II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 370 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KING, Mr. 

ROUNDS, Ms. SMITH, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

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 2021’’. 


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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 (b) MEAT ESTABLISHMENTS.—The Federal Meat In16 spection Act is amended by inserting after section 25 (21 

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

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

19 GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES. 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS OF SMALLER ESTABLISHMENT

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

22 terms ‘smaller establishment’ and ‘very small establish23 ment’ have the meanings given those terms in the final 

24 rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and 


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

2 38806 (July 25, 1996)). 

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

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

5 section, the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) establish a free, searchable database of ap7 proved peer-reviewed validation studies accessible to 

8 smaller establishments and very small establish9 ments subject to inspection under this Act for use 

10 in developing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control 

11 Points plan; and 

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

13 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans 

14 for smaller establishments and very small establish15 ments, including model plans for— 

16 ‘‘(A) slaughter-only establishments; 

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

18 ‘‘(C) slaughter and processing establish19 ments. 

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

21 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pub22 lish a guidance document, after notice and an opportunity 

23 for public comment, providing information on the require24 ments that need to be met for smaller establishments and 

25 very small establishments to receive approval for a Hazard 


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1 Analysis and Critical Control Points Plan pursuant to this 

2 Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. INCREASING MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE FOR EX4 PENSES OF STATE INSPECTION. 

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

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

7 amended in the second sentence by striking ‘‘50 per cen8 tum’’ and inserting ‘‘65 percent’’. 

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

10 301(a)(3) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

11 661(a)(3)) is amended in the second sentence by striking 

12 ‘‘50 per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘65 percent’’. 

13 SEC. 4. COOPERATIVE INTERSTATE SHIPMENT OF POUL14 TRY AND MEAT. 

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

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

17 (1) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 em19 ployees’’ each place it appears and inserting 

20 ‘‘50 employees’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik23 ing ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; 

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

25 ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; and 


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1 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

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

3 ‘‘more than 25 employees but less 

4 than 35 employees’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘more than 50 employees but less 

6 than 70 employees’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘subsection (i)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub9 section (j)’’; 

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

11 and inserting ‘‘80 percent’’; 

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

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

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

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

16 (5) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL OUTREACH.— 

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

20 2021 through 2024, for the purpose of State partici21 pation in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment pro22 gram, the Secretary shall conduct outreach to, and, 

23 as appropriate, subsequent negotiation with, not 

24 fewer than 25 percent of the States that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) have a State poultry product inspec2 tion program pursuant to section 5; but 

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

4 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—At the conclusion of each of fis5 cal years 2021 through 2024, the Secretary shall 

6 submit a report detailing the activities and results of 

7 the outreach conducted during that fiscal year under 

8 paragraph (1) to— 

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

10 House of Representatives; 

11 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri12 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

13 ‘‘(C) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, 

14 Rural Development, Food and Drug Adminis15 tration, and Related Agencies of the Committee 

16 on Appropriations of the House of Representa17 tives; and 

18 ‘‘(D) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, 

19 Rural Development, Food and Drug Adminis20 tration, and Related Agencies of the Committee 

21 on Appropriations of the Senate.’’. 

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

23 501 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683) 

24 is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 em2 ployees’’ each place it appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘50 employees’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

5 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik6 ing ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; 

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

8 ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; and 

9 (iii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik10 ing ‘‘more than 25 employees but less than 

11 35 employees’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 

12 50 employees but less than 70 employees’’; 

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

14 and inserting ‘‘80 percent’’; and 

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

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL OUTREACH.— 

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

19 2021 through 2024, for the purpose of State 

20 participation in the Cooperative Interstate Ship21 ment program, the Secretary shall conduct out22 reach to, and, as appropriate, subsequent nego23 tiation with, not fewer than 25 percent of the 

24 States that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) have a State meat inspection pro2 gram pursuant to section 301; but 

3 ‘‘(ii) do not have a selected establish4 ment. 

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

6 of fiscal years 2021 through 2024, the Sec7 retary shall submit a report detailing the activi8 ties and results of the outreach conducted dur9 ing that fiscal year under paragraph (1) to— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture of 

11 the House of Representatives; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Agriculture, 

13 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the Subcommittee on Agri15 culture, Rural Development, Food and 

16 Drug Administration, and Related Agen17 cies of the Committee on Appropriations of 

18 the House of Representatives; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) the Subcommittee on Agri20 culture, Rural Development, Food and 

21 Drug Administration, and Related Agen22 cies of the Committee on Appropriations of 

23 the Senate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. PROCESSING RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 

3 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

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

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

7 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en8 tity’ means— 

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

10 establishment (as those terms are defined in the 

11 final rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard 

12 Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) 

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

14 1996))); 

15 ‘‘(B) a slaughtering or processing estab16 lishment subject to— 

17 ‘‘(i) a State meat inspection program 

18 pursuant to section 301 of the Federal 

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

20 ‘‘(ii) a State poultry product inspec21 tion program pursuant to section 5 of the 

22 Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 

23 U.S.C. 454); 

24 ‘‘(C) a person engaging in custom oper25 ations that is exempt from inspection under— 


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

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

3 ‘‘(ii) section 15 of the Poultry Prod4 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 464); and 

5 ‘‘(D) a person seeking— 

6 ‘‘(i) to establish and operate an estab7 lishment described in subparagraph (A) or 

8 (B); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) to engage in custom operations 

10 described in subparagraph (C). 

