{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/tuberville-introduces-bill-to-support-livestock-producers/", "Tuberville Introduces Bill to Support Livestock Producers", "2025-11-05", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "Senate", "AL", "Tommy Tuberville", "T000278", "www.tuberville.senate.gov", "tuberville", "https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) in introducing the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions (DIRECT) Act, legislation that would give livestock and poultry producers greater market access nationwide.\n\nThe DIRECT Act would create a narrow exemption to allow small producers and butchers greater flexibility for interstate sales without compromising food safety or jeopardizing market access in international trade.\n\n\u201cEver since the Biden Administration, Alabama\u2019s farmers and livestock producers have been struggling to survive. Cutting red tape and providing our cattle and livestock producers with additional avenues to sell their Made in the US products is a win,\u201d said Sen. Tuberville.\u201cWe must ensure we are putting American farmers and livestock producers first, not last. I\u2019m proud to join Senator Marshall in this legislation to support our family farms, small meat producers, and provide consumers easy access to all-American meat.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe last thing our livestock producers need is more red tape,\u201d said Sen. Marshall.\u201cLike many states, Kansas has strong meat inspection standards that already meet federal requirements. By creating a simple exemption, the DIRECT Act uplifts our ranchers by empowering them to sell their high-quality beef in innovative ways and across state lines.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom day one, Coach Tuberville has brought common sense to Washington, D.C. The DIRECT Act expands consumer choice and supports Alabama cattle producers while maintaining food safety. I commend Coach for co-sponsoring this legislation which provides more flexibility for interstate meat and poultry sales,\u201d said Rick Pate, Commissioner of Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries.\n\n\u201cThis bill helps farmers and consumers alike. The legislation creates new marketing opportunities for farmers while allowing consumers to buy direct from the farm with the added convenience of home delivery. We appreciate Coach Tuberville\u2019s support of this bill and his continued support of farmers in Alabama and across the country,\u201d said Jimmy Parnell, President of the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA).\n\n\u201cStreamlining accessibility of local beef for consumers while maintaining the safety of products is an innovative way to meet the continued demand of beef. We appreciate Coach\u2019s support of the DIRECT Act which creates more opportunities for small farms and meat processors,\u201d said Erin Beasley, Executive Vice President of the Alabama Cattlemen\u2019s Association.\n\nAlabama Department of Agriculture & Industries, Alabama Farmers Federation, and the Alabama Cattlemen\u2019s Association endorsed this legislation.\n\nRead full text of the legislation here.\n\nBACKGROUND:\n\nMany states, including Alabama, have State Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) programs approved as at least equivalent to the standards established under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). These programs are overseen through audits by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) \u2013 Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to ensure there are no food safety concerns. State inspection is often less expensive and preferable to very small processors. MPI programs require food safety plans (HACCP) and, similar to federally inspected processors, have inspectors on-site.\n\nSpecifically, the DIRECT Act would:\n\nAmend the retail exemption under the FMIA and PPIA to allow processors, butchers, or other retailers to sell normal retail quantities (300 lbs. of beef, 100 lbs. of pork, 27.5 lbs. of lamb) of MPI State Inspected Meat online to consumers across state lines.\n\nAllow new direct-to-consumer options for producers, processors, and small meat markets.\n\nAllows retail sales to consumers, minimizing the risk for further processing in export, keeping our equivalency agreements with trading partners intact.\n\nAllow states operating under the CIS system to ship and label as they are currently.\n\nWould prohibit the export of the MPI product.\n\nWould not allow custom exempt processors to ship meat in interstate commerce.\n\nSenator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans\u2019 Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/tuberville-introduces-bill-to-support-livestock-producers/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4544129371643066, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}