As concerns over affordability continue across the United States, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is advancing a plan aimed at driving down egg prices by loosening long-standing federal regulations that restrict how certain eggs can enter the consumer market.
Cotton is introducing the Lowering Egg Prices Act of 2025, a proposal designed to update federal guidelines surrounding broiler hatching eggs the fertile eggs typically used to produce broiler chickens. Under current rules, these eggs cannot be redirected into the food supply even when they go unused for hatching. Farmers often end up discarding massive quantities of them, despite being perfectly suitable for pasteurization and use in liquid egg products.
According to Cotton, removing the regulatory barriers that prevent farmers from utilizing these eggs could significantly expand supply and help stabilize prices. In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, he criticized the existing framework as outdated bureaucratic overreach.
“Arkansas consumers have paid higher egg prices and faced egg shortages because of bureaucratic red tape that forces farmers to throw out hundreds of millions of usable eggs each year,” Cotton said. “My bill will cut these excessive regulations and lower egg prices.”
A Push to Modernize Egg-Handling Rules
The bill would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to re-evaluate and rewrite their existing egg-handling regulations. The central goal: create a clear pathway for surplus hatching eggs to be safely processed into pasteurized liquid egg products.
Such a shift could significantly enhance the nation’s egg supply chain, allowing producers to redirect eggs that would otherwise go to waste. Supporters argue that even small increases in supply can have major impacts on market pricing during periods of high demand or supply strain.
Price Pressure and Avian Flu Challenges
Egg prices across the U.S. surged dramatically over the past year. By March, prices climbed to record highs of over $6 per dozen, driven largely by supply instability and the widespread impacts of avian flu outbreaks. The virus continues to be a serious threat: once detected in a flock, the standard response is to euthanize all birds to prevent further spread a measure that quickly reduces supply and spikes consumer costs.
In response, the Trump administration earlier this year directed the USDA to allocate $1 billion toward strengthening the egg supply chain. The initiative focuses on biosecurity improvements, financial support for farmers, advancements in vaccine research, and increased imports to stabilize domestic availability.
Political and Legal Pressure Over Egg Prices
The broader debate surrounding regulations and egg pricing has intensified throughout the year. Several egg producers faced lawsuits alleging price-fixing, while the Trump administration pursued its own legal actions notably suing the state of California for regulatory practices that allegedly drove egg prices higher in conflict with federal law.
Despite these tensions, recent USDA data shows a trend toward relief. In its latest egg market overview, the agency reported an overall drop in national egg prices during the first week of December. Large white eggs the most commonly purchased variety fell roughly 17%, reaching an average of $1.91 per dozen. Some states, such as California, are seeing slower declines due to unique state-level regulations.
Cotton’s Bill in the Broader Affordability Conversation
Cotton’s proposal arrives at a time when affordability has become a key political battleground. Former President Donald Trump has emphasized cost-of-living issues heavily on the campaign trail, arguing that his policies are actively driving prices down including for household staples like eggs.
For Cotton, updating the nation’s egg-handling laws is a practical step toward preventing unnecessary waste and easing the financial burden on American families. By allowing farmers to channel unused hatching eggs into the food system, his bill aims to create a more resilient, flexible, and affordable supply chain.
Whether the legislation gains bipartisan traction remains to be seen, but it squarely places the debate over regulatory reform and food affordability back in the national spotlight.