March 18, 2025
Mr. Riley of New York (for himself, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Ms. McDonald Rivet, Mr. Harrigan, Mr. Wied, Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mr. Womack, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Salinas, and Ms. McBride) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
To make inapplicable to surplus broiler hatching eggs certain regulations relating to shell eggs, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Lowering Egg Prices Act of 2025
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Sec. 2. Inapplicability of certain shell egg rule provisions to surplus broiler hatching eggs sold to egg breakers
(a) Inapplicability of current rule
Effective beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, section 118.4(e) of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations) shall not apply with respect to surplus broiler hatching eggs that are intended to be sold to an egg breaker for purposes of processing such eggs as liquid egg products subject to regulation under the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.).
(b) Revised rule required
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall issue a rule revising section 118.4 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), to allow for surplus broiler hatching eggs to be held at such temperature and for such period of time at such temperature, so as to be compatible with conditions for hatching chicks and to allow for the sale of such eggs to egg breakers for the purposes described in subsection (a).
(c) Definitions
In this Act:
(1)
The terms egg and egg product have the meanings given such terms in section 4 of the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1033).
(2)
The term egg breaker means a facility in the commercial sector that processes eggs by breaking the eggs out of their shells and selling the resulting liquid egg product in bulk to food manufacturers.
(3)
The term broiler hatching egg means an egg intended for use by broiler hatcheries for the production of baby chicks.
(4)
The term broiler hatchery means a facility where fertilized eggs from broiler breeder chickens are incubated and hatched into day-old chicks, which are then raised on farms to produce meat as broiler chickens.