[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 87 (Thursday, May 22, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3119-S3120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED:
  S. 1904. A bill to amend the Animal Health Protection Act to require 
certain certifications from persons provided indemnification or 
compensation by the Secretary of Agriculture for poultry flocks 
affected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Ending Taxpayer 
Support for Big Egg Producers Act. This legislation would help ensure 
that Federal funding intended to fight the avian flu outbreak is used 
responsibly to eradicate the disease and lower the cost of eggs, and 
does not go to large or highly profitable companies.
  I have expressed concerns to both Democratic and Republican 
administrations that major egg producers may be taking advantage of the 
avian flu outbreak to engage in price gouging. The five largest U.S. 
egg producers control roughly half of the country's egg market, 
limiting choices for American consumers. I am glad that the Department 
of Justice has opened a probe into this potential anticompetitive 
behavior.
  The fact is, egg prices remain high as companies continue to reel in 
profits.

[[Page S3120]]

One company, Cal-Maine Foods, recently announced in an SEC filing that 
it is spending up to $500 million to buy back shares for the benefit of 
the founder's family. Cal-Maine also recently reported quarterly 
profits of $509 million, more than three times what it made in the same 
period a year ago.
  Despite its tremendous profits, last year Cal Maine received $44 
million in USDA indemnity payments to compensate for bird deaths due to 
the avian flu outbreak. It should be uncontroversial that a company 
that has earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars of cash on-hand and 
expected earnings for stock buybacks also has the resources to bear 
losses and implement biosecurity measures without taxpayer assistance.
  There are also some very large private companies that have benefited 
from government assistance under this program. While these companies do 
not have access to liquidity from the public markets, their size and 
national scale provide them with greater access to funding from banks 
and other lenders on terms that are more favorable than those available 
to smaller private companies that operate regionally or locally. 
Further, any company that is private-equity backed surely has similar 
access to funding through the sponsor of the investment fund that owns 
the company.
  This legislation would ensure that taxpayer funds to support egg 
producers will be made available to publicly traded or private equity-
backed companies only if they will not pay dividends or buy back stock. 
To receive taxpayer assistance, these companies also must certify that 
they cannot access alternative sources of financing. There are strong 
penalties, including criminal liability, for falsifying these 
certifications.
  As egg prices remain high, and the Trump administration limits 
Federal resources at the Department of Agriculture, we must ensure that 
these limited resources are used effectively to combat the avian flu 
and help producers who need it most, rather than highly profitable 
companies.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense 
legislation.

                          ____________________