I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8431 

To support small and very small meat and poultry processing establishments, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Ms. PINGREE (for herself and Mr. FORTENBERRY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SCALE-APPROPRIATE HACCP GUIDANCE AND RE7 SOURCES. 

8 (a) SMALL AND VERY SMALL POULTRY ESTABLISH9 MENTS.—The Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 


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1 451 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 14 (21 

2 U.S.C. 463) the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SMALL AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT HACCP

4 GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES

5 ‘‘SEC. 14a. (a) Not later than 18 months after the 

6 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) establish a free, searchable database of ap8 proved peer-reviewed validation studies accessible to 

9 small and very small establishments (as those terms 

10 are defined in the final rule entitled ‘Pathogen Re11 duction: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point 

12 (HACCP) Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 38806 (July 25, 

13 1996))) subject to inspection under this Act for use 

14 in developing the Hazard Analysis and Critical Con15 trol Points plans of such establishments; and 

16 ‘‘(2) publish online, scale-appropriate model 

17 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans, 

18 including model Hazard Analysis and Critical Con19 trol Points plans for different types of poultry prod20 ucts processed by— 

21 ‘‘(A) slaughter-only establishments; 

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

23 ‘‘(C) establishments that conduct slaugh24 tering and processing. 

25 ‘‘(b) Not later than 2 years after the date of the en26 actment of this section, the Secretary shall publish a guidVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8431.IH H8431

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1 ance document, after notice and an opportunity for public 

2 comments, to provide small and very small establishments 

3 with information on the necessary steps such establish4 ments must take to have a Hazard Analysis and Critical 

5 Control Points Plan approved under this Act.’’. 

6 (b) SMALL AND VERY SMALL MEAT ESTABLISH7 MENTS.—The Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

8 601 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 25 (21 

9 U.S.C. 625) the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SMALL AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT HACCP

11 GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES

12 ‘‘SEC. 26. (a) Not later than 18 months after the date 

13 of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) establish a free, searchable database of ap15 proved peer-reviewed validation studies accessible to 

16 small and very small establishments (as those terms 

17 are defined in the final rule entitled ‘Pathogen Re18 duction: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point 

19 (HACCP) Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 38806 (July 25, 

20 1996))) subject to inspection under this Act for use 

21 in developing the Hazard Analysis and Critical Con22 trol Points plans of such establishments; and 

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

24 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans, 

25 including model Hazard Analysis and Critical ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8431.IH H8431

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1 trol Points plans for different types of meat and 

2 meat food products processed by— 

3 ‘‘(A) slaughter-only establishments; 

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

5 ‘‘(C) establishments that conduct slaugh6 tering and processing. 

7 ‘‘(b) Not later than 2 years after the date of the en8 actment of this section, the Secretary shall publish a guid9 ance document, after notice and an opportunity for public 

10 comments, to provide small and very small establishments 

11 with information on the necessary steps such establish12 ments must take to have a Hazard Analysis and Critical 

13 Control Points Plan approved under this Act.’’. 

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. 

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

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

4 (1) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 em6 ployees’’ each place it appears in subparagraphs 

7 (A) and (C)(iii)(I) and inserting ‘‘50 employ8 ees’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

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

12 EMPLOYEES’’; 

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

14 ‘‘25 employees’’ and inserting ‘‘50 employ15 ees’’; and 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik17 ing ‘‘more than 25 employees but less than 

18 35 employees’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 

19 50 employees but less than 70 employees’’; 

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

21 and inserting ‘‘80 percent’’; 

22 (3) by redesignating subsections (f) through (i) 

23 as subsections (g) through (j); and 

24 (4) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol25 lowing: 

26 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL OUTREACH.— 


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

2 2021 through 2024, the Secretary shall conduct out3 reach to, and where appropriate subsequent negotia4 tion with, no fewer than 25 percent of the States 

5 which have a State poultry product inspection pro6 gram that meets the criteria specified under section 

7 5 but which does not yet have an establishment that 

8 has been selected as a selected establishment under 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—At the conclusion of each fiscal 

11 year referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

12 shall submit a report detailing the activities and re13 sults of the outreach conducted during that fiscal 

14 year to— 

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

16 House of Representatives; 

17 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri18 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

19 ‘‘(C) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, 

20 Rural Development, Food and Drug Adminis21 tration, and Related Agencies of the Committee 

22 on Appropriations of the House of Representa23 tives; and 

24 ‘‘(D) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, 

25 Rural Development, Food and Drug AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8431.IH H8431

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1 tration, and Related Agencies of the Committee 

2 on Appropriations of the Senate.’’. 

