Congress Proposes $5,000-Per-Pound Fine for Mislabeling Foreign Beef as American
This bill is currently sitting in the House Committee on Agriculture. No action has been taken on the proposal since October 2025, and it is considered stalled. The committee must review the bill before it can move forward, though most bills never receive a vote at this stage.
No action since October 2025
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 5081 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 5081 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Small grocery stores and independent butcher shops would need to ensure their beef labeling complies with the new country-of-origin requirements. The dramatically higher penalties — $5,000 per pound rather than $1,000 per violation — create significant financial risk for small retailers who make labeling errors, even unintentionally. Compliance costs for tracking and labeling beef origins could be burdensome for smaller operations with tight margins.
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Bipartisan lawmakers reintroduced the Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act to reinstate mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. The bill increases fines for false 'Product of U.S.A.' labels to $5,000 per pound, targeting multinational packers who mix foreign and domestic meat.
Representatives Harriet Hageman and Ro Khanna reintroduced legislation to restore mandatory labeling for beef. The bill aims to protect American ranchers from 'monopolistic big packers' by ensuring transparency and increasing penalties for mislabeled foreign products to $5,000 per pound.
Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman reintroduced the Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act, which would raise fines to $5,000 per pound for retailers falsely labeling foreign beef as American. The move comes as the administration considers increasing beef imports from Argentina to lower prices.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act of 2025
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