IIA 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. J. RES. 47 

Directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and report on anticompetitive practices and violations of antitrust law in the beef packing 

industry. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19 (legislative day, MAY 17), 2022 

Ms. WARREN (for herself and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and 

report on anticompetitive practices and violations of antitrust law in the beef packing industry. 

Whereas sections 6 and 6A of the Federal Trade Commission 

Act (15 U.S.C. 46, 46a) authorize Congress, through a 

resolution passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, to direct the Federal Trade Commission to 

investigate and report the facts relating to any alleged 

violations of antitrust law by any corporation; 

Whereas ranchers in the United States receive approximately 

39 cents of every dollar a consumer spends on beef, compared to the 60 cents of every dollar they received 50 

years ago; 


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•SJ 47 IS 

Whereas, each year since 1980, an average of nearly 17,000 

cattle ranchers have gone out of business; 

Whereas, between 2015 and 2018, the difference between the 

cost of wholesale beef and the price paid to ranchers increased by 60 percent, while the top beef packers enjoyed 

record profits; 

Whereas beef packing companies have paid millions of dollars 

to settle beef price-fixing claims in recent years; 

Whereas increased multinational agribusiness consolidation 

has put foreign firms in dominant positions within the 

United States beef packing industry; 

Whereas increased consolidation in the beef packing industry 

has exposed vulnerabilities in the food supply system of 

the United States; 

Whereas the top 4 beef packers increased their market share 

from 32 percent to 85 percent in the past 3 decades; 

Whereas the top 4 beef packers control roughly 85 percent 

of the beef supply to the wholesale market in the United 

States; and 

Whereas consolidated lawsuits were filed against the top 4 

beef packers with many complaints, including that of a 

10-year quality assurance officer at a top 4 beef packer 

who witnessed the cutback on slaughter numbers when 

fed cattle prices rose above a specific threshold: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 That the Federal Trade Commission is directed to inves4 tigate and, not later than 1 year after the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 May 19, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ47.IS SJ47

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•SJ 47 IS 

1 ment of this Act, report to the Committee on the Judiciary 

2 of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

3 House of Representatives on— 

4 (1) the extent of anticompetitive practices and 

5 violations of the antitrust laws (as defined in the 

6 first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12)) in 

7 the beef packing industry, including— 

8 (A) price fixing; 

9 (B) anticompetitive acquisitions; 

10 (C) anticompetitive vertical integration; 

11 (D) dominance of supply chains; and 

12 (E) monopolization; 

13 (2) the monetary and other harms of anti14 competitive practices and violations of the antitrust 

15 laws in the beef packing industry on consumers, 

16 ranchers, farmers, plant workers, and small busi17 nesses; and 

18 (3) recommendations for legislation, or other 

19 remedial actions, as appropriate. 

Æ 


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