11 ‘‘(2) MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS.—The term 

12 ‘minority-owned business’ means a for-profit busi13 ness not less than 51 percent of which is owned by 

14 1 or more Black American, Native American, His15 panic American, or Asian American individuals. 

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

17 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ad18 ministrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. 

19 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

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

21 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec22 retary shall award competitive grants to eligible enti23 ties for activities to adapt production, processing, 

24 distribution, and sales systems to respond to and re25 cover from the effects of the Coronavirus Disease 


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1 2019 (referred to in this section as ‘COVID–19’) 

2 pandemic, including activities that— 

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

4 and poultry plant employees, suppliers, and cus5 tomers; 

6 ‘‘(B) support increased processing capac7 ity; and 

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

9 small meat and poultry processing sector. 

10 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum 

11 amount of a grant awarded under this section shall 

12 not exceed $500,000. 

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

14 under this section shall not exceed 3 years. 

15 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

17 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec18 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

19 and containing such information as the Secretary 

20 may require. 

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

22 Secretary shall establish a separate, simplified appli23 cation process for eligible entities applying for a 

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


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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall en2 sure that any application for a grant under this sec3 tion is— 

4 ‘‘(A) simple and practicable; 

5 ‘‘(B) accessible online; and 

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

7 Department of Agriculture. 

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

9 the date on which the Secretary begins to accept ap10 plications under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

11 publish a notice of funding opportunity with respect 

12 to the grants available under this section. 

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

14 eligible entity under this subsection is denied by the 

15 Secretary, the eligible entity may submit a revised 

16 application. 

17 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY.—In reviewing applications sub18 mitted under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

19 give priority to proposals that will— 

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

21 animal slaughter options within a 200-mile ra22 dius of the location of the farmer or rancher; 

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

24 subsection (a)(1)(A); or 


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

2 minority-owned business. 

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

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

5 carry out activities in support of the purposes described 

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

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

8 Analysis and Critical Control Points plan for the eli9 gible entity, which may be developed by a consultant; 

10 ‘‘(2) the purchase or establishment, as applica11 ble, of facilities, equipment, processes, and oper12 ations necessary for the eligible entity to comply 

13 with applicable requirements under the Federal 

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

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

16 seq.); 

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

18 transportation services or equipment needed to re19 spond to COVID–19 demand; 

20 ‘‘(4) the purchase of test kits for COVID–19, 

21 temperature screening supplies, disinfectant, sanita22 tion systems, hand washing stations, and other sani23 tizing supplies; 

24 ‘‘(5) the purchase and decontamination of per25 sonal protective equipment; 


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

2 handling infrastructure, including holding space for 

3 livestock prior to slaughter, shade structures, and 

4 knock box structures; 

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

6 equipment for record keeping, production data, Haz7 ard Analysis and Critical Control Points record re8 view, and facilitation of marketing and sales of prod9 ucts in a manner consistent with the social 

10 distancing guidelines of the Centers for Disease Con11 trol and Prevention; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the provision of guidelines and training re13 lating to that software and computer equipment; 

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

15 implementing and monitoring health and safety pro16 cedures; 

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

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

19 activity associated with, establishing or expanding a 

20 small meat or poultry processing facility; and 

21 ‘‘(10) other activities associated with expanding 

22 or establishing an eligible entity described in sub23 section (a)(1)(A), as determined by the Secretary. 

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

25 the date on which the Secretary publishes the notice under 


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1 subsection (c)(4) and ending on the date on which the Sec2 retary begins to accept applications under subsection 

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

4 eligible entities relating to grants under this section. 

5 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

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

7 the Federal share of the activities carried out using 

8 a grant awarded under this section shall not ex9 ceed— 

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

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

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

13 an amount greater than $100,000. 

14 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEARS 2021 AND 2022.—An eligible 

15 entity awarded a grant under this section during fis16 cal year 2021 or 2022 shall not be required to pro17 vide non-Federal matching funds with respect to the 

18 grant. 

19 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.—The promulgation of regula20 tions under, and administration of, this section shall be 

21 made without regard to— 

22 ‘‘(1) the notice and comment provisions of sec23 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 


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

2 (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction 

3 Act’). 

4 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.— 

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

6 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary of 

7 Agriculture shall use to carry out this section 

8 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

9 2030. 

10 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

11 addition to amounts made available under paragraph 

12 (1), there is authorized to be appropriated to the 

13 Secretary of Agriculture to carry out this section 

14 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

15 2030.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. LOCAL MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING TRAINING 

17 PROGRAMS. 

18 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

19 Education Reform Act of 1998 is amended by inserting 

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

21 ‘‘SEC. 403. LOCAL MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING TRAIN22 ING PROGRAMS. 

23 ‘‘(a) HIGHER EDUCATION CAREER TRAINING PRO24 GRAMS.— 


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

2 competitive grants to junior or community colleges, 

3 technical or vocational schools, and land-grant col4 leges and universities (as defined in section 1404 of 

5 the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

6 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)) to es7 tablish or expand career training programs relating 

8 to meat and poultry processing. 

9 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec11 retary to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for 

12 fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter, to 

13 remain available until expended. 

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

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

16 grants to smaller establishments and very small es17 tablishments (as those terms are defined in the final 

18 rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis 

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

20 Fed. Reg. 38806 (July 25, 1996))) and nongovern21 mental organizations to offset the cost of training 

22 new meat and poultry processors. 

23 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec25 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.’’. 

Æ 


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