|
| Advocacy > Federal > Legislative activities > Current agenda > 110th agenda > Issue brief |
|
| |
| Issue brief |
| |
S.1149/H.R.1760/H.R.2315
New Markets for State Inspection Meat and Poultry Act of 2007 |
| |
| Summary: |
| Meat and poultry products from 34 foreign countries can be freely shipped and sold anywhere in the United States, but state-inspected processors of meat and poultry products cannot ship product outside the state in which they operate. No other state-inspected food commodities are prohibited from being shipped across state lines. Other state-inspected food products (milk, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, fish and shellfish) are freely marketed across the country. Twenty-eight states currently have meat and poultry inspection programs. They serve more than 2,000 state-inspected meat processors—mostly small, family-owned businesses—who are prevented from competing in the national marketplace. |
| |
| AVMA Position: |
| The AVMA supports S.1149/H.R.1760/H.R.2315, and the legislative score is support. |
| |
| Purpose |
- H.R. 1760 simply removes the statutory prohibition on interstate shipment of state-inspected meat and poultry. The bill does propose any new or additional conditions or requirements for the state inspection programs. This means that states will continue to maintain their current cooperative agreements with USDA (which require state inspection programs to be "at least equal to" the federal inspection program). USDA will continue their oversight of state programs which includes an annual review of nine detailed components. States will still be required to implement any directives and guidance issued by USDA.
- H.R. 2315 eliminates the prohibition on interstate shipment of state-inspected meat and poultry products. However this bill outlines several detailed requirements to "harmonize" state and federal inspection programs. Specifically, states would be required to: (1) enter into new cooperative agreements with USDA to administer their inspection programs; (2) adopt laws and regulations which are identical to the federal inspection program; and (3) comply with USDA labeling requirements, but retain use of their official state inspection mark. Other requirements are: (4) USDA will reimburse states for not less than 50 percent of the state costs for operating the inspection program; (5) the size of plants that can be accepted into a state inspection program is limited to 50 employees (to control potential costs of administering state inspection programs); (6) USDA will continue to sample both federal and state-inspected products to confirm enforcement of food safety requirements; (7) USDA will continue to conduct annual reviews of state inspection programs to ensure compliance with the new cooperative agreement; (8) outlines procedures for USDA to take control of state inspection programs if a state fails to comply with the new cooperative agreement.
- H.R. 2315 has two parts-the first part amends Title III of the Meat Inspection Act. The second part uses the same corresponding language to amend Section 5 of the Poultry Inspection Act.
- S.1149 is the companion bill to H.R.1760.
|
| |
| Why AVMA Supports this Issue |
- Interstate meat sales legislation will provide economic fairness and open markets. Increased markets will not only benefit producers, processors and small businesses, but it also gives consumers more choices at the supermarket.
- Three USDA Advisory Committees have recommended repealing the outdated law because it would create jobs and stimulate rural economic growth.
|
| |
| Known Opposition to the AVMA Position: |
| No specific opposition to the AVMA position. |
| |
| Current Status: |
| S.1149 – 4/18/2007 Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. H.R.1760 – 5/4/07 Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. H.R.2315 – 5/15/2007 Referred to House Committee on Agriculture. In late July, the House of Representatives approved a 2007 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) by a vote of 231 to 191 and the legislation includes provisions that allow interstate meat sales. Specifically, the new Farm Bill includes the Pomeroy-Blunt interstate meat bill (H.R. 2315). In September, the Consumer Federation and labor unions launched another campaign to oppose interstate meat sales legislation. The Senate will begin hearings on the Farm Bill in October; this issue will undoubtedly be a topic of discussion. |
| |
| For More Information: |
| Please contact Dr. Angela Demaree (ademaree@avma.org) at the AVMA-GRD at 800-321-1473, ext. 3211 or visit www.avma.org/advocacy/federal/. |
| |
Go to the Government Action Center |
| |
|
| | | |
| | | |
American Veterinary Medical Association
|
= AVMA/SAVMA Members Only