Getting a plan in place to use the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) authority at USDA to address a pandemic in the future like the COVID-19 situation is a key issue that House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D., Minn., said he will pursue.
“We are going to have to have a way to respond to emergencies that is off the shelf,” Peterson told reporters. He also said that CCC authorities need to be put in place to pay producers for animals they have to depopulate in emergency situations. “We have got to change the statute, we have got to put this in the CCC law,” Peterson said.
He also noted that the executive order signed by President Donald Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to keep meat plants operating should help get plants back on line. While some have raised concerns about provisions on liability and that the order lacked protections for workers, Peterson said he believes workers will be protected.
“I think the biggest issue is making sure these workers in the plant are safe,” he added, saying he would not support any move that does not also ensure worker safety.
Meanwhile, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue has asked Peterson to form a working group to address the closing of pork plants and resulting euthanasia of hogs in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota. Peterson noted he spoke with Perdue for about 30 minutes Wednesday morning about the current state of the food system with a focus on packing plants.
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