I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 364

To clarify the eligibility of certain small businesses for loans under the

Small Business Act, to aid, protect, and preserve small businesses in

meat production and marketing, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. SMITH of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly

to the Committees on Agriculture and Small Business

A BILL

To clarify the eligibility of certain small businesses for loans

under the Small Business Act, to aid, protect, and preserve small businesses in meat production and marketing,

and for other purposes.

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

3 That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Meat

4 Producer and Marketer Protection Act of 1993’’.

5 SECTION 1. The Small Business Act is hereby amend6 ed as follows:

7 (a) by inserting in section 3 before the word

8 ‘‘credit’’ the word ‘‘sufficient’’, and by inserting
2

HR 364 IH

1 after the word ‘‘conditions’’ the words ‘‘and at rea2 sonable rates’’; and

3 (b) by inserting in section 18(a) after the word

4 ‘‘moratorium’’ the following: ‘‘or if the agency has

5 promulgated and is operating and administering a

6 loan program under which all qualified applicants

7 are not being granted loans,’’.

8 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDING AND DECLARA9 TION OF POLICY.—

10 (a) The Congress finds that the existence, in indus11 tries engaged in commerce or in the production, process12 ing, manufacturing, and distribution of livestock and meat

13 food products for commerce, of marketing conditions det14 rimental to the maintenance of a free and competitive en15 vironment needed for the health, efficiency, and general

16 well-being of business (1) causes commerce and the chan17 nels and instrumentalities of commerce to be used to

18 spread and perpetuate such conditions among businesses

19 located in the several States; (2) burdens commerce and

20 the free flow of livestock and meat food products in com21 merce; (3) constitutes an unfair method of competition in

22 commerce; (4) leads to a burdening and obstruction of

23 commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; and

24 (5) interferes with the orderly and fair marketing of goods

25 in commerce.
3

HR 364 IH

1 (b) It is declared to be the policy of this Act, through

2 the exercise by Congress of its power to regulate commerce

3 among the several States and with foreign nations, to cor4 rect and as rapidly as practicable to eliminate the condi5 tions above referred to in such industries without substan6 tially curtailing the production, processing, manufactur7 ing, or distribution of such products.

8 SEC. 3. As used in this Act—

9 (a) ‘‘Commerce’’ means trade, commerce, trans10 portation, transmission or communication among the

11 several States or between any State and any place

12 outside thereof.

13 (b) ‘‘Livestock’’ means cattle, calves, swine,

14 sheep or lambs, whether alive or dead.

15 (c) ‘‘Meat food products’’ means all products

16 and by-products of the slaughtering and meat pack17 ing industry, if edible.

18 (d) ‘‘Meatpacker’’ means any person engaged in

19 the business of buying livestock for purposes of

20 slaughter or of manufacturing or preparing meats or

21 meat food products for sale or shipment.

22 (e) ‘‘Meat marketer’’ means any person en23 gaged in the business of buying, selling, brokering,

24 purveying or otherwise dealing in meats or meat

25 food products.
4

HR 364 IH

1 (f) ‘‘Person’’ means one or more individuals,

2 partnerships, associations, corporations, legal rep3 resentatives, joint stock companies, trustees and re4 ceivers in bankruptcy and reorganization, common5 law trusts, or any organized group, whether or not

6 incorporated.

7 (g) ‘‘Meatpacker or meat marketer engaged in

8 commerce’’ means a meatpacker or meat marketer

9 (1) who is engaged in commerce or (2) who has em10 ployees engaged in the production, processing, man11 ufacturing or distribution of meat food products for

12 commerce, or employees handling, selling, or other13 wise working on meat food products which have been

14 moved in or produced, processed, manufactured, or

15 distributed for commerce by any person and which,

16 during any one of the last three years had annual

17 gross volume of sales made or business done of not

18 less than $250,000 (exclusive of excise taxes at the

19 retail level which are separately stated).

20 SEC. 4. (a) It shall be unlawful for any meatpacker

21 engaged in commerce to slaughter or cause to be slaugh22 tered, whether by contract, business order, or by any other

23 transaction, at any one location during any calendar week

24 more than one hundred head of cattle or calves, three hun25 dred head of swine, or three hundred head of sheep or
5

HR 364 IH

1 lambs which were owned prior to slaughter for a period

2 in excess of twenty days by such meatpacker or by any

3 person who owns or controls more than 5 per centum of

4 the stock, voting power, or control of a meatpacker or by

5 any person, subsidiary, or affiliate in which such

6 meatpacker or other person owns or controls a total of

7 more than 5 per centum of the stock, voting power, or

8 control thereof. The prohibition in this subsection shall

9 apply to livestock owned by such meatpacker or such per10 sons or subject to their control directly or indirectly by

11 contract, purchase order, option, or other arrangement.

12 (b) It shall be unlawful for any meatpacker or meat

13 marketer engaged in commerce to offer for sale to or to

14 purchase from a meatpacker or meat marketer, whether

15 by contract, business order, or by any other transaction,

16 during any calendar week more than one hundred head

17 of live cattle or calves, three hundred head of live swine,

18 or three hundred head of live sheep or lambs which were

19 owned prior to the date of sale for a period in excess of

20 twenty days by such meatpacker or meat marketer or by

21 any person who owns or controls more than 5 per centum

22 of the voting power or control of such meatpacker or meat

23 marketer or by any subsidiary or affiliate in which such

24 meatpacker, meat retailer or other person owns or controls

25 a total of more than 5 per centum of the voting power
6

HR 364 IH

1 or control thereof. The prohibition in this subsection shall

2 apply to livestock owned by such meatpacker or meat mar3 keter or such persons or subject to their control directly

4 or indirectly by contract, purchase order, option or other

5 arrangement; but it shall not be deemed to prohibit any

6 such meatpacker, meat marketer, or other person from

7 making, executing or fulfilling a contract of sale of any

8 commodity for future delivery on a board of trade which

9 has been designated as a contract market by the Commod10 ity Futures Trading Commission.

11 (c) It shall be unlawful for any meatpacker or meat

12 marketer engaged in commerce to contract for the forward

13 delivery of livestock if such contract authorizes, directly

14 or indirectly, such meatpacker or meat marketer to select

15 the date for the delivery of such livestock unless such date

16 is within a period of twenty consecutive calendar days.

17 SEC. 5. (a) Any person knowingly violating any provi18 sion of section 4 of this Act shall be fined not more than

19 $50,000, or more than $100 per head of cattle or calves

20 and $25 per head of swine, lambs or sheep slaughtered,

21 offered for sale or purchased, or contracted for forward

22 delivery in excess of the maximum number permitted by

23 such section, whichever amount is greater. A violation by

24 a corporation shall also be deemed to be a violation by

25 the individual directors, officers, receivers, trustees, or
7

HR 364 IH

1 agents of such corporation who authorized, ordered or per2 formed any of the conduct constituting the violation in

3 whole or in part.

4 (b) A violation of this Act which occurs in more than

5 one week shall be considered a separate violation for each

6 calendar week during which a violation occurs.

7 SEC. 6. For the purposes of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act

8 to supplement existing laws against unlawful restraints

9 and monopolies, and for other purposes’’, approved Octo10 ber 15, 1914 (38 Stat. 730), and the Federal Trade Com11 mission Act, this Act shall be considered to be an antitrust

12 law.

13 SEC. 7. If any provision of this Act or the application

14 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the

15 validity of the remainder of this Act and the application

16 of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall

17 not be affected thereby.

Æ