II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2252

To provide for the review of agriculture mergers and acquisitions by the

Department of Agriculture and to outlaw unfair practices in the agriculture industry, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 20, 2000

Mr. GRASSLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide for the review of agriculture mergers and acquisitions by the Department of Agriculture and to outlaw

unfair practices in the agriculture industry, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agriculture Competi5 tion Enhancement Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:
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1 (1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term

2 ‘‘agricultural commodity’’ has the meaning given the

3 term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of

4 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602).

5 (2) AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE.—The term

6 ‘‘agricultural cooperative’’ means an association of

7 persons that meets the requirements of the Capper8 Volstead Act (7 U.S.C. 291 et seq.; 42 Stat. 388).

9 (3) AGRICULTURAL INPUT SUPPLIER.—The

10 term ‘‘agricultural input supplier’’ means any person

11 (excluding agricultural cooperatives) engaged in the

12 business of selling in commerce, any product to be

13 used as an input (including seed, germ plasm, hor14 mones, antibiotics, fertilizer, and chemicals, but ex15 cluding farm machinery) for the production of any

16 agricultural commodity.

17 (4) ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The

18 term ‘‘Assistant Attorney General’’ means the As19 sistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust

20 Division of the Department of Justice.

21 (5) BROKER.—The term ‘‘broker’’ means any

22 person (excluding agricultural cooperatives) engaged

23 in the business of negotiating sales and purchases of

24 any agricultural commodity in commerce for or on

25 behalf of the vendor or the purchaser.
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1 (6) COMMISSION MERCHANT.—The term ‘‘com2 mission merchant’’ means any person (excluding ag3 ricultural cooperatives) engaged in the business of

4 receiving in commerce any agricultural commodity

5 for sale, on commission, or for or on behalf of an6 other.

7 (7) DEALER.—The term ‘‘dealer’’ means any

8 person (excluding agricultural cooperatives) engaged

9 in the business of buying, selling, or marketing agri10 cultural commodities in commerce, except that no

11 person shall be considered a dealer with respect to

12 sales or marketing of any agricultural commodity of

13 that person’s own raising.

14 (8) PROCESSOR.—The term ‘‘processor’’ means

15 any person (excluding agricultural cooperatives) en16 gaged in the business of handling, preparing, or

17 manufacturing (including slaughtering) of an agri18 cultural commodity, or the products of such agricul19 tural commodity, for sale or marketing in commerce

20 for human consumption but not with respect to sale

21 or marketing at the retail level.

22 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

23 the Secretary of Agriculture.
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1 (10) SPECIAL COUNSEL.—The term ‘‘Special

2 Counsel’’ means the Special Counsel for Competition

3 Matters at the Department of Agriculture.

4 SEC. 3. SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR COMPETITION MATTERS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established within

6 the Department of Agriculture a Special Counsel for Com7 petition Matters whose primary responsibilities shall be

8 to—

9 (1) analyze mergers within the food and agri10 cultural sectors, in consultation with the Chief Econ11 omist of the Department of Agriculture, as required

12 by section 4; and

13 (2) assure that section 5, and the Packers and

14 Stockyards Act and related authorities, are enforced

15 appropriately.

16 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The Special Counsel for Com17 petition Matters shall be appointed by the President sub18 ject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

19 (c) PROSECUTORIAL AUTHORITY.—The Special

20 Counsel for Competition Matters shall have the authority

21 to bring any civil action authorized pursuant to this Act

22 on behalf of the United States.
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1 SEC. 4. AGRIBUSINESS MERGER REVIEW AND ENFORCE2 MENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRI3 CULTURE.

4 (a) NOTICE OF FILING.—The Assistant Attorney

5 General or the Federal Trade Commission, as appropriate,

6 shall notify the Secretary of Agriculture of any filing pur7 suant to section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a)

8 involving a merger or acquisition described in subsection

9 (b)(1), and shall give the Secretary of Agriculture the op10 portunity to participate in the review proceedings.

