Sponsors (14)
The bill speeds and targets federal compensation for poultry producers affected by APHIS control areas, but it restricts judicial review, excludes some producers or bird types (risking undercompensation), and imposes additional costs on taxpayers.
Poultry facility owners (small-businesses and farmers) will receive prompt federal compensation for income lost when APHIS control areas prevent them from growing or laying flocks — payments must be made within 60 days of a request.
Poultry facility owners (small-businesses and farmers) will have compensation calculated using each facility's recent historical income, better targeting payments to replace expected earnings rather than using arbitrary flat amounts.
State governments and poultry owners benefit from reduced duplication because federal awards are reduced by amounts already received from States or other sources, coordinating indemnity and limiting double recovery.
Small poultry facility owners lose the ability to seek judicial review of the Secretary's compensation determination, removing a legal avenue to challenge low or disputed payments.
Small poultry producers and farmers may be left undercompensated because owners who already received payments under subsection (d) are excluded from these payments, which could result in smaller total relief than losses incurred.
Taxpayers will bear additional federal fiscal costs because the program indemnifies private losses when APHIS control areas are declared.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires USDA to compensate poultry facility owners barred from growing or laying in APHIS control areas, using a five-flock average formula and offsets for other payments.
Introduced February 14, 2025 by Jim Costa · Last progress February 14, 2025
Requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay owners of poultry growing or laying facilities that are inside an APHIS-declared control area when those owners were prohibited from growing or laying flocks because of the control area. Payments equal the facility’s average income from its five most recent flocks multiplied by the number of flocks the owner could not grow or lay, reduced by any other compensation from states or other sources, with the USDA required to pay within 60 days of a request. The USDA’s payment amount decision is final and not subject to judicial review; duplicate payments for the same facility, control area, and time period are barred, and existing statutory exceptions continue to apply.