HR1376-119

What This Bill Does

The Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act amends the Animal Health Protection Act. When a poultry growing or laying facility is inside an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service control area and is prohibited from growing or laying flocks, the Agriculture Secretary must compensate the owner. Compensation is calculated using the average income from the five most recent flocks multiplied by the number of flocks the facility was prohibited from growing or laying. The bill treats disease-control downtime as a compensable loss, not just destroyed-animal loss.

Who Benefits and How

Poultry growers benefit because they can receive compensation for flocks they were barred from placing inside an APHIS control area. Egg-laying facility owners benefit because the bill covers facilities prevented from laying flocks, not only birds that were destroyed. Contract poultry farms benefit because average income from their five most recent flocks becomes the basis for payment. Rural poultry communities benefit if compensation helps farms survive disease-control shutdowns.

Who Bears the Burden and How

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service must determine control areas and support compensation administration. USDA payment offices must calculate average flock income and the number of prohibited flocks. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of indemnifying growers for disease-control downtime. Applicants must document recent flock income and show that the control-area restriction prevented production.

Key Provisions

• Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to compensate poultry facilities for prohibited production in control areas.
• Defines control area by reference to APHIS determinations.
• Provides compensation based on average income from the five most recent flocks.
• Expands animal-health indemnification beyond payment for destroyed animals.