Text: SSB01187 Text: SSB01189 Text: SSB01100 - SSB01199 Text: SSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 (BY PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
1 3 RESOLUTION BY CHAIRPERSON GASKILL)
1 4 A Concurrent Resolution relating to the livestock
1 5 industry, by requesting that the United States
1 6 Congress take actions necessary to stabilize the
1 7 agricultural economy and to request that the
1 8 United States Department of Justice investigate
1 9 unfair practices by meatpackers.
1 10 WHEREAS, agricultural production has traditionally been the
1 11 foundation of this nation's economic prosperity, providing the
1 12 basis for a system of production unmatched in the world for
1 13 its abundant and efficient production of food, feed grains,
1 14 and animal products, which contributes billions of dollars in
1 15 revenue each year to the nation's economy from export sales;
1 16 and
1 17 WHEREAS, the production and processing of livestock,
1 18 including swine and cattle, represent key components of this
1 19 nation's prosperity, by providing numerous value-added food
1 20 and other products upon which this nation depends; and
1 21 WHEREAS, the state of Iowa is the leading livestock-
1 22 producing state in the nation, with production revenue
1 23 contributing more than 25 percent of Iowa family cash farm
1 24 income; and
1 25 WHEREAS, the livestock industry faces a threat to its
1 26 economic viability, a crisis caused by disastrously low prices
1 27 and a system of marketing that increasingly relies on
1 28 marketing contracts and that may be exasperated by inadequate
1 29 meatpacking capacity and suspected unfair practices engaged in
1 30 by meatpackers; and
1 31 WHEREAS, losses of several billions of dollars in 1998 may
1 32 force thousands of family farm livestock producers out of
1 33 business and may threaten the cherished position of the small
1 34 independent producer in the agricultural economy; and
1 35 WHEREAS, the practice of contract care and feeding of swine
2 1 and cattle is contrary to the traditional system of the open
2 2 market's universal price disclosure that most efficiently
2 3 ensures that price is a product of supply and demand; NOW
2 4 THEREFORE,
2 5 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2 6 CONCURRING, That the United States Congress is requested to
2 7 approve emergency financial assistance payments to family farm
2 8 swine and cattle producers and funding for loan guarantee
2 9 programs and interest rate buydown programs administered by
2 10 the United States Department of Agriculture; and
2 11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States Congress,
2 12 the President of the United States, and the United States
2 13 Secretary of Agriculture take all necessary actions in order
2 14 to study the marketing practices of meatpackers, including
2 15 obtaining information regarding marketing contracts executed
2 16 between meatpackers and producers, and that the United States
2 17 Department of Agriculture prepare a report regarding the
2 18 information and its findings for publication; and
2 19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States Congress,
2 20 the President of the United States, and the United States
2 21 Secretary of Agriculture, and the United States Department of
2 22 Justice cooperate in order to amend the current federal
2 23 Packers and Stockyards Act to address current market practices
2 24 by meatpackers and pursue antitrust actions as necessary; and
2 25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be
2 26 sent by the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the
2 27 United States; the United States Secretary of Agriculture; the
2 28 Administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards
2 29 Administration, United States Department of Agriculture; the
2 30 President of the Senate of the United States; the United
2 31 States Attorney General; the Speaker of the House of
2 32 Representatives of the United States; the Chairperson of the
2 33 United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
2 34 Forestry; the Chairperson of the United States House of
2 35 Representatives Committee on Agriculture; and members of
3 1 Iowa's congressional delegation.
3 2 LSB 3119SC 78
3 3 da/cf/24
Text: SSB01187 Text: SSB01189 Text: SSB01100 - SSB01199 Text: SSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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