Federal

Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 10,082 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new office in the Department of Agriculture to oversee large-scale farm operations and requires them to register, pay fees, and submit disaster planning documents. The bill also restricts certain animal killing methods during emergencies, establishes labor protections for workers during farm disasters, and makes changes to how livestock and poultry are transported and slaughtered. ##

Who It Affects

- Large industrial farm operators (those owning at least 2,500 swine, 30,000 turkeys or ducks, or 82,000 laying hens or broilers) - Workers employed by these farm operations or their contractors - Contract growers who raise animals for industrial operators - Meat and poultry processing facilities - Livestock and poultry transportation companies - The Department of Agriculture and Department of Labor - Neighboring communities near large farm operations ##

Key Provisions

- Large farm operators must register with a new Office of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement and pay annual fees of at least $1 per animal unit to fund the office (Sec. 112) - Large farm operators cannot use sodium nitrite poisoning, ventilation shutdown, ventilation shutdown plus, or water-based foaming to kill animals during emergencies. Violations result in a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per animal and a 10-year ban from federal contracts and meat inspection (Sec. 114) - Workers and contract growers affected by farm disasters must receive health insurance coverage equivalent to silver-level plans for at least 2 years, and workers terminated during a disaster get 12 weeks of severance pay (Sec. 122) - Animals cannot be transported for more than 8 consecutive hours without access to water, adequate bedding, and protection from extreme temperatures, and must have enough space to turn around and lie down (Sec. 311) - Farm operators cannot use certain growth-promoting drugs like ractopamine on animals outside of treating disease (Sec. 322) ##

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, large industrial farm operators will face new registration requirements and annual fees. They will not be allowed to use certain animal-killing methods during disasters and must provide health insurance and severance pay to workers affected by farm emergencies. Animals in long-distance transport will have stronger protections. Meat and poultry facilities will face stricter inspection standards, and animals that cannot walk will be protected from being sold or processed. ##

Important Definitions

- **Animal Feeding Operation (AFO)**: A farm facility where animals are confined and fed for at least 45 days in any 12-month period, where crops are not grown - **Covered Industrial Operator**: An individual or company owning at least 2,500 swine, 30,000 turkeys or ducks, or 82,000 laying hens or broilers in one location - **Depopulation**: The rapid killing of a population of animals in urgent circumstances - **Disaster Event**: A public health emergency, major disaster declared by the President, a designated agriculture disaster, or a quarantine - **High-Risk AFO**: A farm operation owned or controlled by a covered industrial operator - **Covered Worker**: An employee performing labor during a farm disaster, including employees of contract growers - **Nonambulatory Livestock**: Animals that cannot stand or walk unassisted - **Controlled-Atmosphere Stunning**: Rendering poultry unconscious by exposing them to specific gas mixtures before slaughter ##

Effective Date

Most provisions take effect 1 year after the bill becomes law. The restriction on certain animal-killing methods begins 1 year after enactment (Sec. 114). Transportation rules take effect 1 year after enactment (Sec. 311). The 28-hour transport rule changes take effect 10 years after enactment (Sec. 311). Poultry protections under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act take effect 10 years after enactment (Sec. 323).

