# 119-s-1509: Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2025

119-s-1509, Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] (R-SD); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-16).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1509
- As of: 2026-07-16
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1509
- Congress: 119
- Title: Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-29
- Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] (R-SD)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-16

## Summary

**This bill would boost support for small and very small meat and poultry processors** by creating tailored HACCP guidance, new grants, and career training to expand local processing capacity and market access. It also raises the federal share for state inspection and widens cooperative interstate shipment rules to help more small plants sell across state lines. - Small and very small establishments get targeted HACCP help. The bill requires a searchable database of peer‑reviewed validation studies within 18 months and online model HACCP plans plus guidance on plan approval within 2 years, with protections for confidential business information. - State inspection programs and selected establishments gain more federal funding and access. The federal cost share for state inspection activities rises to 65% and cooperative interstate shipment rules are expanded so more small plants can participate. - New grant and training programs aim to build regional capacity and workforce pipelines. A Processing Resilience Grant Program offers competitive awards (up to $500,000 and a simplified small‑grant track) and a separate grant program funds processor career training and apprenticeships. *Authorizes about $20.0 million and $10.0 million per year for FY2025–2030 respectively, totaling roughly $180.0 million in federal authorizations.*

## Cosponsors (3)

- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-02-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI] (D-MI), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Processing resilience grants for small processors: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would create a Processing Resilience Grant Program to help small and very small meat and poultry processors. Grants could be up to $500,000 and last up to 3 years. Grants $100,000 or less would use a simplified application. Federal shares would be up to 90% for grants $100,000…
- Career training and apprenticeships for processors: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund competitive grants to colleges, technical schools, nonprofits, and worker centers to create or expand meat and poultry processing career training and structured apprenticeships. Grants would support on-the-job training, competency assessment, and individualized appre…
- Higher federal share for state inspections: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would increase the maximum Federal share of State meat and poultry inspection expenses from 50% to 65%. The change would take effect upon enactment and would reduce State inspection cost burdens, potentially supporting inspection capacity for local processors.
- Free HACCP database and model plans: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would require USDA to build a free, searchable database of approved validation studies within 18 months. USDA would also publish online model HACCP plans for three small establishment types in 18 months. Within 2 years, USDA would publish guidance on how smaller and very small…
- Expanded interstate shipment rules for small processors: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would raise employee-count eligibility tests in cooperative interstate shipment rules from 25 to 50 employees and shift numeric bands accordingly. It would raise the participation/share threshold from 60% to 80%. From FY2025–FY2030, USDA would be required to do outreach each ye…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.

## Sources
- [119-s-1509 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1509)

## Related
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1261)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1509 (as of 2026-07-16).