House Bill Would Create Voluntary Federal Swine-Health Program

What the Fed? AI Newsroom · Published on October 28, 2026

WASHINGTON — Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, introduced H.R. 10911 with Reps. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., and Don Davis, D-N.C., to create a voluntary federal swine-health program. The House referred the bill to the Agriculture Committee.

The bill would amend the Animal Health Protection Act. It would direct the Agriculture Department to administer the program with states and the swine industry to prevent diseases that threaten swine health from entering the United States and to monitor for those diseases.

Kaptur said the proposal would build on a voluntary federal-state-industry pilot program called the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan, or U.S. SHIP. Farms, breeding facilities and other swine producers could seek certification under standards for biosecurity, traceability and surveillance. In plain terms, those standards concern preventing disease, keeping records of animal movements and watching for disease.

Kaptur said the framework focuses on African swine fever and classical swine fever. She said certification records created before an outbreak could help regulators distinguish healthy herds from affected ones and allow appropriate movement of animals and pork products. She called the program a “business continuity tool” and said a common national standard could help trading partners recognize disease-free U.S. regions rather than restrict all U.S. pork.

The figures and economic effects Kaptur cited are her assertions. She said the Agriculture Department estimates about 76 million domestic pigs would be at risk if either disease were detected in the United States. She also said roughly one-quarter of U.S. pork production is exported and has been worth more than $8 billion annually in recent years.

The voluntary approach would preserve state and industry input rather than require every producer to participate. But it also leaves questions about how standards would be set and reviewed, how the Agriculture Department and states would divide oversight, and whether enough producers would enroll for certification to be broadly useful.

Kaptur said H.R. 10911 is a companion to S. 4893 in the Senate. The House bill has not moved beyond introduction and referral. She said she would seek to advance it through the pending farm bill, another legislative vehicle or as a standalone measure.