21 U.S.C. § 473 — Grants for improvements to meat and poultry facilities to allow for interstate shipment

(a) In general -- The Secretary^* must give grants to meat and poultry^* slaughter and processing plants described in subsection (b) -- including state^*-inspected plants and plants exempt from federal inspection -- to help pay for improvements and planning needed either (1) to get a federal grant of inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or (2) to operate as a state-inspected plant that follows (A) the Federal Meat Inspection Act's cooperative interstate shipment program under section 501 of that Act, or (B) the Poultry Products Inspection Act's cooperative interstate shipment program under section 31 of that Act (21 U.S.C. § 472).

(b) Eligible facilities -- To qualify for a grant, a plant must (1) already be operating when it applies, and (2) be seeking either (A) a federal grant of inspection under subsection (a)(1), or (B) eligibility for a cooperative interstate shipment program under subsection (a)(2), in a state that runs that program.

(c) Eligible activities -- A plant that gets a grant may spend it on (1) modernizing or expanding the facility; (2) upgrading equipment; (3) meeting packaging and labeling^* laws; (4) meeting safety laws; (5) developing food-safety processes; and (6) anything else the Secretary approves.

(d) Grant requirements -- (1) Amount -- A grant cannot exceed $200,000. (2) Condition -- A grant recipient must agree to repay the full grant amount if, within 36 months of receiving it, the recipient (A)(i) still isn't inspected under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or Poultry Products Inspection Act, as applicable, or (ii) still isn't eligible for the relevant cooperative interstate shipment program; or (B) isn't making a genuine, good-faith effort to reach that inspection or eligibility. (3) Matching funds -- (A) In general -- The Secretary must require recipients to put up matching non-federal money equal to the grant amount. (B) Exception -- The Secretary cannot require matching funds for grants given in fiscal years 2021 or 2022.

(e) Reports -- (1) Reports on grants made -- Starting one year after the first grant is given, and every year after that through ten years past the last grant, the Secretary must report to four congressional agriculture and appropriations committees on (A) which plants used their grants for the activities in subsection (c) that year, and (B) whether those plants are still operating. (2) Report on the cooperative interstate shipment program -- Within one year of December 27, 2020, the Secretary must send those same committees a report, developed with input from every state, on possible improvements to the cooperative interstate shipment programs under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

(f) Funding -- Congress appropriates $60,000,000 from the Treasury for this section, available for fiscal years 2021 through 2023, and it stays available until spent.