I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 547 
To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspec-
tion Act to allow for the interstate internet sales of certain State- 
inspected meat and poultry, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2021 
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota (for himself and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry 
Products Inspection Act to allow for the interstate inter-
net sales of certain State-inspected meat and poultry, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Direct Interstate Re-
tail Exemption for Certain Transactions Act’’ or the ‘‘DI-
RECT Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. INTERSTATE INTERNET SALES OF CERTAIN STATE- 
INSPECTED MEAT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301 of the Federal Meat 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 661) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘or for 
distribution pursuant to the second sentence of sub-
section (c)(2)’’ before the period at the end; and 
(2) in subsection (c)(2)— 
(A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 
by’’ after ‘‘conducted at’’ each place it appears; 
and 
(B) by inserting after the first sentence 
the following: ‘‘For the purposes of this para-
graph, any retail store, restaurant, or similar 
retail-type establishment may sell over the 
internet and ship by carrier in commerce (other 
than for export to a foreign country) any State- 
inspected meat or meat food product, provided 
that the State-inspected meat or meat food 
product is shipped directly to household con-
sumers and in normal retail quantities.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 301 of the 
Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 661) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘he’’ each place it appears and 
inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’; and 
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(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, 
by striking ‘‘subparagraph (2)’’ and inserting 
‘‘paragraph (2)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in the first sentence, by striking 
‘‘paragraph (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
section’’; and 
(ii) in the third sentence (as so redes-
ignated), by striking ‘‘subparagraph’’ and 
inserting ‘‘paragraph’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (c)’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘sub-
section’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (1)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘this paragraph’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘this sub-
section’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘para-
graph (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection’’. 
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SEC. 3. INTERSTATE INTERNET SALES OF CERTAIN STATE- 
INSPECTED POULTRY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Poultry Products 
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 454) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘or for 
distribution pursuant to the second sentence of sub-
section (c)(2)’’ before the period at the end; and 
(2) in subsection (c)(2)— 
(A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 
by’’ after ‘‘conducted at’’ each place it appears; 
and 
(B) by inserting after the first sentence 
the following: ‘‘For the purposes of this para-
graph, any retail store, restaurant, or similar 
retail-type establishment may sell over the 
internet and ship by carrier in commerce (other 
than for export to a foreign country) any State- 
inspected poultry product, provided that the 
State-inspected poultry product is shipped di-
rectly to household consumers and in normal 
retail quantities.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 5 of the 
Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 454) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘he’’ each place it appears and 
inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’; 
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(2) in subsection (a)(3), in the third sentence, 
by striking ‘‘subparagraph (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (4)’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in the first sentence, by striking 
‘‘subparagraph (2) of this paragraph (c)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 
(ii) in the fourth sentence, by striking 
‘‘subparagraph (a)(4) of this section’’ and 
inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(4)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in the first sentence, by striking 
‘‘paragraph (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
section’’; and 
(ii) in the third sentence (as so redes-
ignated), by striking ‘‘subparagraph’’ and 
inserting ‘‘paragraph’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (1) of 
this paragraph (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (1)’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘paragraph (c)’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘sub-
section’’; and 
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(iii) by striking ‘‘this paragraph’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘this sub-
section’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘para-
graph (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection’’. 
Æ 
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