HR0979 LRB093 22296 RAS 51361 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Approximately 40% of the meat and poultry
3 operations in the United States operate under state inspection
4 in 28 of the 50 states, including a large number of operations
5 in the State of Illinois, which operates a State inspection
6 program; and
 
7     WHEREAS, The Federal Meat Inspection Act prohibits
8 state-inspected plants from selling their products in other
9 states, even though they follow the same inspection regulations
10 as USDA plants; and
 
11     WHEREAS, There have been attempts made to change the law to
12 allow the shipping of state-inspected meat and poultry products
13 in interstate commerce for the past 30 years; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The changing of the law is tied to the survival
15 and success of the small meat and poultry processing industry
16 in the United States, and while there has been more of a drop
17 in the number of small and very small plants in the United
18 States that operate under USDA inspection (mostly in states
19 where that is the only kind of inspection available), there has
20 been a greater stability in the number of small and very small
21 plants that operate under state inspection; and
 
22     WHEREAS, A broad array of stakeholders inside and outside
23 of the meat industry across the United States now support
24 shipment of products across state lines by plants that are
25 inspected by "equal to" state meat inspection programs; this
26 group of stakeholders includes large, medium, and small meat
27 establishments, groups, and governments, including the USDA
28 and members of Congress; and
 
29     WHEREAS, The issue has become even more critical today as a
30 result of the continuing consolidation of the meat industry,

 

 

HR0979 - 2 - LRB093 22296 RAS 51361 r

1 including the closing and disappearance of small and very small
2 meat establishments and their acquisition by larger companies,
3 including those small and very small meat establishments in the
4 State of Illinois; and
 
5     WHEREAS, One way to fight this consolidation, which
6 Congress has expressed concern about, is to strengthen small
7 businesses by allowing them to ship across state lines, thereby
8 increasing their markets, strengthening their economic power,
9 and helping the rural regions of Illinois and other states
10 where meat plants operate under state inspection; therefore, be
11 it
 
12     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
14 endorse the changing of the Federal Meat Inspection Act to
15 allow state-inspected meat and poultry plants to ship their
16 products across state lines in this State and in other states
17 where "equal to" state inspection programs operate; and be it
18 further
 
19     RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to take action as soon as
20 possible to change the law to allow interstate shipment of
21 state-inspected meat products; and be it further
 
22     RESOLVED, That we urge the Congressional delegation of
23 Illinois to play a leadership role in this action, including
24 the Speaker of the House and members of the Senate Committee on
25 Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, House Committee on
26 Agriculture, Senate Committee on Small Business and
27 Entrepreneurship, and House Committee on Small Business; and be
28 it further
 
29     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
30 delivered to the President pro tempore of the United States
31 Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of

 

 

HR0979 - 3 - LRB093 22296 RAS 51361 r

1 Representatives, each member of the Senate Committee on
2 Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, House Committee on
3 Agriculture, Senate Committee on Small Business and
4 Entrepreneurship, and House Committee on Small Business, and
5 each member of the Illinois Congressional delegation.