Sponsors (4)
The bill expands federal support for meat and poultry processing capacity, inspections, market access, and workforce training—benefiting farmers, rural communities, and small processors—while increasing federal spending and creating risks of uneven access, reduced transparency, and potential exclusion of the very smallest operations.
Farmers, ranchers, and small/medium meat and poultry processors gain expanded local processing capacity and shorter transport times because grant funding (up to $500,000 per award and $20M/year authorized) supports new or expanded slaughter and processing facilities.
State inspection programs and the public benefit from stronger inspection coverage because higher federal reimbursements reduce state budget pressure and can help states maintain or expand inspection staffing and services.
Students, workers, and processors get more workforce development and paid training opportunities because dedicated grant funding supports community college programs, apprenticeships, and paid training pathways into meat and poultry processing.
Taxpayers bear increased federal costs because the bill authorizes new and higher federal expenditures (administration of model plans and databases, higher state reimbursements, $20M/yr grants, and workforce funding), increasing the federal budget outlay over multiple years.
Very small or remote processors may be left behind because competitive grants, capped award sizes, and three-year limits can favor better-resourced applicants and may be insufficient for large capital projects or long-term modernization needs.
Raising CIS participation thresholds and changing employee-count eligibility risks excluding some small establishments and concentrating program benefits among larger producers, potentially reducing market opportunities and competition for very small processors.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Creates USDA HACCP resources for small processors, raises State inspection reimbursements to 65%, adjusts CIS rules, and funds competitive grants for processing capacity and training.
Introduced April 29, 2025 by Chellie Pingree · Last progress April 29, 2025
Requires USDA to create and publish HACCP guidance, searchable validation-study databases, and scale-appropriate model HACCP plans for small and very small meat and poultry processors; raises the federal reimbursement rate for State inspection costs from 50% to 65%; adjusts eligibility and participation thresholds in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) programs and mandates federal outreach and annual reporting to recruit eligible States. Establishes a Processing Resilience Grant Program to provide competitive grants (up to $500,000) to small processors and related operators with $20 million authorized per year (FY2026–2031), and creates competitive grant streams to fund local meat and poultry processing training and structured apprenticeships with $10 million authorized annually for each training program (FY2025–2030 and FY2026–2030 respectively).