C. 463) the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 14A. SMALLER AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT 

8 GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS OF SMALLER ESTABLISHMENT

10 AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT.—In this section, the 

11 terms ‘smaller establishment’ and ‘very small establish12 ment’ have the meanings given those terms in the final 

13 rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and 

14 Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 

15 38806 (July 25, 1996)). 

16 ‘‘(b) DATABASE OF STUDIES; MODEL PLANS.—Not 

17 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

18 section, the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) establish a free, searchable database of ap20 proved peer-reviewed validation studies accessible to 

21 smaller establishments and very small establish22 ments subject to inspection under this Act for use 

23 in developing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control 

24 Points plan; and 

25 ‘‘(2) publish online scale-appropriate model 

26 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans 


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1 for smaller establishments and very small establish2 ments, including model plans for— 

3 ‘‘(A) slaughter-only establishments; 

4 ‘‘(B) processing-only establishments; and 

5 ‘‘(C) slaughter and processing establish6 ments. 

7 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 2 years after the 

8 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pub9 lish a guidance document, after notice and an opportunity 

10 for public comment, providing information on the require11 ments that need to be met for smaller establishments and 

12 very small establishments to receive approval for a Hazard 

13 Analysis and Critical Control Points plan pursuant to this 

14 Act. 

15 ‘‘(d) DATA CONFIDENTIALITY.—In carrying out sub16 sections (b) and (c), the Secretary shall not publish con17 fidential business information, including a Hazard Anal18 ysis and Critical Control Points plan of an establish19 ment.’’. 

20 (b) MEAT ESTABLISHMENTS.—The Federal Meat In21 spection Act is amended by inserting after section 25 (21 

22 U.S.C. 625) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 26. SMALLER AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT 

2 GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS OF SMALLER ESTABLISHMENT

4 AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT.—In this section, the 

5 terms ‘smaller establishment’ and ‘very small establish6 ment’ have the meanings given those terms in the final 

7 rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and 

8 Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 

9 38806 (July 25, 1996)). 

10 ‘‘(b) DATABASE OF STUDIES; MODEL PLANS.—Not 

11 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

12 section, the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) establish a free, searchable database of ap14 proved peer-reviewed validation studies accessible to 

15 smaller establishments and very small establish16 ments subject to inspection under this Act for use 

17 in developing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control 

18 Points plan; and 

19 ‘‘(2) publish online scale-appropriate model 

20 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans 

21 for smaller establishments and very small establish22 ments, including model plans for— 

23 ‘‘(A) slaughter-only establishments; 

24 ‘‘(B) processing-only establishments; and 

25 ‘‘(C) slaughter and processing establish26 ments. 


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1 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 2 years after the 

2 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pub3 lish a guidance document, after notice and an opportunity 

4 for public comment, providing information on the require5 ments that need to be met for smaller establishments and 

6 very small establishments to receive approval for a Hazard 

7 Analysis and Critical Control Points plan pursuant to this 

8 Act. 

9 ‘‘(d) DATA CONFIDENTIALITY.—In carrying out sub10 sections (b) and (c), the Secretary shall not publish con11 fidential business information, including a Hazard Anal12 ysis and Critical Control Points plan of an establish13 ment.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. INCREASING MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE FOR EX15 PENSES OF STATE INSPECTION. 

16 (a) POULTRY PRODUCTS.—Section 5(a)(3) of the 

17 Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 454(a)(3)) is 

18 amended in the second sentence by striking ‘‘50 per cen19 tum’’ and inserting ‘‘65 percent’’. 

20 (b) MEAT AND MEAT FOOD PRODUCTS.—Section 

21 301(a)(3) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

22 661(a)(3)) is amended in the second sentence by striking 

23 ‘‘50 per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘65 percent’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. COOPERATIVE INTERSTATE SHIPMENT OF POUL2 TRY AND MEAT. 

3 (a) POULTRY PRODUCTS.—Section 31 of the Poultry 

4 Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 472) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 em7 ployees’’ each place it appears and inserting 

8 ‘‘50 employees’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

10 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik11 ing ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

13 ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; and 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (I) in clause (i), by striking 

16 ‘‘more than 25 employees but less 

17 than 35 employees’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘more than 50 employees but less 

19 than 70 employees’’; and 

20 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

21 ‘‘subsection (i)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub22 section (j)’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘60 percent’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘80 percent’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘subsection 

26 (i)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (j)’’; 


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1 (4) by redesignating subsections (f) through (i) 

2 as subsections (g) through (j), respectively; and 

3 (5) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL OUTREACH.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In each of fiscal years 

7 2023 through 2028, for the purpose of State partici8 pation in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment pro9 gram, the Secretary shall conduct outreach to, and, 

10 as appropriate, subsequent negotiation with, not 

11 fewer than 25 percent of the States that— 

12 ‘‘(A) have a State poultry product inspec13 tion program pursuant to section 5; but 

14 ‘‘(B) do not have a selected establishment. 

