I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7521 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend increases in line speeds 

at meat and poultry establishments, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2020 

Ms. FUDGE (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, 

and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend increases 

in line speeds at meat and poultry 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 ‘‘Safe Line Speeds in 

5 COVID–19 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SUSPENDING AUTHORITY TO INCREASE LINE 

2 SPEEDS AT MEAT AND POULTRY ESTABLISH3 MENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act5 ing through the Administrator of the Food Safety and In6 spection Service, for the duration of the COVID–19 emer7 gency period, shall— 

8 (1) suspend any waivers related to line speeds 

9 in covered establishments and inspection staffing re10 quirements for covered establishments issued before 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not issue 

12 any new waivers to such establishments, including 

13 under sections 303.1(h) and 381.3(b) of title 9, 

14 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula15 tions); and 

16 (2) suspend implementation of, and conversion 

17 to, the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System as 

18 described in the final rule entitled ‘‘Modernization of 

19 Swine Slaughter Inspection’’ issued by the Depart20 ment of Agriculture in the Federal Register on Octo21 ber 1, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 52300 et seq.). 

22 (b) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY WITH RESPECT TO

23 LINE SPEEDS.—None of the funds made available to the 

24 Department of Agriculture during the COVID–19 emer25 gency period shall be used to develop, propose, finalize, 

26 issue, amend, or implement any policy, regulation, direcVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jul 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7521.IH H7521

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1 tive, constituent update, or any other agency program that 

2 would increase line speeds at covered establishments. 

3 (c) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—The provisions of this 

4 section are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other 

5 laws protecting worker safety and animal welfare. This 

6 section shall not be construed to preempt or limit any law 

7 or regulation of a State or a political subdivision of a State 

8 containing requirements that are more protective of work9 er safety or animal welfare than the requirements of this 

10 section, or which create penalties for conduct regulated by 

11 this section. 

12 (d) GAO REPORT.—Upon termination of the 

13 COVID–19 emergency period, the Comptroller General of 

14 the United States shall conduct a review of actions taken 

15 by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, 

16 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services in re17 sponse to the COVID–19 pandemic to determine the effec18 tiveness of such actions in protecting animal, food, and 

19 worker safety. Such review shall include an analysis of, 

20 with respect to covered establishments— 

21 (1) all policies and regulations relating to in22 spections of such establishments implemented by the 

23 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, 

24 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services re25 lating to COVID–19; 


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1 (2) the pandemic emergency preparedness plans 

2 of such establishments; 

3 (3) the extent to which such facilities have im4 plemented guidance and recommendations to space 

5 workers six feet apart on production lines, break 

6 rooms, locker rooms, and all other workspaces; 

7 (4) the quantity and usage of personal protec8 tive equipment by workers at such establishments; 

9 (5) any guidance provided to inspectors of such 

10 establishments by the Secretary of Agriculture, Sec11 retary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services during the COVID–19 emergency 

13 period; 

14 (6) actions taken by the Secretary of Agri15 culture, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of 

16 Health and Human Services to protect animals, 

17 food, and workers at covered establishments with re18 ported cases of COVID–19; 

19 (7) all humane handling reports issued, and en20 forcement actions taken, by the Department of Agri21 culture in accordance with the Humane Methods of 

22 Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) and the good 

23 commercial practices regulations under the Poultry 

24 Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) 

25 during the COVID–19 emergency period; 


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1 (8) the impact of faster line speeds on the abil2 ity of such establishments to maintain protections 

3 for employees; and 

4 (9) any interference by any other Federal agen5 cy with reviews of any such establishments experi6 encing outbreaks of COVID–19 conducted by per7 sonnel of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre8 vention. 

9 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Decem10 ber 31, 2020, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary 

11 of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv12 ices shall each submit to the Committee on Agriculture 

13 and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House 

14 of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Edu15 cation, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Agri16 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report 

17 on the actions taken by the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

18 Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services, respectively, in response to the COVID– 

20 19 pandemic to protect animal, food, and worker safety. 

21 Each such report shall include the respective Secretary’s 

22 analysis of, with respect to facilities operated by covered 

23 processors, the matters specified in each (as applicable) 

24 of paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (d). 

25 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) The term ‘‘covered establishment’’ means 

2 an official meat or poultry establishment that is sub3 ject to inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection 

4 Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the Poultry Products 

5 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.). 

6 (2) The term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency period’’ 

7 means— 

8 (A) the emergency period, as defined in 

9 section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)); and 

11 (B) the 90-day period that follows the end 

12 of such emergency period. 

Æ 


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