WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., pushed the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary-designee Brooke Rollins to share her plan to address the rising cost of eggs driven by the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak Jan. 10. Heinrich points to tools, such as HPAI vaccines, that the USDA could develop and deploy to help tackle the outbreak and lower food prices. Under the Trump administration, the avian flu outbreak is stressing poultry and egg producers’ ability to make a living and forcing working families to pay more at the grocery store for eggs and poultry products.
“As a U.S. Senator and member of the Appropriations Committee, my constituents have asked me to hold President Trump accountable for his promise to lower food prices for all Americans," Heinrich said. "The USDA has many tools at its disposal to combat rising prices, including HPAI vaccines. Vaccinating all laying hens in the U.S. against HPAI will help lower egg prices for consumers, decrease production losses for farmers, and ultimately decrease the cost to taxpayers through reduced indemnity payments."
Heinrich requested that Rollins respond in writing within two weeks with her plan to lower egg and poultry prices for consumers through vaccination efforts, while preserving export markets for American farmers. He requested that Rollins answer the following questions:
- Plan to Lower Prices: “Please share in detail your plan to lower egg and poultry prices through vaccination efforts and other means, including a complete vaccination strategy, use case, and plan to procure, stockpile, distribute, deploy, administer, and track the use of poultry H5N1 vaccines.”
- Deployment Considerations: “What considerations need to be weighed while deploying H5N1 vaccinations to all laying hens in domestic egg production? Please provide specifics about how you propose to prioritize certain flocks or regions based on risk and export profile to maximize reductions in cost paid by American consumers for poultry and egg products?”
- Better Trade Agreements for American Farmers: “Once you have reviewed our poultry trade agreements in consultation with the U.S. Trade Representative, please provide a plan that describes the actions the Administration will take to renegotiate trade agreements to permit the export of poultry and poultry products derived from birds that have been vaccinated. American farmers who want to keep their livelihoods intact and prices affordable for American families will look to you and the USTR to quickly renegotiate important trade agreements to maintain and expand foreign markets.”
- USDA Research Plan: “What is your plan for the USDA research that is needed to best match vaccines to the current strain of the virus and to expand production and deployment of effective vaccinations for poultry against all currently circulating variants of H5N1?”
- Vaccination Logistics: “How will you handle the logistics and costs associated with vaccination as well as enhanced surveillance and monitoring of flocks in a way that lowers prices for the American consumer?”
- Budget: “What budget will you assign to the USDA’s efforts to manage the HPAI outbreak and lower egg and poultry prices for families, including through vaccination and other means?”