15 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—At the conclusion of each of fis16 cal years 2023 through 2028, the Secretary shall 

17 submit a report detailing the activities and results of 

18 the outreach conducted during that fiscal year under 

19 paragraph (1) to— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

21 House of Representatives; 

22 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri23 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

24 ‘‘(C) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, 

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1 tration, and Related Agencies of the Committee 

2 on Appropriations of the House of Representa3 tives; and 

4 ‘‘(D) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, 

5 Rural Development, Food and Drug Adminis6 tration, and Related Agencies of the Committee 

7 on Appropriations of the Senate.’’. 

8 (b) MEAT AND MEAT FOOD PRODUCTS.—Section 

9 501 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 em13 ployees’’ each place it appears and inserting 

14 ‘‘50 employees’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

16 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik17 ing ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

19 ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; and 

20 (iii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik21 ing ‘‘more than 25 employees but less than 

22 35 employees’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 

23 50 employees but less than 70 employees’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘60 percent’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘80 percent’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL OUTREACH.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In each of fiscal years 

5 2023 through 2028, for the purpose of State 

6 participation in the Cooperative Interstate Ship7 ment program, the Secretary shall conduct out8 reach to, and, as appropriate, subsequent nego9 tiation with, not fewer than 25 percent of the 

10 States that— 

11 ‘‘(i) have a State meat inspection pro12 gram pursuant to section 301; but 

13 ‘‘(ii) do not have a selected establish14 ment. 

15 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—At the conclusion of each 

16 of fiscal years 2023 through 2028, the Sec17 retary shall submit a report detailing the activi18 ties and results of the outreach conducted dur19 ing that fiscal year under paragraph (1) to— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture of 

21 the House of Representatives; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Agriculture, 

23 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the Subcommittee on Agri25 culture, Rural Development, Food and 


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1 Drug Administration, and Related Agen2 cies of the Committee on Appropriations of 

3 the House of Representatives; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) the Subcommittee on Agri5 culture, Rural Development, Food and 

6 Drug Administration, and Related Agen7 cies of the Committee on Appropriations of 

8 the Senate.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. PROCESSING RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 

11 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 210B. PROCESSING RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) BUSINESS ENTERPRISE OWNED AND CON16 TROLLED BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DIS17 ADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘business en18 terprise owned and controlled by socially and eco19 nomically disadvantaged individuals’ has the mean20 ing given the term in section 3002 of the State 

21 Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 (12 

22 U.S.C. 5701). 

23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en24 tity’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a smaller establishment or very small 

2 establishment (as those terms are defined in the 

3 final rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard 

4 Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) 

5 Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 33806 (July 25, 

6 1996))); 

7 ‘‘(B) a slaughtering or processing estab8 lishment subject to— 

9 ‘‘(i) a State meat inspection program 

10 pursuant to section 301 of the Federal 

11 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 661); or 

12 ‘‘(ii) a State poultry product inspec13 tion program pursuant to section 5 of the 

14 Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 

15 U.S.C. 454); 

16 ‘‘(C) a person engaging in custom oper17 ations that is exempt from inspection under— 

18 ‘‘(i) section 23 of the Federal Meat 

19 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 623); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) section 15 of the Poultry Prod21 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 464); and 

22 ‘‘(D) a person seeking— 

23 ‘‘(i) to establish and operate an estab24 lishment described in subparagraph (A) or 

25 (B); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to engage in custom operations 

2 described in subparagraph (C). 

3 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

4 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ad5 ministrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. 

6 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec9 retary shall award competitive grants to eligible enti10 ties for activities to increase resiliency and diver11 sification of the meat processing system, including 

12 activities that— 

13 ‘‘(A) support the health and safety of meat 

14 and poultry plant employees, suppliers, and cus15 tomers; 

16 ‘‘(B) support increased processing capac17 ity; and 

18 ‘‘(C) otherwise support the resilience of the 

19 small meat and poultry processing sector. 

20 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum 

21 amount of a grant awarded under this section shall 

22 not exceed $500,000. 

23 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—The term of a grant awarded 

24 under this section shall not exceed 3 years. 

25 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

2 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec3 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information as the Secretary 

5 may require. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR SMALL GRANTS.—The 

7 Secretary shall establish a separate, simplified appli8 cation process for eligible entities applying for a 

9 grant under this section of not more than $100,000. 

10 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall en11 sure that any application for a grant under this sec12 tion is— 

13 ‘‘(A) simple and practicable; 

14 ‘‘(B) accessible online; and 

15 ‘‘(C) available through local staff of the 

16 Department of Agriculture. 

17 ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—Not later than 14 days before 

18 the date on which the Secretary begins to accept ap19 plications under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

20 publish a notice of funding opportunity with respect 

21 to the grants available under this section. 

22 ‘‘(5) REAPPLICATION.—If an application of an 

23 eligible entity under this subsection is denied by the 

24 Secretary, the eligible entity may submit a revised 

25 application. 


