[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4615-S4616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act

  Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I rise today to urge the Senate to include 
the New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act in a COVID-19 
response legislation that we are considering during this work period.
  This is legislation I have worked on with my colleague Senator Angus 
King of Maine for several years, long before COVID-19 disrupted the 
safety and security of the American food supply. It has bipartisan 
support.
  COVID-19 revealed the cracks in multiple industries--our food supply, 
pharmaceuticals, defense, and manufacturing in general. Every American 
pays the price for foreign reliance--every American. This is a moment 
in history when we can rebuild what ``American made'' and what ``made 
America great'' really means in the first place. That, of course, is 
American production and innovation across all industries.
  As consumers of food--and that is everybody, Republican and Democrat 
alike, Independents included--we should demand that we have this 
production capacity in the United States. Heavy reliance on foreign 
production and manufacturing is a mistake, and America needs to see a 
renaissance of American production and ingenuity.
  Just as an example, on July 29 of this year, it was announced that 
JBS, a Brazilian-owned company, intends to acquire the Mountain States 
Rosen lamb plant in Greeley, CO. It has been reported that JBS will 
grind hamburger and cut steaks, which, unfortunately, will eliminate 
the ability of this plant to process nearly 350,000 lambs within the 
United States. This is yet another example of a foreign company working 
to consolidate and to integrate the American food supply system to the 
detriment of U.S. ag producers. We just simply can't sit here and watch 
this occur on our watch. We are already paying the price of foreign 
ownership in our food supply system today.
  The time is now to aggressively pursue American options for 
production and processing in order to protect American consumers and 
our entire economy.
  Right now, we are actually giving an unfair and unnecessary advantage 
to the large, sometimes foreign-owned, meat processing facilities.
  These large facilities typically pursue licensing through the USDA 
Federal meat inspection process, which gives them a certification 
allowing them to sell across all State lines. However, smaller 
processors that are trying to inject competition into a market which is 
dominated by primarily big players, typically pursue State-inspected 
certifications, which, unfortunately, today, do not allow them to sell 
meat across State lines. The irony is that the State processors that 
are out there also need to be federally approved to meet or exceed 
these Federal inspection standards. So our smaller meat processors are 
achieving a certification of equal or higher standards but are given a 
license with less ability to market their product. They have to stay 
within the boundaries of the State in which they are produced.
  In my hometown of Fort Pierre, SD, a beef processing company was 
announced to be opening in May of this year, 2020. This is the kind of 
American production we want to see more of. But if this processor 
chooses to pursue a State-inspected meat license instead of a USDA 
license, they will not be able to sell across State lines, even though 
South Dakota's meat poultry inspection program has standards that meet 
or exceed Federal inspection standards. This is unacceptable and is 
harming our small American processors' ability to compete fairly.
  This is why we should include the New Markets for State-Inspected 
Meat and Poultry Act in our next COVID-19 relief legislation.
  In recent months, partially due to the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has 
had on our meat processing facilities, we have seen renewed support for 
this particular effort. In the Senate, we now have 12 cosponsors from 
both sides of the aisle. Additionally, there was companion legislation 
which was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative 
Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
  I would like to explain what our legislation does and why it is so 
important to include it as part of the Federal Government's response to 
COVID-19. The New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act 
would allow meat that has been inspected by a federally approved State 
meat and poultry inspection program to be sold across State lines.
  Currently, cattle, sheep, and swine that are raised in South Dakota 
by some of the best producers in the world and inspected at a South 
Dakota processing facility are limited to markets within the State. Yet 
they meet or exceed Federal inspection standards. It just doesn't make 
sense, especially when there is high demand for locally sourced and 
processed proteins in a

[[Page S4616]]

State-approved facility, which, by Federal law has standards that meet 
or exceed Federal inspection standards.
  Our legislation would allow these products, which pass State 
inspection standards, to be sold across State lines, opening up new 
markets for producers and giving consumers greater choice at the 
grocery store. At a time when our food supply is in danger, this is a 
very easy first step.
  Like so many sectors of our economy, the food production industry was 
ill-prepared for the unprecedented changes that needed to be made when 
the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Labor shortages and worker protection 
measures slowed down plants around the country, and outbreaks even 
caused some of the facilities to shut down entirely.
  We saw this happen in my home State of South Dakota, where our Sioux 
Falls Smithfield plant processes 20,000 hogs a day and employs 
approximately 35 hard-working individuals. At the peak of the crisis, 
hog processing dropped approximately 40 percent in May, and beef 
production dropped approximately 35 percent in May, when compared to 
2019 production levels across the United States. At one point, there 
was a backlog of nearly 1 million cattle ready to be processed.
  Meanwhile, grocery stores across the country began to see meat 
shortages on their shelves because of the chokepoint found in the 
concentration of beef processing at the big four packers, where 
processing capacity had been curtailed. Livestock producers were faced 
with one of the worst scenarios they could face--having to euthanize 
their animals because they weren't able to get them into a processing 
facility. While we have been able to recover some of the production 
capacity since that time, it is far from being back to normal, and we 
are still unprepared to deal with the continuing pandemic.
  While we work to get meat and pork processing facilities back up and 
running at capacity, we should also be utilizing State-based solutions 
to help offset the backlog and help provide additional capacity. 
Specifically, we should include the New Markets for State-Inspected 
Meat and Poultry Act in the next relief package.
  Currently, 27 States operate State meat inspection programs. Meat and 
poultry inspected at these facilities are already sold for public 
consumption in the States where they are licensed.
  Today, if you have meat or poultry processed at a South Dakota 
inspection facility in Hudson, SD, you wouldn't be able to sell it 
across the border just a few miles away in Iowa, but you could sell it 
a couple hundred miles away in Lemmon, SD.
  It really doesn't make much sense, especially since State meat and 
poultry inspection facilities are required by law to be at least equal 
to federally inspected processing facilities with regard to their food 
safety standards.
  These products are safe for consumption and should be allowed to be 
sold nationwide. This will help offset the pressure on federally 
inspected facilities during the ongoing pandemic and in the future as 
well.
  This is a commonsense solution that has bipartisan, bicameral 
support. It is time to end this arbitrary regulation restricting the 
sale of these products to within State lines and allow facilities 
inspected by State meat inspection programs to increase production and 
sell their product nationwide.
  Including the New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act in 
future COVID-19 relief legislation is good for producers and very good 
for consumers.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 10 
minutes when the afternoon votes are concluded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.