[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H2989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SHIPPING MEAT ACROSS STATE LINES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. Speaker, during this COVID-19 
pandemic, ag producers and consumers across the country have suffered 
as we have seen the cracks in our food supply system.
  Now, small State-inspected processors, meat processors, did what they 
could to step up and close the gap, fill the gap, but their efforts 
were hindered by the fact that Federal laws don't allow for State-
inspected facilities to ship meat across State lines.
  I would observe that this pandemic is only accelerating the American 
desire to know where their food comes from and their desire to purchase 
directly from producers. So that is why, this week, along with Speaker 
Pro Tem Henry Cuellar, I introduced the DIRECT Act.
  This bill allows these State-inspected meat facilities to sell their 
meat across State lines through e-commerce. That is really going to 
unlock an incredible amount of potential as small producers and 
processors will have the option to put that product into the hands of 
consumers.
  I think it is important to remember that many States like South 
Dakota have State-inspection standards that are at least equal to what 
the Federal Government already requires, so this isn't a food safety 
issue.
  This bill would cut through the red tape. It would allow more 
flexibility. It would allow more opportunity for producers, for 
processors, and for consumers.
  Now, the DIRECT Act is a market-based approach allowing producers and 
retailers, under State inspection, to establish those connections with 
customers in different States through e-commerce. That is going to 
empower consumers to buy--if they want a particular branded product, 
they are going to be able to get that product. They will be given more 
freedom to choose. At the same time, we as a country won't have any 
reduction in our confidence that our food supply system is safe.

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