Congress again refuses to fund USDA poultry grower rules

The House Appropriations Committee narrowly approved an amendment to funding legislation that would stop USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) from finalizing rules pertaining to how the Packers and Stockyards Act is interpreted and enforced.

On a 26-24 vote, the committee approved the amendment offered by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) to the fiscal 2017 funding bill that, as similar measures have in previous years, blocked funding for GIPSA final rules that would have sought to ensure poultry grower rights are protected in disputes with contracting poultry processors.