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1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY MEYER
1 3 A House Concurrent Resolution to urge the federal
1 4 government to ensure fair and competitive
1 5 market practices for the purchase of livestock
1 6 from producers by packers and livestock buyers.
1 7 WHEREAS, agriculture has traditionally represented
1 8 the foundation of this nation's economic prosperity,
1 9 providing a system unmatched in the world for the
1 10 abundant and affordable production of food, feed
1 11 grains, and animal products, which maintains this
1 12 nation's people and contributes billions of dollars in
1 13 revenue each year from export sales; and
1 14 WHEREAS, the production of livestock by this
1 15 nation's farmers and ranchers represents a key
1 16 component of this nation's prosperity, by providing
1 17 numerous value-added food and other products upon
1 18 which this nation depends; and
1 19 WHEREAS, the state of Iowa is a leading
1 20 agricultural state which has developed and is
1 21 expanding infrastructure for the production and
1 22 processing of livestock, by relying upon its abundant
1 23 supplies of feed grains and the management and
1 24 knowledge of its producers, to consistently rank among
1 25 the top livestock-producing states in the nation; and
1 26 WHEREAS, this system of livestock production, which
1 27 has contributed to the economic security of the United
1 28 States, depends upon farmers and ranchers competing in
1 29 fair and open markets which ensure that producers have
1 30 an equal opportunity to sell livestock to packers and
2 1 buyers based on animal carcass value; and
2 2 WHEREAS, the practice of engaging in special
2 3 pricing arrangements which are not justifiable between
2 4 packers or buyers and producers erodes this nation's
2 5 system of open and fair markets, by establishing
2 6 arbitrary and inconsistent pricing without public
2 7 disclosure or price discovery, and which, if allowed
2 8 to replace the current system and distort market
2 9 forces, will create relationships which, in some
2 10 cases, will be unfair to producers and in other cases
2 11 will be unfair to packers and buyers; and
2 12 WHEREAS, the United States Congress enacted the
2 13 Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 as amended, 21
2 14 U.S.C. } 181 et seq., to ensure fair and competitive
2 15 pricing practices between packers or buyers and
2 16 producers; NOW THEREFORE,
2 17 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
2 18 SENATE CONCURRING, That the Congress of the United
2 19 States; the President of the United States; the
2 20 Secretary of Agriculture, United States Department of
2 21 Agriculture; and the Grain Inspection, Packers and
2 22 Stockyards Administration, United States Department of
2 23 Agriculture, support a price reporting system that
2 24 includes the disclosure of prices paid for the
2 25 purchase of livestock each week to be reported by the
2 26 United States Department of Agriculture; and
2 27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That pricing practices be
2 28 reviewed for purposes of developing and enforcing
2 29 standards and limitations regarding justifiable price
2 30 differences based on the time of delivery, carcass
3 1 value, and private pricing arrangements under
3 2 contract; and
3 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Grain Inspection,
3 4 Packers and Stockyards Administration, United States
3 5 Department of Agriculture, complete or update ongoing
3 6 studies evaluating the effects of justifiable pricing
3 7 differences; and
3 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That interested members of
3 9 the Iowa General Assembly, including members of the
3 10 Legislative Council of the Iowa General Assembly, are
3 11 encouraged to discuss these issues with legislative
3 12 members representing other midwestern states,
3 13 including supporting forums sponsored by the National
3 14 Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of
3 15 State Governments, in order to ensure a coordinated
3 16 legislative response to issues relating to ensuring
3 17 fair and competitive market practices, if the federal
3 18 government does not take action to ensure fair and
3 19 competitive market practices during the 1996 calendar
3 20 year; and
3 21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That if the federal
3 22 government does not take action to support a price
3 23 reporting system that includes disclosure of prices
3 24 paid for the purchase of livestock and prohibits
3 25 packers from unjustly discriminating in the prices
3 26 that they offer to different producers, the Iowa
3 27 General Assembly shall consider these issues during
3 28 the next regular session of the Seventy-seventh Iowa
3 29 General Assembly; and
3 30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
4 1 resolution be sent by the Chief Clerk of the House of
4 2 Representatives to the National Conference of State
4 3 Legislatures and the Council of State Governments; and
4 4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
4 5 resolution be sent by the Chief Clerk of the House of
4 6 Representatives to the President of the Senate of the
4 7 United States; the Speaker of the House of
4 8 Representatives of the United States; the chairman of
4 9 the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture,
4 10 Nutrition, and Forestry; the chairman of the United
4 11 States House of Representatives Committee on
4 12 Agriculture; members of Iowa's congressional
4 13 delegation; the President of the United States; the
4 14 Secretary of Agriculture, United States Department of
4 15 Agriculture; and the Administrator of the Grain
4 16 Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration,
4 17 United States Department of Agriculture.
4 18 LSB 2189HH 76
4 19 da/cf/24
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