I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2506

To require the President to appoint a Commission on Concentration in the

Livestock Industry.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 18, 1995

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota (for himself, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. MINGE, Mr.

LEACH, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LIGHTFOOT, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr.

WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. GANSKE, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr.

COOLEY, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. WILLIAMS, and Ms. DANNER) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and

in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To require the President to appoint a Commission on

Concentration in the Livestock Industry.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Livestock Concentra5 tion Report Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION.

2 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the President shall appoint a Commis4 sion on Concentration in the Livestock Industry which

5 shall be composed of the Secretary of Agriculture, who

6 shall be the chairperson of the Commission, and 2 mem7 bers appointed from among individuals in each of the fol8 lowing categories:

9 (1) Cattle producers.

10 (2) Hog producers.

11 (3) Lamb producers.

12 (4) Experts in antitrust laws.

13 (5) Economists.

14 (6) Corporate chief financial officers.

15 (7) Corporate procurement experts.

16 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

17 (a) DUTIES.—The Commission on Concentration in

18 the Livestock Industry shall—

19 (1) determine whether the study of concentra20 tion in the red meat packing industry adequately—

21 (A) examined and identified regional pro22 curement markets for slaughter cattle in the

23 continental United States;

24 (B) analyzed the effects that slaughter cat25 tle procurement practices, and concentration in

26 the procurement of slaughter cattle, have on the
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1 purchasing and pricing of slaughter cattle by

2 beef packers;

3 (C) examined the use of captive cattle sup4 ply arrangements by beef packers and the ef5 fects of such arrangements on slaughter cattle

6 markets;

7 (D) examined the economics of vertical in8 tegration and of coordination arrangements in

9 the hog slaughtering and processing industry;

10 (E) examined the pricing and procurement

11 by hog slaughtering plants operating in the

12 eastern corn belt;

13 (F) reviewed the pertinent research lit14 erature on issues relating to the structure and

15 operation of the meat packing industry; and

16 (G) represents, for the matters described

17 in subparagraphs (A) through (F), the current

18 situation in the livestock industry compared to

19 the situation of such industry reflected in the

20 data on which such study is based; and

21 (2) review the application of the antitrust laws,

22 and the operation of other Federal laws applicable,

23 with respect to concentration and vertical integration

24 in the procurement and pricing of slaughter cattle

25 and of slaughter hogs by meat packers;
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1 (3) make recommendations regarding whether

2 the laws relating to the operation of the meat pack3 ing industry should be modified regarding the con4 centration, vertical integration, and vertical coordi5 nation in such industry;

6 (4) review the farm-to-retail price spread for

7 livestock during the period beginning on January 1,

8 1993, and ending on the date the report is submit9 ted under section 4;

10 (5) review the adequacy of price data obtained

11 by the Department of Agriculture under section 203

12 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C.

13 1622);

14 (6) make recommendations regarding the ade15 quacy of price discovery in the livestock industry for

16 animals held for market; and

17 (7) review the lamb industry study completed

18 by the Department of Justice in 1993.

19 (b) SOLICITATION OF INFORMATION.—For purposes

20 of complying with the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3),

21 and (4) of subsection (a), the Commission on Concentra22 tion in the Livestock Industry shall solicit information

23 from all parts of the livestock industry, including livestock

24 producers, livestock marketers, meat packers, meat proc25 essors, and retailers.
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1 SEC. 4. REPORT.

2 (a) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT.—

3 Not later than 90 days after the study of concentration

4 in the red meat packing industry is submitted to the Con5 gress, the Commission on Concentration in the Livestock

6 Industry shall submit to the President a report summariz7 ing the results of the duties carried out under section 3.

8 Not later than 30 days after the President receives such

9 report, the President shall terminate the Commission.

10 (b) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—

11 The President shall promptly transmit, to the Speaker of

12 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem13 pore of the Senate, a copy of the report the President re14 ceives under subsection (a).

15 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

16 For purposes of this Act—

17 (1) the term ‘‘antitrust laws’’ has the meaning

18 given it in subsection (a) of the first section of the

19 Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)), except that such

20 term includes section 5 of the Federal Trade Com21 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent such sec22 tion applies to unfair methods of competition; and

23 (2) the term ‘‘study of concentration in the red

24 meat packing industry’’ means the study of con25 centration in the red meat packing industry pro26 posed by the Department of Agriculture in the Fed-
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1 eral Register on January 9, 1992 (57 Fed. Reg.

2 875), and for which funds were appropriated by

3 Public Law 102–142.

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