Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025
Summary
SB 574, the Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025, would amend the Animal Health Protection Act to create a new federal compensation program for owners of poultry growing and laying facilities located in a USDA/APHIS-designated control area. The bill is aimed at situations where poultry operations are restricted from placing or raising flocks because of animal health controls, such as disease containment measures. Under the bill, the Secretary of Agriculture would be required to compensate affected facility owners for lost production opportunities during the period the control area is in effect.
The compensation formula would be based on the average income from the five most recent flocks at the facility, multiplied by the number of flocks the owner was prohibited from growing or laying during the restriction period. Any amount received from a state or other source for the same lost flocks would reduce the federal payment, and payment would be due within 60 days after a request is submitted. The bill also preserves existing exceptions under the Animal Health Protection Act and bars duplicate federal compensation for facilities that already received payment for destroyed animals in the same control area and time period.
Impact
The bill would expand Section 10407 of the Animal Health Protection Act by adding a new compensation authority specifically for poultry growers and layers affected by control-area restrictions, while also clarifying the existing compensation heading applies to destroyed animals. It would create a new federal indemnification obligation for USDA, affecting poultry facility owners whose operations are limited by APHIS control areas, and would interact with any state or private compensation programs by offsetting those payments from the federal amount. In practical terms, it would shift some economic risk from poultry producers to the federal government during disease-control or quarantine events.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support at introduction, as shown by the large list of Senate cosponsors from both parties. No committee transcript or recorded vote is available in the provided materials, so there is no detailed debate record to indicate opposition or amendments. Based on the sponsorship pattern and the bill’s purpose of providing financial relief to poultry producers, the overall sentiment in the available record is favorable and supportive.
Contention
The main policy issue is whether the federal government should compensate poultry operations for lost income when they are restricted by control areas, rather than only compensating for animals that are destroyed. Potential points of contention include the cost to the federal government, how the average income and number of lost flocks would be calculated, and whether payments should be reduced by state or other compensation. Another possible issue is the interaction with existing indemnity rules, especially the bill’s prohibition on duplicative payment for facilities that already received compensation for destroyed animals in the same control area.
Prohibits force-feeding to create a force-fed poultry product or the hiring of another to engage in force-feeding of a poultry product. It also prohibits the sale of a force-fed poultry product or food containing a force-fed poultry product.
Prohibits force-feeding to create a force-fed poultry product or the hiring of another to engage in force-feeding of a poultry product. It also prohibits the sale of a force-fed poultry product or food containing a force-fed poultry product.