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

4 501 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 em8 ployees’’ each place it appears in subparagraphs 

9 (A) and (C)(iii)(I) and inserting ‘‘50 employ10 ees’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

12 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik13 ing ‘‘25 EMPLOYEES’’ and inserting ‘‘50 

14 EMPLOYEES’’; 

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

16 ‘‘25 employees’’ and inserting ‘‘50 employ17 ees’’; and 

18 (iii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik19 ing ‘‘more than 25 employees but less than 

20 35 employees’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 

21 50 employees but less than 70 employees’’; 

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

23 and inserting ‘‘80 percent’’; and 

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

25 following; 


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1 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL OUTREACH.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal 

3 years 2021 through 2024, the Secretary shall 

4 conduct outreach to, and where appropriate 

5 subsequent negotiation with, no fewer than 25 

6 percent of the States which have a State meat 

7 and meat food product inspection program that 

8 meets the criteria specified under section 301 

9 but which does not yet have an establishment 

10 that has been selected as a selected establish11 ment under this section. 

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

13 fiscal year referred to in subparagraph (A), the 

14 Secretary shall submit a report detailing the ac15 tivities and results of the outreach conducted 

16 during that fiscal year to— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture of 

18 the House of Representatives; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Agriculture, 

20 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the Subcommittee on Agri22 culture, Rural Development, Food and 

23 Drug Administration, and Related Agen24 cies of the Committee on Appropriations of 

25 the House of Representatives; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the Subcommittee on Agri2 culture, Rural Development, Food and 

3 Drug Administration, and Related Agen4 cies of the Committee on Appropriations of 

5 the Senate.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. PROCESSING RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 

8 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

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

11 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term 

12 ‘eligible entity’ means— 

13 ‘‘(1) a small or very small establishment, as de14 fined in the final rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; 

15 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point 

16 (HACCP) Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 33806 (July 25, 

17 1996)); 

18 ‘‘(2) a slaughtering or processing establishment 

19 operating under a State inspection program that 

20 meets the criteria specified in section 301(a) of the 

21 Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 661) or sec22 tion 5 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 

23 U.S.C. 454); 

24 ‘‘(3)(A) a person, firm, or corporation exempt 

25 from inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection 


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1 Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) pursuant to section 23 

2 of such Act (21 U.S.C. 623); and 

3 ‘‘(B) a retail dealer, poultry producer, or person 

4 exempt from inspection under the Poultry Products 

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

6 section 15 of such Act (21 U.S.C. 464); and 

7 ‘‘(4) an entity seeking to establish and operate 

8 an establishment that would meet the criteria speci9 fied in paragraph (1), (2), or (3). 

10 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through the 

11 Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall 

12 provide competitive grants with a term of not more than 

13 three years to eligible entities for activities to adapt pro14 duction, processing, distribution, and sales systems to re15 spond to and recover from the effects of Coronavirus Dis16 ease 2019 (referred to in this section as ‘COVID–19’) 

17 pandemic, including activities that— 

18 ‘‘(1) support the health and safety of plant em19 ployees, suppliers, and customers; 

20 ‘‘(2) support increased processing capacity; or 

21 ‘‘(3) otherwise support the resilience of the 

22 small meat and poultry processing sector in the fu23 ture. 


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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity selected to 

2 receive a grant under this section may use funds received 

3 through such grant for activities, including— 

4 ‘‘(1) the cost of developing and issuing (other 

5 than the cost of labor), directly incurred or incurred 

6 by a consultant, a Hazard Analysis and Critical 

7 Control Points plan for the eligible entity; 

8 ‘‘(2) the actual costs of any facilities, equip9 ment, processes, or operations necessary for the es10 tablishment to comply with the Federal Meat Inspec11 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or Poultry Products 

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

13 ‘‘(3) cold storage, equipment, or transportation 

14 services or equipment needed to respond to COVID– 

15 19 demand; 

16 ‘‘(4) purchasing test kits for the presence of 

17 COVID–19, temperature screening supplies, dis18 infectant, sanitation systems, hand washing stations, 

19 and other sanitizing supplies; 

