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PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY FREVERT
1 3 A Concurrent Resolution requesting that the United States
1 4 government take all actions necessary in order to
1 5 prevent further concentration and vertical integration
1 6 in the livestock industry.
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 and processing of livestock
1 15 represents a key component of this nation's
1 16 prosperity, by providing numerous value-added food and
1 17 other products upon which this nation depends; and
1 18 WHEREAS, there is a trend toward increasing
1 19 concentration and vertical integration in the
1 20 livestock industry, as evidenced by the cattle
1 21 industry where three firms account for almost eighty
1 22 percent of all fed cattle slaughtered in the United
1 23 States and less than one percent of cattle feeders
1 24 account for forty-five percent of all head sold; and
1 25 WHEREAS, state attorneys general play a significant
1 26 role in fostering full and free competition in the
1 27 United States economy through the enforcement of
1 28 federal and state antitrust laws; and
1 29 WHEREAS, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and the
1 30 state attorneys general of Alabama, Colorado,
2 1 Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
2 2 Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota,
2 3 Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont,
2 4 Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin have
2 5 expressed strong concern regarding this trend toward
2 6 concentration and vertical integration in the
2 7 livestock industry; and
2 8 WHEREAS, the states attorneys general recommend
2 9 that the United States Department of Agriculture
2 10 implement the recommendations of a special
2 11 departmental advisory committee considering this issue
2 12 and taking other actions which promote competition in
2 13 the livestock industry; and
2 14 WHEREAS, on November 20, 1996, Iowa Attorney
2 15 General Tom Miller, serving as chair of the Antitrust
2 16 Committee of the National Association of Attorneys
2 17 General, and nineteen other state attorneys general
2 18 urged the United States Secretary of Agriculture and
2 19 the United States Congress to take a variety of
2 20 actions required to promote competition in the
2 21 livestock industry; NOW THEREFORE,
2 22 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
2 23 SENATE CONCURRING, That the United States Department
2 24 of Agriculture is urged to take actions recommended by
2 25 the state attorneys general, including providing for
2 26 greater disclosure of important marketing information
2 27 in order to shed light on anticompetitive practices;
2 28 reporting captive supply arrangements; developing a
2 29 value-based pricing system to provide producers with
2 30 consistent and accurate information concerning
3 1 premiums and discounts based on grade, yield, and
3 2 weight of carcasses; improving reporting of the
3 3 disparity between prices received by producers and
3 4 prices paid by consumers; closely examining mergers
3 5 and consolidations in the livestock industry to
3 6 determine whether competition will be reduced in
3 7 violation of the federal Packers and Stockyards Act;
3 8 and strictly enforcing provisions of the Packers and
3 9 Stockyards Act which prohibit unfair trade practices
3 10 in the livestock industry, including unfair price
3 11 discrimination; and
3 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States
3 13 Congress is requested to take actions recommended by
3 14 the state attorneys general, including enacting
3 15 legislation which requires the Secretary of
3 16 Agriculture to determine noncompetitive practices
3 17 relating to price; preserving the right of producers
3 18 to organize under the Capper-Volstead Act; amending
3 19 provisions in the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of
3 20 1967 to require handlers to engage in good faith
3 21 negotiations with producer cooperatives and networks,
3 22 and to purchase products from these entities without
3 23 discrimination; enacting legislation that protects
3 24 producers from retaliation by packers because of
3 25 statements made by producers to agencies, including
3 26 law enforcement agencies, regarding the actions of
3 27 packers; providing for greater coordination among
3 28 relevant federal agencies including the United States
3 29 Department of Agriculture, the United States
3 30 Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission,
4 1 and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and
4 2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
4 3 resolution be sent by the Chief Clerk of the House of
4 4 Representatives to the President of the United States;
4 5 the Secretary of Agriculture, United States Department
4 6 of Agriculture; the Administrator of the Grain
4 7 Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration,
4 8 United States Department of Agriculture; the President
4 9 of the Senate of the United States; the Speaker of the
4 10 House of Representatives of the United States; the
4 11 chairman of the United States Senate Committee on
4 12 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; the chairman of
4 13 the United States House of Representatives Committee
4 14 on Agriculture; and members of Iowa's congressional
4 15 delegation.
4 16 LSB 2715HH 77
4 17 da/jl/8.1
Text: HCR00106 Text: HCR00108 Text: HCR00100 - HCR00199 Text: HCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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