Bill · S. 1509· Senate(119-S-1509)
Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2025
- Introduced
- 4/29/2025
- Last activity
- 4/29/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text: CR S2666-2668)
- Sponsored by
- John Thune
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 3
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2025 aims to support small and very small meat and poultry processing businesses. It requires the Secretary to provide free databases, model plans, and guidance for safety plans. The bill increases federal funding for state inspections and expands the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. It also creates a grant program for processing resilience and funds career training programs, including apprenticeships.
Yes· 3 of 17
Does this make it easier to run a small business?+9
Provides direct grants, free technical resources, and expanded interstate shipping capabilities for small processors.
Would business owners be better off under this?+8
Provides grants and reduces regulatory burdens for small meat and poultry processors.
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?+8
Directly supports the rural infrastructure of meat processing and local agriculture.
The opposite
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-2
The bill increases federal spending through grants and higher cost-shares for state inspections.
Does this reduce what the federal government owes?-1
The bill authorizes new federal spending totaling $30 million annually.
Does this make the government pay for what it commits to?-1
Increases federal expenditures without specifying an offset.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Easier Safety Planning: Small and very small establishments get access to a free database of validation studies and model safety plans to help them develop required plans (Section 2).
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Increased Federal Funding: The federal share for state inspection expenses increases from 50 percent to 65 percent for both poultry and meat products (Section 3).
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Expanded Shipping Opportunities: The Cooperative Interstate Shipment program increases the employee threshold from 25 to 50 employees, potentially allowing more businesses to ship products across state lines (Section 4).
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Financial Assistance for Growth: Eligible entities can apply for competitive grants up to $500,000 to improve health and safety, increase processing capacity, or purchase equipment like cold storage and humane handling infrastructure (Section 5).
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Job Training: Grants are provided to colleges, vocational schools, and nonprofits to create career training and structured apprenticeships for meat and poultry processing (Section 6).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Competitive Grant Risk: Because the Processing Resilience Grant Program and Processor Career Training Programs are competitive, many eligible entities or schools may not receive the funding they apply for (Section 5 and Section 6).
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Limited Funding Pool: The total authorized appropriations for the resilience grants ($20 million) and training programs ($10 million) per year may limit the number of people or businesses that can actually benefit (Section 5 and Section 6).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Business Owners+8Good For Rural Residents+8Good For Farmers+7Good For Students+5Good For Young Adults+4Good For Middle Aged+3Good For Low Income Households+2Good For Middle Class Households+2
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Small Business Support+9Increases Job Creation+4Improves Economic Growth+3Improves Consumer Protection+2Reduces Government Spending-2Improves Fiscal Responsibility-1Reduces National Debt-1
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Interstate Commerce+5Increase States Rights+4Increases Federal Power+2
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Rural Development+7
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Poverty Reduction+2
- 7/14/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 2/9/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 4/29/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text: CR S2666-2668)
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Martin HeinrichDemocrat · New Mexico
Tina SmithDemocrat · Minnesota
Elissa SlotkinDemocrat · Michigan