Federal

Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 10,123 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new office in the Department of Agriculture to oversee large-scale animal farms during disasters and emergencies. It sets requirements for how these large farms must prepare for disasters, how animals can be killed during emergencies, and establishes labor protections for workers involved in these events. The bill also funds programs to improve animal transport conditions and slaughter practices, and restricts certain inspection methods at meat and poultry plants. --- ##

Who It Affects

- Large industrial farm operators (those owning 2,500 or more swine, 30,000 or more turkeys or ducks, or 82,000 or more laying hens or broilers) - Workers at these large farms and at meat and poultry processing plants - Contract growers who raise animals under agreements with large industrial operators - Meat and poultry slaughter and processing facilities - The Department of Agriculture - The Department of Labor - Neighboring residents of large industrial farms - Consumers buying meat and poultry products --- ##

Key Provisions

- Large industrial farm operators must register with a new Office of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement and submit annual disaster mitigation plans that include backup slaughter arrangements and animal care plans during emergencies. (Sec. 112) - Covered industrial operators cannot use ventilation shutdown, sodium nitrite poisoning, water-based foaming, or other restricted methods to kill animals during disasters, and face a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per animal for violations. (Sec. 114) - Workers and contract growers involved in disaster response activities must receive health insurance coverage at no cost to them for at least two years after the disaster event, and workers terminated during this period receive 12 weeks of severance pay. (Sec. 122) - Large industrial operators cannot hire incarcerated workers to perform disaster-related labor, or they lose federal contracts and meat inspection access for 10 years. (Sec. 123) - The bill terminates or suspends any federal inspection programs that allow meat and poultry plants to operate at higher speeds or use fewer federal inspectors. (Sec. 332) - The bill establishes grant programs to help poultry processing facilities transition to controlled-atmosphere stunning (rendering animals unconscious using gases) instead of live-shackle slaughter methods, and funds inspection and technical assistance programs for smaller processing facilities. (Sec. 202, Sec. 203) --- ##

What Changes

**Registration and Disaster Planning:** Large industrial farm operators must now register their farms and submit written disaster plans covering animal care, flexible housing options, humane depopulation methods, and animal disposal that follows environmental laws. **Prohibited Killing Methods:** Four specific inhumane methods of killing animals during emergencies are banned starting one year after the law passes. **Worker Protections:** Workers and contract growers gain new rights to health insurance coverage and severance pay during disaster events, and cannot be punished for reporting violations. **Animal Transport:** Starting one year after enactment, livestock and poultry transported for more than eight hours must have adequate water, bedding, protection from weather, and proper temperature control. Animals cannot be kept confined for more than eight hours (down from 28 hours under current law), with limited exceptions. **Poultry Slaughter:** Poultry is added to the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act protections, effective ten years after the law passes. Nonambulatory livestock (animals that cannot walk) cannot be bought, sold, or processed. **Inspection Systems:** Federal meat and poultry inspection programs that allow faster slaughter speeds or fewer federal inspectors are ended. **Federal Funding:** The bill dedicates approximately $750 million to help processing facilities transition away from live-shackle slaughter methods, and $50 million to fund inspectors and technical assistance at smaller meat processing facilities. --- ##

Important Definitions

- **Animal Feeding Operation (AFO):** A facility where animals are confined and fed for at least 45 days in any 12-month period, not including pasture-based systems where animals can exercise natural behaviors and have shelter and water. - **Covered Industrial Operator:** An individual or company owning or controlling at least 2,500 swine, 30,000 turkeys or ducks, or 82,000 laying hens or broilers in one location. - **Depopulation:** The rapid destruction of a population of animals in response to urgent circumstances. - **Disaster Event:** A public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a major disaster declared by the President, a disaster designated by the Agriculture Secretary, or an animal quarantine. - **Nonambulatory Livestock:** Cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines that cannot stand or walk without help. - **Sodium Nitrite Poisoning:** A killing method involving feeding animals the toxic substance sodium nitrite, which prevents oxygen delivery to tissues and causes prolonged respiratory distress. - **Ventilation Shutdown:** A killing method sealing a building and turning off fans to raise temperature until animals die from overheating or lack of oxygen. - **Water-Based Foaming:** A killing method pumping foam concentrate mixed with water into a building until animals die from lack of oxygen. - **Controlled-Atmosphere Stunning:** Rendering poultry unconscious using a mixture of gases (nitrogen and argon or carbon dioxide) before slaughter. - **Labor Peace Agreement:** An agreement between an employer and labor organization where the employer does not oppose workers joining unions and the union agrees not to strike or boycott. - **Covered Worker:** An employee performing labor connected to a disaster mitigation event for a large industrial operator, including employees of contract growers or other contractors, unless they are truly independent contractors. --- ##