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1 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY.—In reviewing applications sub2 mitted under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

3 give priority to proposals that will— 

4 ‘‘(A) increase farmer and rancher access to 

5 animal slaughter options within a 200-mile ra6 dius of the location of the farmer or rancher; 

7 ‘‘(B) support an eligible entity described in 

8 subsection (a)(2)(A); or 

9 ‘‘(C) support an eligible entity that is a 

10 business enterprise owned and controlled by so11 cially and economically disadvantaged individ12 uals. 

13 ‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT.—An eligible entity that receives 

14 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 

15 carry out activities in support of the purposes described 

16 in subsection (b)(1), including through— 

17 ‘‘(1) the development and issuance of a Hazard 

18 Analysis and Critical Control Points plan for the eli19 gible entity, which may be developed by a consultant; 

20 ‘‘(2) the purchase or establishment, as applica21 ble, of facilities, equipment, processes, and oper22 ations necessary for the eligible entity to comply 

23 with applicable requirements under the Federal 

24 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the 


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1 Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et 

2 seq.); 

3 ‘‘(3) the purchase of cold storage, equipment, or 

4 transportation services; 

5 ‘‘(4) the purchase of temperature screening 

6 supplies, testing for communicable diseases, dis7 infectant, sanitation systems, hand washing stations, 

8 and other sanitizing supplies; 

9 ‘‘(5) the purchase and decontamination of per10 sonal protective equipment; 

11 ‘‘(6) the construction or purchase of humane 

12 handling infrastructure, including holding space for 

13 livestock prior to slaughter, shade structures, and 

14 knock box structures; 

15 ‘‘(7)(A) the purchase of software and computer 

16 equipment for record keeping, production data, Haz17 ard Analysis and Critical Control Points record re18 view, and facilitation of marketing and sales of prod19 ucts in a manner consistent with the social 

20 distancing guidelines of the Centers for Disease Con21 trol and Prevention; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the provision of guidelines and training re23 lating to that software and computer equipment; 


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1 ‘‘(8) the provision of staff time and training for 

2 implementing and monitoring health and safety pro3 cedures; 

4 ‘‘(9) the development of a feasibility study or 

5 business plan for, or the carrying out of any other 

6 activity associated with, establishing or expanding a 

7 small meat or poultry processing facility; 

8 ‘‘(10) the purchase of equipment that enables 

9 the further use or value-added sale of coproducts or 

10 byproducts, such as organs, hides, and other rel11 evant products; and 

12 ‘‘(11) other activities associated with expanding 

13 or establishing an eligible entity described in sub14 section (a)(2)(A), as determined by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH.—During the period beginning on 

16 the date on which the Secretary publishes the notice under 

17 subsection (c)(4) and ending on the date on which the Sec18 retary begins to accept applications under subsection 

19 (c)(1), the Secretary shall perform outreach to States and 

20 eligible entities relating to grants under this section. 

21 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

23 the Federal share of the activities carried out using 

24 a grant awarded under this section shall not ex25 ceed— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 90 percent in the case of a grant in 

2 the amount of $100,000 or less; or 

3 ‘‘(B) 75 percent in the case of a grant in 

4 an amount greater than $100,000. 

5 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEARS 2023 AND 2024.—An eligible 

6 entity awarded a grant under this section during fis7 cal year 2023 or 2024 shall not be required to pro8 vide non-Federal matching funds with respect to the 

9 grant. 

10 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.—The promulgation of regula11 tions under, and administration of, this section shall be 

12 made without regard to— 

13 ‘‘(1) the notice and comment provisions of sec14 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 

15 ‘‘(2) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

16 (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction 

17 Act’). 

18 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri20 culture to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of 

21 fiscal years 2023 through 2028.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. LOCAL MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING TRAINING 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

4 Education Reform Act of 1998 is amended by inserting 

5 before section 404 (7 U.S.C. 7624) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 403. LOCAL MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING TRAIN7 ING PROGRAMS. 

8 ‘‘(a) INSTITUTIONAL CAREER TRAINING PRO9 GRAMS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

11 competitive grants to junior or community colleges, 

12 technical or vocational schools, nonprofit organiza13 tions, worker training centers, and land-grant col14 leges and universities (as defined in section 1404 of 

15 the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

16 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)) to es17 tablish or expand career training programs relating 

18 to meat and poultry processing. 

19 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR SMALL GRANTS.—The 

20 Secretary shall establish a separate, simplified appli21 cation and reporting process for entities described in 

22 paragraph (1) applying for a grant under this sub23 section of not more than $100,000. 

24 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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1 retary to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for 

2 each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROCESSOR CAREER TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

5 grants to smaller establishments and very small es6 tablishments (as those terms are defined in the final 

7 rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis 

8 and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems’ (61 

9 Fed. Reg. 38806 (July 25, 1996))) and nongovern10 mental organizations to offset the cost of training 

11 new meat and poultry processors. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR SMALL GRANTS.—The 

13 Secretary shall establish a separate, simplified appli14 cation and reporting process for entities described in 

15 paragraph (1) applying for a grant under this sub16 section of not more than $100,000. 

17 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec19 retary to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for 

20 each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028.’’. 

Æ 


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