11 (b) SPECIAL COUNSEL REVIEW.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the antitrust

13 review conducted by the Federal Trade Commission

14 or Assistant Attorney General pursuant to section

15 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a), and notwith16 standing any participation in those antitrust review

17 proceedings, the Special Counsel for Competition

18 Matters, in consultation with the Chief Economist of

19 the Department of Agriculture, shall, contempora20 neously, observing the time period limitations pro21 vided under the antitrust laws and the Department

22 of Justice merger guidelines, and utilizing the fac23 tors set forth in subsection (d), review, to determine

24 whether the proposed transaction would cause sub25 stantial harm to the ability of independent producers
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1 and family farmers to compete in the marketplace,

2 any merger or acquisition involving—

3 (A) a dealer, processor, commission mer4 chant, agricultural input supplier, broker, or

5 operator of a warehouse of agricultural com6 modities with annual net sales or total assets of

7 more than $100,000,000 merging or acquiring,

8 directly or indirectly, any voting securities or

9 assets of any other dealer, processor, commis10 sion merchant, agricultural input supplier,

11 broker, or operator of a warehouse of agricul12 tural commodities with annual net sales or total

13 assets of more than $10,000,000; or

14 (B) a dealer, processor, commission mer15 chant, agricultural input supplier, broker, or

16 operator of a warehouse of agricultural com17 modities with annual net sales or total assets of

18 more than $10,000,000 merging or acquiring,

19 directly or indirectly, any voting securities or

20 assets of any other dealer, processor, commis21 sion merchant, agricultural input supplier,

22 broker, or operator of a warehouse of agricul23 tural commodities with annual net sales or total

24 assets of more than $100,000,000 if the acquir25 ing person would hold—
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1 (i) 15 percent or more of the voting

2 securities or assets of the acquired person;

3 or

4 (ii) an aggregate total amount of the

5 voting securities and assets of the acquired

6 person in excess of $15,000,000.

7 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Special Counsel for

8 Competition Matters, at his or her discretion, may

9 also request that the Assistant Attorney General or

10 the Federal Trade Commission require section 7A of

11 the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a) notification of an

12 agriculture merger or acquisition of a size smaller

13 than is required under paragraph (1), if the Special

14 Counsel for Competition Matters believes that such

15 transaction will cause substantial harm to the ability

16 of independent producers and family farmers to

17 compete in the market.

18 (c) NOTIFICATION ON FAILURE TO PROCEED.—If

19 the Assistant Attorney General or the Federal Trade Com20 mission determines not to proceed against the parties of

21 an agriculture merger or acquisition under the antitrust

22 laws, the Assistant Attorney General or the Federal Trade

23 Commission immediately shall notify the Special Counsel

24 for Competition Matters of such decision.

25 (d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Counsel for

2 Competition Matters, in consultation with the Chief

3 Economist of the Department of Agriculture, shall

4 review, and may challenge, a merger or acquisition

5 described in subsection (b) based on whether the

6 merger or acquisition would cause substantial harm

7 to the ability of independent producers and family

8 farmers to compete in the marketplace.

9 (2) FACTORS.—The review shall consider,

10 among other factors—

11 (A) the effect of the acquisition or merger

12 on prices paid to producers who sell to, buy

13 from, or bargain with, one or more of the par14 ties involved in the merger or acquisition;

15 (B) the likelihood that the acquisition or

16 merger will result in significantly increased

17 market power for the new or surviving entity;

18 (C) the likelihood that the acquisition or

19 merger will increase the potential for anti20 competitive or predatory conduct by the new or

21 surviving entity; and

22 (D) whether the acquisition or merger will

23 adversely affect producers in a particular re24 gional area, including an area as small as a sin25 gle State.
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1 (e) EVIDENTIARY POWERS.—The Special Counsel for

2 Competition Matters shall have the same powers as pos3 sessed by the Assistant Attorney General and the Federal

4 Trade Commission under the antitrust laws, to obtain evi5 dence necessary to make determinations for the review de6 scribed in subsection (b).

7 (f) ACCESS TO ATTORNEY GENERAL AND FEDERAL

8 TRADE COMMISSION INFORMATION.—The Assistant At9 torney General or the Federal Trade Commission, as ap10 propriate, shall make available to the Special Counsel for

11 Competition Matters any information, including any testi12 mony, documentary material, or related information rel13 evant to the review conducted by the Special Counsel

14 under this section which is under the control of the Assist15 ant Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission.

16 Each agency will share information, consistent with appli17 cable confidentiality restrictions, in order to provide the

18 others with information believed to be potentially relevant

19 and useful to the others’ enforcement responsibilities.

