Bill Details

HR.1376 - 119th Congress

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This bill would create a new payment program for poultry farmers who are ordered to stop growing or laying birds because their farm is inside a government control area. If a poultry facility cannot place flocks because of that restriction, the federal government would pay the owner for the lost production. The payment would be based on the farm’s average income from its five most recent flocks, multiplied by the number of flocks the farm could not raise or lay while the control area was in place. Any money the owner already received from a state or another source would be deducted, and the government would have to make the payment within 60 days of the request.

  • The bill applies to poultry facilities inside a control area set by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
  • “Poultry” includes birds raised mainly for eggs or meat, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and some other farm birds, but not doves or pigeons.
  • The Secretary of Agriculture would decide the payment amount, and that decision would not be open to court review.
  • A farm could not get this payment if it already received compensation for destroyed animals in the same control area during the same time period.

Official Summaries

Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025

This bill expands the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) producer indemnity and compensation program to include compensation for all poultry growers and layers located in an APHIS-determined control area, which may include non-infected poultry. 

Currently, APHIS provides indemnity and compensation to producers to remove animals classified as affected, suspect, or exposed to diseases of concern, including highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). An APHIS-determined control area consists of both an infected zone and a buffer zone.  Under the bill, APHIS must compensate all owners of poultry growing or laying facilities for flocks of birds that the facility owner was prohibited from growing or laying due to the location of the facility within a control area. This may include facilities that are located in the buffer zones and have non-infected poultry.

Further, the bill establishes a new compensation payment formula that requires payments to be based on the owner’s average income from the five most recent flocks. Under the bill, APHIS's compensation determination is final and not subject to judicial or administrative review (other than by the Secretary of Agriculture or a designee).

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1376 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1376

 To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to provide compensation for 
  poultry growers and layers in control areas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2025

Mr. Costa (for himself, Mr. Alford, Mr. Riley of New York, Mr. Stauber, 
 Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Finstad, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Feenstra, and 
 Mr. Womack) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to provide compensation for 
  poultry growers and layers in control areas, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy Poultry Assistance and 
Indemnification Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. COMPENSATION FOR POULTRY GROWERS AND LAYERS IN CONTROL AREAS.

    Section 10407 of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8306) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d), in the subsection heading, by 
        inserting ``for Destroyed Animals'' after ``Compensation''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Compensation for Poultry Growers and Layers in Control 
Areas.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Control area.--The term `control area' means 
                a Control Area determined by the Administrator of the 
                Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
                    ``(B) Poultry.--The term `poultry' means 
                domesticated fowl that are bred for the primary purpose 
                of producing eggs or meat, including, when so bred, 
                chickens, turkeys, ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries, 
                waterfowl, and game birds, but not including doves and 
                pigeons.
            ``(2) Compensation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
                (3), the Secretary shall compensate the owner of a 
                poultry growing or laying facility for flocks of birds 
                that the owner of such facility was prohibited from 
                growing or laying due to the location of the facility 
                within a control area.
                    ``(B) Amount.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Compensation paid under 
                        subparagraph (A) shall be in an amount that is 
                        equal to the product obtained by multiplying--
                                    ``(I) the average income from the 5 
                                most recent flocks of birds that the 
                                poultry growing or laying facility grew 
                                or laid; and
                                    ``(II) the number of flocks of 
                                birds that the owner of the poultry 
                                growing or laying facility was 
                                prohibited from growing or laying 
                                during the period of time in which the 
                                control area was in effect.
                            ``(ii) Limitation.--Compensation paid any 
                        owner of a poultry growing or laying facility 
                        under this subsection shall not exceed the 
                        difference between--
                                    ``(I) the amount described in 
                                clause (i); and
                                    ``(II) any compensation received by 
                                the owner from a State or other source 
                                for the 1 or more flocks of birds that 
                                the owner was prohibited from growing 
                                or laying.
                            ``(iii) Reviewability.--The determination 
                        by the Secretary of the amount to be paid under 
                        this subsection shall be final and not subject 
                        to judicial review or review by any officer or 
                        employee of the Federal Government other than 
                        the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary.
                    ``(C) Timing.--Compensation shall be paid under 
                subparagraph (A) not later than 60 days after the date 
                on which the owner of a poultry growing or laying 
                facility submits a request to the Secretary for 
                compensation.
            ``(3) Exceptions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The exceptions described in 
                subsection (d)(3) shall apply to this subsection.
                    ``(B) Compensation for destroyed animals.--No 
                payment shall be made by the Secretary under this 
                subsection to an owner of a poultry growing or laying 
                facility who has received compensation under subsection 
                (d) for a facility in the same control area during the 
                same period of time.''.
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