I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5079 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish criteria for the review 

of requests by certain meat or poultry establishments to operate at 

alternate inspection rates, to review and respond to such requests, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2023 

Mr. FINSTAD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish criteria 

for the review of requests by certain meat or poultry 

establishments to operate at alternate inspection rates, 

to review and respond to such requests, 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. REQUESTS FOR ALTERNATE INSPECTION 

4 RATES OF MEAT AND POULTRY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

7 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall— 


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1 (1) publish in the Federal Register food safety 

2 criteria that the Secretary shall consider in granting 

3 a request submitted by any establishment to operate 

4 at alternate inspection rates; and 

5 (2) begin reviewing and responding to such re6 quests from such establishments. 

7 (b) RESPONSE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the date on which a request from an establishment 

10 to operate at alternate inspection rates is submitted, 

11 the Secretary shall respond— 

12 (A) in the case of a request that the Sec13 retary determines meets the food safety criteria 

14 referred to in subsection (a)(1), by approving 

15 such request; or 

16 (B) in the case of a request that the Sec17 retary determines does not meet the food safety 

18 criteria referred to in subsection (a)(1), by de19 nying such request in writing and explaining in 

20 detail the reasons for such denial. 

21 (2) FAILURE BY SECRETARY TO RESPOND.—In 

22 the case of a failure by the Secretary to respond to 

23 a request during the 90-day period referred to in 

24 paragraph (1), such request shall be deemed to have 

25 been approved by the Secretary. 


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1 (c) CONTINUATION OF OPERATIONS AT CERTAIN ES2 TABLISHMENTS.—In the case of an establishment oper3 ating at alternate inspection rates as of the date of enact4 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall authorize such estab5 lishment to continue operating at such rates— 

6 (1) so long as the establishment maintains ef7 fective process control; or 

8 (2) until such date that the Secretary, under 

9 subsection (b)(1), approves or denies a request sub10 mitted by the establishment to operate at alternate 

11 inspection rates. 

12 (d) DURATION OF APPROVED REQUESTS.—An estab13 lishment may continue to operate pursuant to the terms 

14 of a request approved under subsection (b)(1) so long as 

15 the establishment continues to meet the food safety cri16 teria referred to in subsection (a)(1). 

17 (e) NONCOMPLIANCE AND REVOCATION.— 

18 (1) NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Sec19 retary shall provide— 

20 (A) in the case of an establishment oper21 ating pursuant to the terms of a request ap22 proved under subsection (b)(1) that fails to 

23 meet the food safety criteria referred to in sub24 section (a)(1), written notice to such establish25 ment describing the nature of such failure; and 


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1 (B) in the case of an establishment con2 tinuing operations under subsection (c) that 

3 fails to adhere to the requirements of such sub4 section, written notice to such establishment de5 scribing the nature of such failure. 

6 (2) GRACE PERIOD; RESPONSE TO NONCOMPLI7 ANCE.—Following the 180-day period beginning on 

8 the date on which an establishment receives a writ9 ten notice of noncompliance under paragraph (1), if 

10 the Secretary determines the establishment has not 

11 remedied the failures described in such notice, the 

12 Secretary may— 

13 (A) at the discretion of the Secretary, pro14 vide the establishment an additional oppor15 tunity to remedy the failures described in such 

16 notice; or 

17 (B) revoke the authority of the establish18 ment to continue operating at alternate inspec19 tion rates and provide written notice to the es20 tablishment describing the basis for such rev21 ocation. 

22 (3) TIMELINE FOR ADJUSTING INSPECTION

23 RATES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The written notice of 

25 revocation referred to in paragraph (2)(B) shall 


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1 include a timeline for adjusting inspection rates 

2 at the establishment receiving such notice to in3 spection rates otherwise permitted under regu4 lations implementing the post-mortem inspec5 tion requirements of the Federal Meat Inspec6 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the Poul7 try Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. et seq.), 

8 in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act 

9 (or successor regulations). 

10 (B) MINIMIZATION OF NEGATIVE IM11 PACTS.—In establishing the timeline for adjust12 ing inspection rates described in subparagraph 

13 (A), the Secretary shall— 

14 (i) consider potential effects on live 

15 animal production and sourcing; and 

16 (ii) consult with the establishment to 

17 which such rates shall apply to minimize 

18 negative impacts— 

19 (I) on the ability of the establish20 ment to fulfill any contractual obliga21 tions of the establishment in effect on 

22 the date on which such timeline is es23 tablished; 

24 (II) on animal producers or 

25 growers; and 


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1 (III) on animal welfare. 

2 (4) APPLICABILITY.—A revocation under para3 graph (2)(B) shall not limit the ability of an estab4 lishment to apply and be approved for alternate in5 spection rates under subsection (b)(1), so long as 

6 the establishment otherwise meets the food safety 

7 criteria referred to in subsection (a)(1). 

8 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ALTERNATE INSPECTION RATES.—The term 

10 ‘‘alternate inspection rates’’ means any rate in ex11 cess of the maximum rates permissible under regula12 tions implementing the post-mortem inspection re13 quirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 

14 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the Poultry Products In15 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), in effect as of 

16 the date of enactment of this Act (or successor regu17 lations). 

18 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The term ‘‘establish19 ment’’ means— 

20 (A) an official establishment that is subject 

21 to inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection 

22 Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and 


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1 (B) an official establishment that is sub2 ject to inspection under the Poultry Products 

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

Æ 


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