Effective Date

The bill takes effect on different dates for different sections: - Registration requirements and most provisions take effect upon enactment (when signed into law) - The ban on restricted killing methods takes effect one year after enactment (Sec. 114) - Transport improvements take effect one year after enactment (Sec. 311) - The 8-hour transport confinement limit takes effect 10 years after enactment (Sec. 311) - Nonambulatory livestock protections take effect one year after enactment (Sec. 321) - Poultry inclusion in humane slaughter protections takes effect 10 years after enactment (Sec. 323)

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 805 To establish the Office of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement in the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MENG, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, and Mr. KHANNA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Office of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitiga- tion and Enforcement in the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 805 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary. Sec. 3. Findings. TITLE I—HIGH-RISK AFO DISASTER MITIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT Sec. 101. Definitions. Subtitle A—Department of Agriculture Sec. 111. Office of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement. Sec. 112. Registration of high-risk AFOs. Sec. 113. Covered industrial operator responsibilities and liabilities. Sec. 114. Restriction on certain methods of depopulation. Sec. 115. Reports. Sec. 116. Civil actions. Subtitle B—Department of Labor Sec. 121. Definitions. Sec. 122. Minimum labor standards for covered workers and affected contract growers. Sec. 123. Prohibition on the use of incarcerated workers. TITLE II—GRANT AND PILOT PROGRAMS Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Controlled-atmosphere stunning transition program. Sec. 203. Pilot program for increased accessibility to inspection and technical assistance for eligible processing facilities. TITLE III—HUMANE HANDLING REFORMS Subtitle A—Transport Sec. 311. Transportation of livestock and poultry. Sec. 312. Higher-welfare transport research funding. Subtitle B—Nonambulatory Livestock Sec. 321. Unlawful slaughter practices involving nonambulatory livestock. Sec. 322. Unlawful use of drugs contributing to nonambulatory conditions. Sec. 323. Inclusion of poultry in Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Subtitle C—Inspections Sec. 331. Definitions. Sec. 332. Ending dangerous higher-speed slaughter and self-inspection systems. Sec. 333. Funding for additional OSHA inspectors. Sec. 334. Funding for additional FSIS inspectors. SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 1 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 2 retary of Agriculture. 3 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 805 IH SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) factory farms owned or controlled by indus- 3 trial operators— 4 (A) lack systemic resilience; 5 (B) present significant risks, particularly 6 in the event of a disaster; and 7 (C) negatively impact— 8 (i) farmed animals, who suffer tre- 9 mendously from cruel depopulation meth- 10 ods and without meaningful disaster miti- 11 gation efforts; 12 (ii) meat and poultry processing work- 13 ers, who are subjected to exploitative con- 14 ditions and abusive behavior by employers 15 in depopulation situations— 16 (I) including— 17 (aa) being required to spend 18 long hours, over days or weeks, 19 mass-killing farmed animals; and 20 (bb) being terminated fol- 21 lowing the completion of a de- 22 population event, without finan- 23 cial support; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 805 IH (II) that lead to long-term psy- 1 chological impacts, including increased 2 feelings of anger and stress; and 3 (iii) neighboring communities and the 4 environment, including through— 5 (I) flood waters overrunning ma- 6 nure lagoons resulting in ecological 7 degradation in the form of soil, sur- 8 face, and groundwater contamination; 9 (II) algae blooms; and 10 (III) wildlife population crashes; 11 (2)(A) since 2019, more than 60,000,000 poul- 12 try and 10,000,000 swine have been depopulated; 13 and 14 (B) those massive cullings are often conducted 15 using incredibly inhumane practices including ven- 16 tilation shutdown, ventilation shutdown plus, sodium 17 nitrite poisoning, and water-based foaming (as those 18 terms are defined in section 114(a)); 19 (3) since 2019, industrial operators put slaugh- 20 terhouse workers in jeopardy and cost taxpayers mil- 21 lions