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1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE RESOLUTION
1 3 BY CHAIRPERSON RENSINK)
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 the
1 9 foundation of this nation's economic prosperity, providing a
1 10 system unmatched in the world for the abundant and affordable
1 11 production of food, feed grains, and animal products, which
1 12 maintains this nation's people and contributes billions of
1 13 dollars in 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 prosperity, by
1 16 providing numerous value-added food and other products upon
1 17 which this nation depends; and
1 18 WHEREAS, there is a trend toward increasing concentration
1 19 and vertical integration in the livestock industry, as
1 20 evidenced by the cattle industry where three firms account for
1 21 almost eighty percent of all fed cattle slaughtered in the
1 22 United States and less than one percent of cattle feeders
1 23 account for forty-five percent of all head sold; and
1 24 WHEREAS, state attorneys general play a significant role in
1 25 fostering full and free competition in the United States
1 26 economy through the enforcement of federal and state antitrust
1 27 laws; and
1 28 WHEREAS, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and the state
1 29 attorneys general of Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida,
1 30 Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
1 31 Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas,
1 32 Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin have
1 33 expressed strong concern regarding this trend toward
1 34 concentration and vertical integration in the livestock
1 35 industry; and
2 1 WHEREAS, the states attorneys general recommend that the
2 2 United States Department of Agriculture implement the
2 3 recommendations of a special departmental advisory committee
2 4 considering this issue and taking other actions which promote
2 5 competition in the livestock industry; and
2 6 WHEREAS, on November 20, 1996, Iowa Attorney General Tom
2 7 Miller, serving as chair of the Antitrust Committee of the
2 8 National Association of Attorneys General, and nineteen other
2 9 state attorneys general urged the United States Secretary of
2 10 Agriculture and the United States Congress to take a variety
2 11 of actions required to promote competition in the livestock
2 12 industry; NOW THEREFORE,
2 13 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2 14 CONCURRING, That the United States Department of Agriculture
2 15 is urged to take actions recommended by the state attorneys
2 16 general, including providing for greater disclosure of
2 17 important marketing information in order to shed light on
2 18 anticompetitive practices; reporting captive supply
2 19 arrangements; developing a value-based pricing system to
2 20 provide producers with consistent and accurate information
2 21 concerning premiums and discounts based on grade, yield, and
2 22 weight of carcasses; improving reporting of the disparity
2 23 between prices received by producers and prices paid by
2 24 consumers; closely examining mergers and consolidations in the
2 25 livestock industry to determine whether competition will be
2 26 reduced in violation of the federal Packers and Stockyards
2 27 Act; and strictly enforcing provisions of the Packers and
2 28 Stockyards Act which prohibit unfair trade practices in the
2 29 livestock industry, including unfair price discrimination; and
2 30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States Congress is
2 31 requested to take actions recommended by the state attorneys
2 32 general, including enacting legislation which requires the
2 33 Secretary of Agriculture to determine noncompetitive practices
2 34 relating to price; preserving the right of producers to
2 35 organize under the Capper-Volstead Act; amending provisions in
3 1 the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967 to require
3 2 handlers to engage in good faith negotiations with producer
3 3 cooperatives and networks, and to purchase products from these
3 4 entities without discrimination; enacting legislation that
3 5 protects producers from retaliation by packers because of
3 6 statements made by producers to agencies, including law
3 7 enforcement agencies, regarding the actions of packers;
3 8 providing for greater coordination among relevant federal
3 9 agencies including the United States Department of
3 10 Agriculture, the United States Department of Justice, the
3 11 Federal Trade Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading
3 12 Commission; and
3 13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be
3 14 sent by the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the
3 15 United States; the Secretary of Agriculture, United States
3 16 Department of Agriculture; the Administrator of the Grain
3 17 Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, United
3 18 States Department of Agriculture; the Speaker of the House of
3 19 Representatives of the United States; the chairman of the
3 20 United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
3 21 Forestry; the chairman of the United States House of
3 22 Representatives Committee on Agriculture; and members of
3 23 Iowa's congressional delegation.
3 24 LSB 2715SC 77
3 25 da/jj/8
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