20 Such information may include legal, economic, and tech21 nical assistance.

22 (g) TRANSMITTAL OF FINDINGS OF SPECIAL COUN23 SEL FOR COMPETITION MATTERS.—After receiving notice

24 pursuant to subsection (a) and conducting the review re25 quired in subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall
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1 report to the Assistant Attorney General or the Federal

2 Trade Commission, as appropriate, and the parties, the

3 findings of the review, including any recommended condi4 tions on the merger or suggested remedies.

5 (h) RESPONSE TO SPECIAL COUNSEL FINDINGS.—

6 (1) ANTITRUST AGENCY RESPONSE TO FIND7 INGS.—The Assistant Attorney General or the Fed8 eral Trade Commission, as appropriate, shall provide

9 the Special Counsel for Competition Matters a re10 sponse, including the rationale as to why such find11 ings and recommendations are accepted or rejected.

12 (2) PARTY OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS FIND13 INGS.—The parties to the merger or acquisition af14 fected by such findings shall have the opportunity to

15 make changes to their operations or structure, and

16 to negotiate with the Special Counsel for Competi17 tion Matters an acceptable resolution to any con18 cerns raised in the findings.

19 (i) ENFORCEMENT.—

20 (1) JUDICIAL ACTION.—Not later than 30 days

21 after notification by the Assistant Attorney General

22 or the Federal Trade Commission of their deter23 mination not to proceed against the parties, the Spe24 cial Counsel for Competition Matters, if he or she is

25 not satisfied with the review of, or the conditions
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1 placed on, the merger or acquisition by the Assistant

2 Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission,

3 may challenge the transaction in Federal court

4 based on the findings conducted in the review under

5 this section.

6 (2) ENFORCEMENT AND DAMAGES.—The en7 forcement and damage provisions of the antitrust

8 laws shall apply with respect to a violation of the

9 substantial harm to producers and family farmers

10 standard of subsection (d) in the same manner as

11 such sections apply with respect to a violation of the

12 antitrust laws.

13 (j) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO ANTITRUST

14 LAWS.—Section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a)

15 is amended by inserting at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(k)(1) Notwithstanding the threshold requirements

17 of sections 1, 2, and 3, the Federal Trade Commission

18 and the Assistant Attorney General may require, at the

19 request of the Secretary of Agriculture, notification pursu20 ant to the rules under subsection (d)(1) from the parties

21 to a proposed merger or acquisition in the agriculture in22 dustry.

23 ‘‘(2) The Assistant Attorney General or the Federal

24 Trade Commission, as appropriate, shall give the Sec25 retary of Agriculture the opportunity to participate in the
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1 review under the antitrust laws of any proposed merger

2 or acquisition involving the agriculture industry.’’.

3 SEC. 5. PROHIBITIONS AGAINST UNFAIR PRACTICES IN

4 TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING AGRICULTURAL

5 COMMODITIES AND ENFORCEMENT.

6 (a) UNLAWFUL PRACTICES.—It shall be unlawful for

7 any dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker of

8 any agricultural commodity to—

9 (1) engage in or use any unfair, unjustly dis10 criminatory, or deceptive practice or device;

11 (2) make or give any undue or unreasonable

12 preference or advantage to any particular person or

13 locality in any respect whatsoever, or subject any

14 particular person or locality to any undue or unrea15 sonable prejudice or disadvantage;

16 (3) sell or otherwise transfer to or for any other

17 dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker,

18 or buy or otherwise receive from or for any other

19 dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker,

20 any article for the purpose or with the effect of ap21 portioning the supply between any such persons, if

22 such apportionment has the tendency or effect of re23 straining commerce or of creating a monopoly;

24 (4) sell or otherwise transfer to or for any other

25 person, or buy or otherwise receive from or for any
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1 other person, any article for the purpose or with the

2 effect of manipulating or controlling prices, or of

3 creating a monopoly in the acquisition of, buying,

4 selling, or dealing in, any article, or of restraining

5 commerce;

6 (5) engage in any course of business or do any

7 act for the purpose or with the effect of manipu8 lating or controlling prices, or of creating a monop9 oly in the acquisition of, buying, selling, or dealing

10 in, any article, or of restraining commerce;

11 (6) conspire, combine, agree, or arrange with

12 any other person—

13 (A) to apportion territory for carrying on

14 business;

15 (B) to apportion purchases or sales of any

16 article; or

17 (C) to manipulate or control prices; or

18 (7) conspire, combine, agree, or arrange with

19 any other person to do, or aid or abet the doing of,

20 any act made unlawful by paragraph (1), (2), (3),

21 (4), or (5).

