“A bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to authorize Tribal meat inspection under that Act by Tribal personnel, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends Title IV of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 671 et seq.) by (1) redesignating section 411 (21 U.S.C. 680) as section 412; and (2) inserting a new section 411 that establishes a self-determination contract program for tribal meat inspections. The new section 411 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, beginning not later than 2 years after enactment and subject to appropriations, to enter into self-determination contracts with an Indian Tribe or tribal organization, upon request, under which tribal personnel may hire, train (to Food Safety and Inspection Service standards), and conduct meat inspections—defined as covered activities—at covered facilities, which are mobile or stationary meat processing facilities (including for bison and reindeer) with at least 51% ownership by an Indian Tribe, tribal organization, or tribally owned entity. Such contracts require (1) inspection standards at least as stringent as federal requirements for amenable and non-amenable species covering antemortem/postmortem inspection, reinspection, sanitation, humane handling, recordkeeping, and enforcement, including applicable laboratory standards; (2) appropriate insurance coverage (including for food-borne illness outbreaks), with sovereign immunity waivers limited to policy coverage and limits (excluding prejudgment interest or punitive damages) and treatment of covered facilities as federally inspected for insurance and liability purposes; (3) Secretary oversight authority (including recalls, reviews, and audits); and (4) tribal enforcement powers matching those under the Act (i.e., violation notices, remedy periods, and halting processing). (Thus, qualifying tribal meat processors may self-inspect after training, expanding access to federal-equivalent inspection while preserving USDA oversight and liability protections.)