Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues, Mr. Finstad of Minnesota and Mr. Davis of North Carolina, in introducing the ``U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan Act'' to formally establish and…
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues, Mr. Finstad of Minnesota and Mr. Davis of North Carolina, in introducing the ``U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan Act'' to formally establish and codify in U.S. law a voluntary program to be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for pork farms, pig breeding facilities, and swine producers to certify that herds meet rigorous standards to prevent, detect, and respond to animal diseases, and to allow for greater marketability of U.S. pork products in international markets.
The U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan, known as ``U.S. SHIP,'' was established in 2020 as a voluntary Federal-State-Industry pilot program using grant funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The pilot program enables covered swine facilities to receive certifications upon meeting certain biosecurity, traceability, and surveillance standards for African Swine Fever and Classical Swine Fever. Modeled on the National Poultry Improvement Plan, which has successfully served the poultry industry since 1935, U.S. SHIP is a producer-driven program governed from the ground up that now includes participation by 38 States. The House of Delegates, composed of producers appointed by their State pork producer associations and of State animal health officials, votes each year on updates to the program's standards, which are then reviewed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for adoption. African Swine Fever and Classical Swine Fever are two of the most devastating swine-specific foreign animal diseases threatening the U.S. domestic pig supply, international trade markets, and the livelihoods of American pork producers. If either disease were detected in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates approximately 76 million domestic pigs would be at risk. African Swine Fever has already reached the Western Hemisphere, with confirmed cases in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in 2021. Neither disease poses a risk to human health or food safety, but the economic consequences of an outbreak would be immediate and severe. Since its establishment, the U.S. SHIP pilot program's certification framework has helped hog farmers in selling healthy and trusted swine and pork products both domestically and internationally.
The bill I have introduced with my colleagues today, which is a companion to S. 4893 in the Senate, amends the Animal Health Protection Act to build upon the U.S. SHIP pilot program's success by Congressionally authorizing the program and institutionalizing it within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill would also set up the program to address not only African Swine Fever and Classical Swine Fever but any other disease that may surface in the future and threaten the American swine industry. Additionally, the bill would establish a Federal advisory committee to provide recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on program administration and to study problems related to swine health more broadly and to recommend ways the Secretary could assist the swine industry in addressing such problems whether through the U.S. SHIP program or otherwise. Notably, a Federal advisory committee has been key to the long-term success of the National Poultry Improvement Plan, and it is essential for U.S. SHIP to function as intended.
By increasing certainty for and expanding the U.S. SHIP program, Congress can support swine facilities in receiving health certifications and strengthen the marketability of domestic swine products. In doing so, we would bolster our Nation's agricultural trade economy and help protect animal health, public health, and the security of our food supply by preventing future animal-disease outbreaks, a true ``One Health'' approach. Further, by establishing the U.S. SHIP program, creating certifications, and enabling excess U.S. pork to reach international markets, we create a mechanism to increase global demand for U.S. pork and increase income for American pork producers.
Just as important, U.S. SHIP is a business continuity tool. In an outbreak, farms that cannot document their biosecurity, animal movements, and disease surveillance risk being locked in place, unable to move healthy pigs to market or to the next stage of production, with animal welfare and financial consequences that can compound by the day. Certification builds that record before a crisis arises so that regulators can quickly distinguish healthy herds from affected ones and keep commerce moving. A common national standard also gives trading partners with the United States a stronger basis to recognize disease- free regions of the United States rather than closing their markets to all U.S. pork.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, roughly one quarter of U.S. pork production is exported abroad, valued at more than $8 billion each year in recent years. Protecting that international market access protects the price every American pig farmer receives.
For Ohio, this is not abstract. Ohio's 2,500 pig farmers raise pigs on 3,500 farms, many of them family farms in Northwest Ohio, and they are a major customer for Ohio corn and soybean growers and support jobs in feed mills, packing plants, trucking, and veterinary practices across our State. Ohio pig farmers have been active in U.S. SHIP since the pilot program's inception, and together with our State animal health officials, they continue to help write and refine its standards through the program's House of Delegates. That's one of the reasons why I am stepping forward to introduce this legislation with my colleagues.
This legislation also provides important protections for American consumers, Should an outbreak of African Swine Fever or Classical Swine Fever occur in the United States, export markets could close overnight, the prices paid to farmers would fall sharply, and herd losses would ultimately disrupt the supply of an affordable, nutritious protein and raise costs for American families at a time when they can least afford it. Our consumers, our pork producers, and all those involved throughout the supply chain would be harmed. This legislation is about prevention and minimizing the risk of such harm.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this legislation whether through the pending Farm Bill, another appropriate vehicle, or as a standalone measure. I urge my colleagues, including the leadership of the Committee on Agriculture, to support it. I thank my constituents, including Mr. Kevin Stuckey of Hicksville in Defiance County, Ohio, for raising issues important to the swine industry, such as U.S. SHIP, and for his service as a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Pork Producers Delegate Body.