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 272 To establish the Office of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement in the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agri- culture, Nutrition, and Forestry 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 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary. Sec. 3. Findings. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 272 IS TITLE I—HIGH-RISK AFO DISASTER MITIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT Sec. 101. Definitions. Subtitle A—Department of Agriculture Sec. 111. Office of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement. Sec. 112. Registration of high-risk AFOs. Sec. 113. Covered industrial operator responsibilities and liabilities. Sec. 114. Restriction on certain methods of depopulation. Sec. 115. Reports. Sec. 116. Civil actions. Subtitle B—Department of Labor Sec. 121. Definitions. Sec. 122. Minimum labor standards for covered workers and affected contract growers. Sec. 123. Prohibition on the use of incarcerated workers. TITLE II—GRANT AND PILOT PROGRAMS Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Controlled-atmosphere stunning transition program. Sec. 203. Pilot program for increased accessibility to inspection and technical assistance for eligible processing facilities. TITLE III—HUMANE HANDLING REFORMS Subtitle A—Transport Sec. 311. Transportation of livestock and poultry. Sec. 312. Higher-welfare transport research funding. Subtitle B—Nonambulatory Livestock Sec. 321. Unlawful slaughter practices involving nonambulatory livestock. Sec. 322. Unlawful use of drugs contributing to nonambulatory conditions. Sec. 323. Inclusion of poultry in Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Subtitle C—Inspections Sec. 331. Definitions. Sec. 332. Ending dangerous higher-speed slaughter and self-inspection systems. Sec. 333. Funding for additional OSHA inspectors. Sec. 334. Funding for additional FSIS inspectors. SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 1 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 2 retary of Agriculture. 3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds that— 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 272 IS (1) factory farms owned or controlled by indus- 1 trial operators— 2 (A) lack systemic resilience; 3 (B) present significant risks, particularly 4 in the event of a disaster; and 5 (C) negatively impact— 6 (i) farmed animals, who suffer tre- 7 mendously from cruel depopulation meth- 8 ods and without meaningful disaster miti- 9 gation efforts; 10 (ii) meat and poultry processing work- 11 ers, who are subjected to exploitative con- 12 ditions and abusive behavior by employers 13 in depopulation situations— 14 (I) including— 15 (aa) being required to spend 16 long hours, over days or weeks, 17 mass-killing farmed animals; and 18 (bb) being terminated fol- 19 lowing the completion of a de- 20 population event, without finan- 21 cial support; and 22 (II) that lead to long-term psy- 23 chological impacts, including increased 24 feelings of anger and stress; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 272 IS (iii) neighboring communities and the 1 environment, including through— 2 (I) flood waters overrunning ma- 3 nure lagoons resulting in ecological 4 degradation in the form of soil, sur- 5 face, and groundwater contamination; 6 (II) algae blooms; and 7 (III) wildlife population crashes; 8 (2)(A) since 2019, more than 60,000,000 poul- 9 try and 10,000,000 swine have been depopulated; 10 and 11 (B) those massive cullings are often conducted 12 using incredibly inhumane practices including ven- 13 tilation shutdown, ventilation shutdown plus, sodium 14 nitrite poisoning, and water-based foaming (as those 15 terms are defined in section 114(a)); 16 (3) since 2019, industrial operators put slaugh- 17 terhouse workers in jeopardy and cost taxpayers mil- 18 lions of dollars; 19 (4) industrial operators continue to experience 20 record profits, including a 300-percent growth in 21 profits during the COVID–19 pandemic; 22 (5) industrial operators have created a system 23 that allows for the inhumane handling of non- 24 ambulatory livestock (as defined in section 3(a) of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 272 IS Public Law 85–765 (commonly known as the ‘‘Hu- 1 mane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958’’)) that 2 causes needless suffering, unsafe working conditions, 3 and the spread of foodborne and zoonotic diseases; 4 (6) industrial operators have abused the use of 5 certain drugs that increase the risk of livestock be- 6 coming nonambulatory livestock (as so defined); 7 (7) slaughterhouse deregulation and decreased 8 Federal oversight of meat and poultry slaughter pose 9 significant risks to workers, consumers, and animals; 10 (8) Federal humane slaughter laws currently 11 exempt 98 percent of animals slaughtered for food; 12 (9) current Federal animal transport laws are 13 ineffective and inherently cruel; and 14 (10) Federal support is needed to create a level 15 playing field for farmers engaged in higher-welfare 16 practices who are struggling to compete in a highly 17 monopolized market controlled by industrial opera- 18 tors. 19 TITLE I—HIGH-RISK AFO DIS- 20 ASTER MITIGATION AND EN- 21 FORCEMENT 22 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this title: 24 (1) ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATION; AFO.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 272 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘animal feed- 1 ing operation’’ or ‘‘AFO’’ means a single lot or 2 facility at which— 3 (i) for not less than a total of 45 days 4 in any 12-month period, animals (other 5 than aquatic animals) are— 6 (I) stabled or confined; and 7 (II) fed or maintained; and 8 (ii) crops, vegetation, forage growth, 9 or postharvest residues are not sustained 10 in the normal growing season over any por- 11 tion of the lot or facility. 12 (B) MULTIPLE LOTS.—For purposes of 13 subparagraph (A), 2 or more lots or facilities 14 described in that subparagraph shall be consid- 15 ered to be a single animal feeding operation if 16 the lots or facilities— 17 (i) are located within 3 miles of each 18 other; and 19 (ii) are under common ownership or 20 control. 21 (C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘animal feed- 22 ing operation’’ or ‘‘AFO’’ does not include a 23 pasture-based livestock or poultry production 24 system in which animals— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 272 IS (i) are primarily raised on pasture, 1 grassland, or other vegetative environ- 2 ments; 3 (ii) have the ability to exercise spe- 4 cies-specific natural behaviors; and 5 (iii) have access to appropriate shel- 6 ter, healthy vegetation, potable water, and 7 adequate protection from predators. 