of dollars; 22 (4) industrial operators continue to experience 23 record profits, including a 300-percent growth in 24 profits during the COVID–19 pandemic; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 805 IH (5) industrial operators have created a system 1 that allows for the inhumane handling of non- 2 ambulatory livestock (as defined in section 3(a) of 3 Public Law 85–765 (commonly known as the ‘‘Hu- 4 mane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958’’)) that 5 causes needless suffering, unsafe working conditions, 6 and the spread of foodborne and zoonotic diseases; 7 (6) industrial operators have abused the use of 8 certain drugs that increase the risk of livestock be- 9 coming nonambulatory livestock (as so defined); 10 (7) slaughterhouse deregulation and decreased 11 Federal oversight of meat and poultry slaughter pose 12 significant risks to workers, consumers, and animals; 13 (8) Federal humane slaughter laws currently 14 exempt 98 percent of animals slaughtered for food; 15 (9) current Federal animal transport laws are 16 ineffective and inherently cruel; and 17 (10) Federal support is needed to create a level 18 playing field for farmers engaged in higher-welfare 19 practices who are struggling to compete in a highly 20 monopolized market controlled by industrial opera- 21 tors. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 805 IH TITLE I—HIGH-RISK AFO DIS- 1 ASTER MITIGATION AND EN- 2 FORCEMENT 3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this title: 5 (1) ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATION; AFO.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘animal feed- 7 ing operation’’ or ‘‘AFO’’ means a single lot or 8 facility at which— 9 (i) for not less than a total of 45 days 10 in any 12-month period, animals (other 11 than aquatic animals) are— 12 (I) stabled or confined; and 13 (II) fed or maintained; and 14 (ii) crops, vegetation, forage growth, 15 or postharvest residues are not sustained 16 in the normal growing season over any por- 17 tion of the lot or facility. 18 (B) MULTIPLE LOTS.—For purposes of 19 subparagraph (A), 2 or more lots or facilities 20 described in that subparagraph shall be consid- 21 ered to be a single animal feeding operation if 22 the lots or facilities— 23 (i) are located within 3 miles of each 24 other; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 805 IH (ii) are under common ownership or 1 control. 2 (C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘animal feed- 3 ing operation’’ or ‘‘AFO’’ does not include a 4 pasture-based livestock or poultry production 5 system in which animals— 6 (i) are primarily raised on pasture, 7 grassland, or other vegetative environ- 8 ments; 9 (ii) have the ability to exercise spe- 10 cies-specific natural behaviors; and 11 (iii) have access to appropriate shel- 12 ter, healthy vegetation, potable water, and 13 adequate protection from predators. 14 (2) COVERED INDUSTRIAL OPERATOR.—The 15 term ‘‘covered industrial operator’’ means an indi- 16 vidual or entity that owns or controls not less than 17 the following number of livestock or poultry, as ap- 18 plicable, that are housed in an AFO at a single point 19 in time: 20 (A) 2,500 swine. 21 (B) 30,000 turkeys or ducks. 22 (C) 82,000 laying hens or broilers. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 805 IH (3) DEPOPULATION.—The term ‘‘depopulation’’ 1 means the rapid destruction of a population of ani- 2 mals in response to urgent circumstances. 3 (4) DISASTER EVENT.—The term ‘‘disaster 4 event’’ means— 5 (A) a public health emergency declared by 6 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 7 under section 319 of the Public Health Service 8 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 9 (B) a major disaster declared by the Presi- 10 dent under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf- 11 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 12 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); 13 (C) a disaster designated by the Secretary 14 pursuant to part 759 of title 7, Code of Federal 15 Regulations (or successor regulations); and 16 (D) a quarantine designated by the Sec- 17 retary pursuant to the Plant Protection Act (7 18 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) or animal quarantine laws. 19 (5) HIGH-RISK AFO.—The term ‘‘high-risk 20 AFO’’ means an AFO that houses livestock or poul- 21 try owned or controlled by a covered industrial oper- 22 ator. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 805 IH (6) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of- 1 fice of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and En- 2 forcement established under section 111. 