[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4543 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4543

   To amend the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Federal Meat 
  Inspection Act to require an active tuberculosis screening for any 
   individual seeking employment with meat processing facilities or 
   poultry processing facilities, and to prohibit the hiring of any 
       individual who is determined to have active tuberculosis.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2007

 Mr. Aderholt introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Federal Meat 
  Inspection Act to require an active tuberculosis screening for any 
   individual seeking employment with meat processing facilities or 
   poultry processing facilities, and to prohibit the hiring of any 
       individual who is determined to have active tuberculosis.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ACTIVE TUBERCULOSIS SCREENING REQUIREMENT FOR POULTRY 
              PROCESSING FACILITIES.

    (a) Tuberculosis Testing.--The Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 
U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 31. EMPLOYEE TUBERCULOSIS SCREENING.

    ``(a) No individual may be hired by any person that engages, for 
commerce, in the business of slaughtering any poultry or processing, 
freezing, packaging, or labeling any carcasses, or parts or products of 
carcasses, of any poultry, for use as human food or animal food, unless 
a licensed medical professional determines that such individual does 
not have active tuberculosis by administering to such individual a 
tuberculin skin test as part of the individual's application for 
employment, and if such individual has a positive tuberculin reaction, 
by administering a chest X-ray examination.
    ``(b) An individual determined to have active tuberculosis under 
subsection (a) is not barred from seeking future employment with such 
person if such individual receives treatment for active tuberculosis 
and such individual is subsequently determined not to have active 
tuberculosis under subsection (a).''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 12(a) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 461(a)) is 
amended by striking ``or 17'' and inserting ``17, or 31''.

SEC. 2. ACTIVE TUBERCULOSIS SCREENING REQUIREMENT FOR MEAT PROCESSING 
              FACILITIES.

    The Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end of title II the following new section:

``SEC. 206. EMPLOYEE TUBERCULOSIS SCREENING.

    ``(a) No individual may be hired by any person, firm, or 
corporation that engages, for commerce, in the business of slaughtering 
any amenable species, or preparing, freezing, packaging, or labeling 
any carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of any such amenable 
species, for use as human food or animal food, unless a licensed 
medical professional determines that such individual does not have 
active tuberculosis by administering to such individual a tuberculin 
skin test as part of the individual's application for employment, and 
if such individual has a positive tuberculin reaction, by administering 
a chest X-ray examination.
    ``(b) An individual determined to have active tuberculosis under 
subsection (a) is not barred from seeking future employment with such 
person, firm, or corporation if such individual receives treatment for 
active tuberculosis and such individual is subsequently determined not 
to have active tuberculosis under subsection (a).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect after the date 
which is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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