8 (2) COVERED INDUSTRIAL OPERATOR.—The 9 term ‘‘covered industrial operator’’ means an indi- 10 vidual or entity that owns or controls not less than 11 the following number of livestock or poultry, as ap- 12 plicable, that are housed in an AFO at a single point 13 in time: 14 (A) 2,500 swine. 15 (B) 30,000 turkeys or ducks. 16 (C) 82,000 laying hens or broilers. 17 (3) DEPOPULATION.—The term ‘‘depopulation’’ 18 means the rapid destruction of a population of ani- 19 mals in response to urgent circumstances. 20 (4) DISASTER EVENT.—The term ‘‘disaster 21 event’’ means— 22 (A) a public health emergency declared by 23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 272 IS under section 319 of the Public Health Service 1 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 2 (B) a major disaster declared by the Presi- 3 dent under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf- 4 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); 6 (C) a disaster designated by the Secretary 7 pursuant to part 759 of title 7, Code of Federal 8 Regulations (or successor regulations); and 9 (D) a quarantine designated by the Sec- 10 retary pursuant to the Plant Protection Act (7 11 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) or animal quarantine laws. 12 (5) HIGH-RISK AFO.—The term ‘‘high-risk 13 AFO’’ means an AFO that houses livestock or poul- 14 try owned or controlled by a covered industrial oper- 15 ator. 16 (6) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of- 17 fice of High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and En- 18 forcement established under section 111. 19 Subtitle A—Department of 20 Agriculture 21 SEC. 111. OFFICE OF HIGH-RISK AFO DISASTER MITIGA- 22 TION AND ENFORCEMENT. 23 The Secretary shall establish an office within the De- 24 partment of Agriculture, to be known as the ‘‘Office of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 272 IS High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation and Enforcement’’, 1 which shall carry out or enforce, as applicable, sections 2 112 through 115. 3 SEC. 112. REGISTRATION OF HIGH-RISK AFOS. 4 (a) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered industrial oper- 6 ator shall be required to register with the Office 7 prior to selling, buying, or transferring livestock, 8 poultry, or any product derived from livestock or 9 poultry across State lines. 10 (2) INFORMATION.—In registering with the Of- 11 fice under paragraph (1), a covered industrial oper- 12 ator shall submit to the Office— 13 (A) identifying information about the cov- 14 ered industrial operator, including the location, 15 animal type, and peak inventory animal totals 16 for all high-risk AFOs owned or controlled by 17 the covered industrial operator; and 18 (B) a standard disaster mitigation plan 19 that includes— 20 (i) a description of the type, location, 21 and extent of all potential disaster events 22 that can affect livestock or poultry housed 23 in a high-risk AFO, including information 24 on previous occurrences of disaster events 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 272 IS and the probability of future disaster 1 events; 2 (ii) a plan to ensure that animals do 3 not go without necessary resources such as 4 shelter, food, and water during an extreme 5 weather event; 6 (iii) a plan to increase flexibility and 7 resiliency, including— 8 (I) identifying ways to house ani- 9 mals past their intended slaughter 10 date; and 11 (II) alternative slaughter and 12 processing arrangements, including 13 contracting with small-scale Depart- 14 ment of Agriculture, State-certified, 15 or mobile operations with existing ca- 16 pacity, in the event of supply chain 17 disruptions; 18 (iv) a plan for accessing necessary re- 19 sources, personal protective equipment, 20 and labor to carry out depopulation in 21 ways that most rapidly render animals un- 22 conscious in the event that depopulation is 23 unavoidable; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 272 IS (v) a plan for disposal of any deceased 1 animals that— 2 (I) satisfies requirements under 3 all relevant Federal, State, and local 4 environmental and public health laws; 5 and 6 (II) does not rely on unlined bur- 7 ial or onsite incineration; and 8 (vi) other information, as determined 9 appropriate by the Secretary. 10 (3) ANNUAL SUBMISSION.—A covered industrial 11 operator that is registered with the Office pursuant 12 to this subsection shall submit to the Office the in- 13 formation described in paragraph (2) on an annual 14 basis. 15 (4) RESTRICTED FUNDS FOR PLAN.—A covered 16 industrial operator shall not, in developing a stand- 17 ard disaster mitigation plan described in paragraph 18 (2)(B), use any Federal funds, including funds pro- 19 vided under the environmental quality incentive pro- 20 gram under subchapter A of chapter 4 of subtitle D 21 of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 22 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.). 23 (b) DISASTER MITIGATION MAINTENANCE FEE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 272 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered industrial oper- 1 ator registered under subsection (a) shall pay to the 2 Office an annual fee by January 15 of each year for 3 each high-risk AFO owned or controlled by the cov- 4 ered industrial operator. 5 (2) TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEES.—The amount of 6 the fee required under paragraph (1)— 7 (A) shall be determined by the Secretary in 8 a manner that will ensure that the total amount 9 of fees collected for each fiscal year shall suffi- 10 ciently fund the activities of the Office for that 11 fiscal year; but 12 (B) shall not be less than $1 per animal 13 unit (as defined by the Administrator of the 14 Environmental Protection Agency) for each fis- 15 cal year. 16 (3) RESTRICTION.—A covered industrial oper- 17 ator may not reduce wages or grower payments in 18 order to derive the amount of the fee required under 19 paragraph (1). 20 (c) HIGH-RISK AFO DISASTER MITIGATION AND EN- 21 FORCEMENT FUND.— 22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 23 the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be 24 known as the ‘‘High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S272.IS S272 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 272 IS and Enforcement Fund’’ (referred to in this sub- 1 section as the ‘‘Fund’’). 2 (2) SOURCE; USE.—All moneys derived from 3 fees collected by th [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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