II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4353 

To provide emergency assistance for independent poultry growers, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2020 

Ms. SMITH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To provide emergency assistance for independent poultry 

growers, 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. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR INDEPENDENT 

4 POULTRY GROWERS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe7 riod’’ means the period beginning on March 1, 2020, 

8 and ending on the date on which the public health 

9 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 


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1 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 

2 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19, is lifted. 

3 (2) INDEPENDENT POULTRY GROWER.—The 

4 term ‘‘independent poultry grower’’ means a poultry 

5 grower (as defined in section 2(a) of the Packers 

6 and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182)) that as7 sumes the production and market risks associated 

8 with the agricultural production of poultry. 

9 (3) LIVE POULTRY DEALER.—The term ‘‘live 

10 poultry dealer’’ has the meaning given the term in 

11 section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

12 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182). 

13 (4) POULTRY.—The term ‘‘poultry’’ has the 

14 meaning given the term in section 2(a) of the Pack15 ers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182). 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

18 (b) CALCULATION OF LOSS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

20 assistance under this section to an independent poul21 try grower that has experienced a loss of not less 

22 than 5 percent in compensation for the production 

23 of poultry due to a reduction in the number of head 

24 of poultry purchased by a live poultry dealer from 

25 the independent poultry grower, including expenses 


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1 incurred from the cancellation or amendment of a 

2 poultry order or a live turkey marketing agreement, 

3 during the covered period, as compared to the his4 torical average compensation for the production of 

5 poultry received by the independent poultry grower 

6 for— 

7 (A) the previous 3 years; or 

8 (B) such shorter period, as determined by 

9 the Secretary, in the case of an independent 

10 poultry grower that has been engaged in the 

11 production of poultry for less than 3 years. 

12 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—In determining the 

13 amount of a loss under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

14 may— 

15 (A) deduct any variable costs avoided by 

16 an independent poultry grower as a result of a 

17 reduction in the production of poultry; and 

18 (B) adjust the historical average com19 pensation described in that paragraph to ac20 count for instances of disease or other force 

21 majeure events. 

22 (3) DOCUMENTATION.—The Secretary may re23 quire an independent poultry grower to submit to 

24 the Secretary such documentation as is necessary to 

25 demonstrate, for the purpose of providing assistance 


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1 under this section, ownership of poultry, historical 

2 production levels, and evidence of the cancellation or 

3 amendment of a poultry order or a live turkey mar4 keting agreement. 

5 (4) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall use ex6 isting Federal Government formulas, such as dis7 ease-loss values, to determine an appropriate basis 

8 for assistance under this section. 

9 (c) PAYMENT RATE.—The total amount of payments 

10 received by an independent poultry grower under this sec11 tion shall be not less than 85 percent, and may not exceed 

12 100 percent, of the losses of that independent poultry 

13 grower described in subsection (b)(1). 

14 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 45 days after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

16 regulations to carry out this section. 

17 (e) FUNDING.—There are appropriated, out of any 

18 amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such 

19 sums as are necessary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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