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PAG LIN
1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
1 3 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 256)
1 4 A Concurrent Resolution requesting that the United States
1 5 government take all actions necessary in order to
1 6 prevent further concentration and vertical integration
1 7 in the livestock industry.
1 8 WHEREAS, agriculture has traditionally represented
1 9 the foundation of this nation's economic prosperity,
1 10 providing a system unmatched in the world for the
1 11 abundant and affordable production of food, feed
1 12 grains, and animal products, which maintains this
1 13 nation's people and contributes billions of dollars in
1 14 revenue each year from export sales; and
1 15 WHEREAS, the production and processing of livestock
1 16 represents a key component of this nation's
1 17 prosperity, by providing numerous value-added food and
1 18 other products upon which this nation depends; and
1 19 WHEREAS, there is a trend toward increasing
1 20 concentration and vertical integration in the
1 21 livestock industry, as evidenced by the cattle
1 22 industry where three firms account for almost eighty
1 23 percent of all fed cattle slaughtered in the United
1 24 States and less than one percent of cattle feeders
1 25 account for forty-five percent of all head sold; and
1 26 WHEREAS, state attorneys general play a significant
1 27 role in fostering full and free competition in the
1 28 United States economy through the enforcement of
1 29 federal and state antitrust laws; and
1 30 WHEREAS, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and the
2 1 state attorneys general of Alabama, Colorado,
2 2 Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
2 3 Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota,
2 4 Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont,
2 5 Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin have
2 6 expressed strong concern regarding this trend toward
2 7 concentration and vertical integration in the
2 8 livestock industry; and
2 9 WHEREAS, the states attorneys general recommend
2 10 that the United States Department of Agriculture
2 11 implement the recommendations of a special
2 12 departmental advisory committee considering this issue
2 13 and taking other actions which promote competition in
2 14 the livestock industry; and
2 15 WHEREAS, on November 20, 1996, Iowa Attorney
2 16 General Tom Miller, serving as chair of the Antitrust
2 17 Committee of the National Association of Attorneys
2 18 General, and nineteen other state attorneys general
2 19 urged the United States Secretary of Agriculture and
2 20 the United States Congress to take a variety of
2 21 actions required to promote competition in the
2 22 livestock industry; NOW THEREFORE,
2 23 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF
2 24 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the United States
2 25 Department of Agriculture is urged to take actions
2 26 recommended by the state attorneys general, including
2 27 providing for greater disclosure of important
2 28 marketing information in order to shed light on
2 29 anticompetitive practices; reporting captive supply
2 30 arrangements; developing a value-based pricing system
3 1 to provide producers with consistent and accurate
3 2 information concerning premiums and discounts based on
3 3 grade, yield, and weight of carcasses; improving
3 4 reporting of the disparity between prices received by
3 5 producers and prices paid by consumers; closely
3 6 examining mergers and consolidations in the livestock
3 7 industry to determine whether competition will be
3 8 reduced in violation of the federal Packers and
3 9 Stockyards Act; and strictly enforcing provisions of
3 10 the Packers and Stockyards Act which prohibit unfair
3 11 trade practices in the livestock industry, including
3 12 unfair price discrimination; and
3 13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States
3 14 Congress is requested to take actions recommended by
3 15 the state attorneys general, including enacting
3 16 legislation which requires the Secretary of
3 17 Agriculture to determine noncompetitive practices
3 18 relating to price; preserving the right of producers
3 19 to organize under the Capper-Volstead Act; amending
3 20 provisions in the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of
3 21 1967 to require handlers to engage in good faith
3 22 negotiations with producer cooperatives and networks,
3 23 and to purchase products from these entities without
3 24 discrimination; enacting legislation that protects
3 25 producers from retaliation by packers because of
3 26 statements made by producers to agencies, including
3 27 law enforcement agencies, regarding the actions of
3 28 packers; providing for greater coordination among
3 29 relevant federal agencies including the United States
3 30 Department of Agriculture, the United States
4 1 Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission,
4 2 and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and
4 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
4 4 resolution be sent by the Secretary of the Senate to
4 5 the President of the United States; the Secretary of
4 6 Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture;
4 7 the Administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and
4 8 Stockyards Administration, United States Department of
4 9 Agriculture; the Speaker of the House of
4 10 Representatives of the United States; the chairman of
4 11 the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture,
4 12 Nutrition, and Forestry; the chairman of the United
4 13 States House of Representatives Committee on
4 14 Agriculture; and members of Iowa's congressional
4 15 delegation.
4 16 LSB 2715SV 77
4 17 da/jj/8
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