3 Subtitle A—Department of 4 Agriculture 5 SEC. 111. OFFICE OF HIGH-RISK AFO DISASTER MITIGA- 6 TION AND ENFORCEMENT. 7 The Secretary shall establish an office within the De- 8 partment of Agriculture, to be known as the ‘‘Office of 9 High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement’’, 10 which shall carry out or enforce, as applicable, sections 11 112 through 115. 12 SEC. 112. REGISTRATION OF HIGH-RISK AFOS. 13 (a) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered industrial oper- 15 ator shall be required to register with the Office 16 prior to selling, buying, or transferring livestock, 17 poultry, or any product derived from livestock or 18 poultry across State lines. 19 (2) INFORMATION.—In registering with the Of- 20 fice under paragraph (1), a covered industrial oper- 21 ator shall submit to the Office— 22 (A) identifying information about the cov- 23 ered industrial operator, including the location, 24 animal type, and peak inventory animal totals 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 805 IH for all high-risk AFOs owned or controlled by 1 the covered industrial operator; and 2 (B) a standard disaster mitigation plan 3 that includes— 4 (i) a description of the type, location, 5 and extent of all potential disaster events 6 that can affect livestock or poultry housed 7 in a high-risk AFO, including information 8 on previous occurrences of disaster events 9 and the probability of future disaster 10 events; 11 (ii) a plan to ensure that animals do 12 not go without necessary resources such as 13 shelter, food, and water during an extreme 14 weather event; 15 (iii) a plan to increase flexibility and 16 resiliency, including— 17 (I) identifying ways to house ani- 18 mals past their intended slaughter 19 date; and 20 (II) alternative slaughter and 21 processing arrangements, including 22 contracting with small-scale Depart- 23 ment of Agriculture, State-certified, 24 or mobile operations with existing ca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 805 IH pacity, in the event of supply chain 1 disruptions; 2 (iv) a plan for accessing necessary re- 3 sources, personal protective equipment, 4 and labor to carry out depopulation in 5 ways that most rapidly render animals un- 6 conscious in the event that depopulation is 7 unavoidable; 8 (v) a plan for disposal of any deceased 9 animals that— 10 (I) satisfies requirements under 11 all relevant Federal, State, and local 12 environmental and public health laws; 13 and 14 (II) does not rely on unlined bur- 15 ial or onsite incineration; and 16 (vi) other information, as determined 17 appropriate by the Secretary. 18 (3) ANNUAL SUBMISSION.—A covered industrial 19 operator that is registered with the Office pursuant 20 to this subsection shall submit to the Office the in- 21 formation described in paragraph (2) on an annual 22 basis. 23 (4) RESTRICTED FUNDS FOR PLAN.—A covered 24 industrial operator shall not, in developing a stand- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 805 IH ard disaster mitigation plan described in paragraph 1 (2)(B), use any Federal funds, including funds pro- 2 vided under the environmental quality incentive pro- 3 gram under subchapter A of chapter 4 of subtitle D 4 of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 5 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.). 6 (b) DISASTER MITIGATION MAINTENANCE FEE.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered industrial oper- 8 ator registered under subsection (a) shall pay to the 9 Office an annual fee by January 15 of each year for 10 each high-risk AFO owned or controlled by the cov- 11 ered industrial operator. 12 (2) TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEES.—The amount of 13 the fee required under paragraph (1)— 14 (A) shall be determined by the Secretary in 15 a manner that will ensure that the total amount 16 of fees collected for each fiscal year shall suffi- 17 ciently fund the activities of the Office for that 18 fiscal year; but 19 (B) shall not be less than $1 per animal 20 unit (as defined by the Administrator of the 21 Environmental Protection Agency) for each fis- 22 cal year. 23 (3) RESTRICTION.—A covered industrial oper- 24 ator may not reduce wages or grower payments in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H805.IH H805 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 805 IH order to derive the amount of the fee required under 1 paragraph (1). 2 (c) HIGH-RISK AFO DISASTER MITIGATION AND EN- 3 FORCEMENT F [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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