I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5367

To require the implementation of the recommendations of the General Accounting Office on improving the administration of the Packers and

Stockyards Act, 1921, by the Department of Agriculture.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 3, 2000

Mr. GANSKE (for himself and Mr. GUTKNECHT) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To require the implementation of the recommendations of

the General Accounting Office on improving the administration of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, by

the Department of Agriculture.

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 ‘‘Packers and Stock5 yards Enforcement Improvement Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVED INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT AC2 TIVITIES UNDER THE PACKERS AND STOCK3 YARDS ACT, 1921.

4 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING

5 OFFICE RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

7 Agriculture shall implement the recommendations con8 tained in the report issued by the General Accounting Of9 fice entitled ‘‘Packers and Stockyards Programs: Actions

10 Needed to Improve Investigations of Competitive Prac11 tices’’, GAO/RCED–00–242, dated September 21, 2000.

12 (b) CONSULTATION.—During the implementation pe13 riod referred to in subsection (a), and for such an addi14 tional time period as needed to assure effective implemen15 tation of the recommendations contained in the report re16 ferred to in such subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture

17 shall consult and work with the Department of Justice and

18 the Federal Trade Commission in order to—

19 (1) implement the recommendations in the re20 port regarding investigation management, oper21 ations, and case methods development processes; and

22 (2) effectively identify and investigate com23 plaints of unfair and anti-competitive practices in

24 violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921

25 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and enforce the Act.
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1 (c) TRAINING.—Not later than 1 year after the date

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture

3 shall develop and implement a training program for staff

4 of the Department of Agriculture engaged in the investiga5 tion of complaints of unfair and anti-competitive activity

6 in violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921. In

7 developing the training program, the Secretary of Agri8 culture shall draw on existing training materials and pro9 grams available at the Department of Justice and the Fed10 eral Trade Commission, to the extent practicable.

11 (d) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Not later than 1

12 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report

14 describing the actions taken to comply with this section.

15 SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT.

16 Title IV of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921,

17 is amended—

18 (1) by redesignating section 415 (7 U.S.C. 229)

19 as section 416; and

20 (2) by inserting after section 414 the following

21 new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 415. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF CATTLE AND HOG IN2 DUSTRIES.

3 ‘‘Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary

4 shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a

5 report that—

6 ‘‘(1) assesses the general economic state of the

7 cattle and hog industries; and

8 ‘‘(2) identifies business practices or market op9 erations or activities in those industries that rep10 resent possible violations of this Act or are incon11 sistent with the goals of this Act.’’.

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