U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) voiced support for a July 9 announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement legislation they sponsored to reduce inspection overtime fees for small meatpackers.
As part of USDA’s plan to invest $500 million in American Rescue Plan funds to expand meat and poultry processing capacity, the department announced it will invest more than $150 million for existing small and very small processing facilities to help them weather COVID-19, compete in the marketplace and get the support they need to reach more customers, USDA said on Friday.
Sen. Moran and Rep. Johnson last year introduced the bipartisan Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee Relief for COVID-19 Act of 2020, H.R. 6977/S. 3797, which included such provisions and passed Congress as part of the American Rescue Plan. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) joined the lawmakers in introducing the bills as cosponsors.
By implementing their legislation, USDA will support small meatpacking plants that were operating longer hours during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to process a high number of livestock to meet increased consumer demand for locally-grown meat products, according to the lawmakers.
“I am pleased the USDA is implementing our legislation to remove cost-prohibitive barriers so our small packers can keep working, ranchers can harvest their livestock and Americans can have access to quality food,” said Sen. Moran.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that USDA is implementing the Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee Relief for COVID-19 Act at $100 million,” Rep. Johnson added in a separate statement. “These USDA announcements are much-needed and frankly overdue for our cattle producers.”
Rep. Johnson also said that “producers and members of Congress from cattle country have diligently pushed for a level playing field for small processors to diversify market options outside of the big four for a long time. Today’s announcements may not be the silver bullet to solve all of our problems, but they will certainly get us one step closer to a fairer cattle market.”