20 ‘‘(5) purchasing and decontaminating personal 

21 protective equipment; 

22 ‘‘(6) constructing or acquiring humane handling 

23 infrastructure, including holding space for livestock 

24 holding prior to slaughter, shade structures, and 

25 knock box structures; 


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1 ‘‘(7) purchasing software and computer equip2 ment for record keeping, production data, Hazard 

3 Analysis and Critical Control Points record review, 

4 and facilitating marketing and sales of products in 

5 a manner consistent with Center for Disease Control 

6 and Prevention guidelines and training for using this 

7 software; 

8 ‘‘(8) the costs of staff time and training for im9 plementing and monitoring healthy and safety proce10 dures; 

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

12 business plan for those interested in expanding or 

13 starting a new small establishment; and 

14 ‘‘(10) other costs associated with expanding or 

15 establishing a small establishment or very small es16 tablishment, as determined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

19 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec20 retary an application in accordance with an applica21 tion process established by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) SIMPLIFIED PROCESS.—In establishing the 

23 application process under paragraph (1), the Sec24 retary shall establish a simplified, separate applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8431.IH H8431

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1 tion process for eligible entities requesting less than 

2 $100,000. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall en4 sure that the application required under paragraph 

5 (1) is— 

6 ‘‘(A) as simple as is practicable; 

7 ‘‘(B) accessible online; and 

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

9 Department of Agriculture. 

10 ‘‘(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 

11 under this subsection shall be not more than $500,000. 

12 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—The administration of this 

13 subsection, including the promulgation of regulations to 

14 carry out this subsection, shall be without regard to— 

15 ‘‘(1) the notice and comment provisions of sec16 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 

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

18 ‘‘(g) PROCESS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 60 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary shall provide grants under this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—Not later than 14 days before 

23 the date on which the Secretary begins to accept ap24 plications under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 


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1 publish a notice of funding opportunity for grants 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) OUTREACH.—During the period beginning 

4 on the date on which the Secretary publishes the no5 tice under paragraph (2) and ending on the date on 

6 which the Secretary begins to accept applications 

7 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall perform 

8 outreach to States and eligible entities relating to 

9 grants under this section. 

10 ‘‘(4) REAPPLICATION.—In the case of a denial 

11 of an application under this section, the eligible enti12 ty submitting such application may submit a revised 

13 application, as specified by the Secretary in regula14 tions. 

15 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY.—In reviewing applications sub16 mitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give 

17 priority to proposals that would— 

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

19 animal slaughter options within a 200 mile ra20 dius; 

21 ‘‘(B) support a small or very small plant 

22 with less than 150 employees; or 

23 ‘‘(C) support minority-owned businesses 

24 that are defined as for-profit businesses where 

25 not less than 51 percent of such business is 


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1 owned by 1 or more Black American, Native 

2 American, Hispanic American, or Asian Amer3 ican individuals. 

4 ‘‘(h) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), an eligible entity selected to receive a 

7 grant under this section shall provide non-Federal 

8 matching funds as follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) With respect to the first $100,000 

10 awarded to such entity, not less than 10 per11 cent of such amount. 

12 ‘‘(B) With respect to any amounts received 

13 after receipt of $100,000, not less than 25 per14 cent of such amount. 

15 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEAR 2021.—An eligible entity se16 lected to receive a grant under this section shall not 

17 be required to provide non-Federal matching funds 

18 with respect to a grant awarded during fiscal year 

19 2021. 

20 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.— 

21 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

22 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

23 shall use to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 

24 each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2021 through 2030.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR LOCAL MEAT AND POULTRY PROC6 ESSING TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

7 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

8 Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et seq.) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 414. GRANTS FOR LOCAL MEAT AND POULTRY PROC11 ESSING TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

12 ‘‘(a) HIGHER EDUCATION CAREER TRAINING PRO13 GRAMS.— 

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

15 competitive grants to junior or community colleges, 

16 technical or vocational schools, and land grant col17 leges and universities (as defined in section 1404 of 

18 the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

19 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)) to es20 tablish or expand career training programs on meat 

21 and poultry processing. 

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec24 retary to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for 


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1 fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter, to 

2 remain available until expended. 

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

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

5 grants to small establishments and very small estab6 lishments (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) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

14 this subsection $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and 

15 each fiscal year thereafter, to remain available until 

16 expended.’’. 

Æ 


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