Office of the Secretary July 16, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, laying out a whole-of- government approach to promoting competition, which directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop strategies to improve competition in agricultural markets. This complements USDA's efforts to address meat and poultry processing bottlenecks as part of the Administration's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force (Task Force) and to Build Back Better following the COVID-19 pandemic. To develop strategies that support the Executive Order and enhance competitiveness in the meat and poultry processing sector, USDA is seeking input from the public on how to invest an estimated $500 million of American Rescue Plan funds to improve infrastructure, increase capacity, and hasten diversification across the processing industry. USDA is interested in your comments in response to the topics, categories, and questions shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.