WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate designed to mitigate the financial impacts of avian influenza on poultry growers across the country as the virus continues to spread.
On Wednesday, Delaware Senator Chris Coons (D) and Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker (R) introduced the Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act (HPAI ACT) aims to ensure compensation for growers and laying operations affected by bird flu.
Specifically, the act would expand U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) compensation to all poultry farmers in a bird flu control area. According to the Senators, all poultry farms within a 10-kilometer radius of a positive bird flu case are banned from placing flocks until the virus is contained. Currently, only those with positive-testing flocks are eligible to receive compensation.
The bill would also change how compensation is calculated, basing it on the average income farmers earned from their last five flocks.
“As avian flu cases rise in Delaware, it’s vital that we have smart policies in place that protect Delaware’s independent family farmers and poultry growers both medically and financially. As it stands, blind spots in our HPAI compensation program punish growers for culling flu-free flocks,” said Senator Coons. “As co-Chair of the Senate Chicken Caucus, I hope that including this bipartisan solution in the next Farm Bill will provide a lifeline to all hardworking farmers who do their part in helping us contain disease outbreaks by offering them fair and immediate financial relief, allowing them to recover quickly and assisting them in maintaining the strength of our essential poultry supply chains.”
Coons’ office says bird flu has affected 153 million birds across the nation since its outbreak in 2022 and has caused hundreds of millions of losses and sent food inflation skyrocketing. On Delmarva alone, over 1.5 million birds have already been euthanized to control the spread of bird flu since January 3, 2025.