S 2770
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2770
To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to strengthen the
food safety inspection system by imposing stricter penalties for the
slaughter of nonambulatory livestock.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 13, 2008
Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. AKAKA, and Mrs. BOXER)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
A BILL
To amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to strengthen the
food safety inspection system by imposing stricter penalties for the
slaughter of nonambulatory livestock.
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 `Downed Animal Enforcement Act of 2008'.
SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF INSPECTION SERVICES RELATING TO SLAUGHTER OF
NONAMBULATORY LIVESTOCK.
Section 401 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 671) is amended--
(a) by striking `The Secretary may' and inserting the following:
`(a) In General- The Secretary may'; and
(b) by adding at the end the following:
`(b) Suspension of Inspection Services Relating to Slaughter of Nonambulatory
Livestock-
`(1) DEFINITION OF NONAMBULATORY LIVESTOCK- In this subsection, the
term `nonambulatory livestock' means any amenable species that will
not stand and walk unassisted.
`(2) PROHIBITION- It shall be a violation of this Act for an establishment--
`(A) to slaughter any nonambulatory livestock or to prepare any
carcass or part of a carcass, or meat or meat food product, from
any nonambulatory livestock, for use as human food; or
`(B) to fail to comply with Public Law 85-765 (commonly known as
the `Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958') (7 U.S.C. 1901 et
seq.) (including regulations promulgated under that Act), for the
treatment and slaughter of livestock.
`(3) PENALTIES- In addition to any other penalties imposed under this
Act or any other provision of law for a violation described in paragraph
(2), the Secretary shall, with respect to any establishment that commits
a violation described in that paragraph--
`(A) for the first violation, impose a civil penalty based on a
percentage of the gross income of the establishment, as determined
by the Secretary by regulation so that the same percentage applies
to all establishments, with amounts collected retained by the Food
and Safety Inspection Service, to be available without appropriation
or fiscal year limitation;
`(B) for the second violation, suspend inspection service under
title I for a period of 1 year; and
`(C) for the third violation, permanently withdraw inspection service
under title I.'.
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS.
(a) In General- Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, in order to improve voluntary food recall and public notification
procedures in the event of a meat or poultry recall by the Secretary,
the Secretary shall promulgate final regulations that provide for public
disclosure of a comprehensive list of establishments at which recalled
meat or poultry is known to be available to the public for consumption
or sale.
(b) Procedure- The promulgation of the regulations described in subsection
(a) shall be made without regard to--
(1) the notice and comment provisions of section 553 of title 5, United
States Code;
(2) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of Agriculture effective
July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 13804), relating to notices of proposed
rulemaking and public participation in rulemaking; and
(3) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as
the `Paperwork Reduction Act').
(c) Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking- In carrying out this
section, the Secretary shall use the authority provided under section
808 of title 5, United States Code.
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