22 (b) PROCEDURE BEFORE SECRETARY FOR VIOLA23 TIONS.—

24 (1) COMPLAINT; HEARING; INTERVENTION.—If

25 the Secretary has reason to believe that any dealer,
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1 processor, commission merchant, or broker, has vio2 lated or is violating any provision of this section, the

3 Secretary shall cause a complaint in writing to be

4 served upon the dealer, processor, commission mer5 chant, or broker, stating the charges in that respect,

6 and requiring the dealer, processor, commission mer7 chant, or broker, to attend and testify at a hearing

8 at a time and place designated therein, at least 30

9 days after the service of such complaint; and at such

10 time and place there shall be afforded the dealer,

11 processor, commission merchant, or broker, a rea12 sonable opportunity to be informed as to the evi13 dence introduced against him (including the right of

14 cross-examination), and to be heard in person or by

15 counsel and through witnesses, under such regula16 tions as the Secretary may prescribe. Any person for

17 good cause shown may on application be allowed by

18 the Secretary to intervene in such proceeding, and

19 appear in person or by counsel. At any time prior

20 to the close of the hearing the Secretary may amend

21 the complaint; but in case of any amendment adding

22 new charges the hearing shall, on the request of the

23 dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker,

24 be adjourned for a period not exceeding 15 days.
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1 (2) REPORT AND ORDER; PENALTY.—If, after

2 such hearing, the Secretary finds that the dealer,

3 processor, commission merchant, or broker, has vio4 lated or is violating any provisions of this section

5 covered by the charges, the Secretary shall make a

6 report in writing in which the Secretary shall state

7 his findings as to the facts, and shall issue and

8 cause to be served on the dealer, processor, commis9 sion merchant, or broker, an order requiring such

10 dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker,

11 to cease and desist from continuing such violation.

12 The testimony taken at the hearing shall be reduced

13 to writing and filed in the records of the Depart14 ment of Agriculture. The Secretary may also assess

15 a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each

16 such violation. In determining the amount of the

17 civil penalty to be assessed under this section, the

18 Secretary shall consider the gravity of the offense,

19 the size of the business involved, and the effect of

20 the penalty on the person’s ability to continue in

21 business. If, after the lapse of the period allowed for

22 appeal or after the affirmance of such penalty, the

23 person against whom the civil penalty is assessed

24 fails to pay such penalty, the Secretary may proceed
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1 to recover such penalty by an action in the appro2 priate district court of the United States.

3 (3) AMENDMENT OF REPORT OR ORDER.—Until

4 the record in such hearing has been filed in a court

5 of appeals of the United States, as provided in sub6 section (c), the Secretary at any time, upon such no7 tice and in such manner as the Secretary deems

8 proper, but only after reasonable opportunity to the

9 dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker,

10 to be heard, may amend or set aside the report or

11 order, in whole or in part.

12 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Complaints, orders,

13 and other processes of the Secretary under this sec14 tion may be served in the same manner as provided

15 in section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act

16 (15 U.S.C. 45).

17 (c) CONCLUSIVENESS OF ORDER; APPEAL AND RE18 VIEW.—

19 (1) FILING OF PETITION; BOND.—An order

20 made under subsection (b) shall be final and conclu21 sive unless within 30 days after service the dealer,

22 processor, commission merchant, or broker, appeals

23 to the court of appeals for the circuit in which he

24 has his principal place of business, by filing with the

25 clerk of such court a written petition praying that
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1 the Secretary’s order be set aside or modified in the

2 manner stated in the petition, together with a bond

3 in such sum as the court may determine, conditioned

4 that such dealer, processor, commission merchant, or

5 broker, will pay the costs of the proceedings if the

6 court so directs.

7 (2) FILING OF RECORD BY SECRETARY.—The

8 clerk of the court shall immediately cause a copy of

9 the petition to be delivered to the Secretary, and the

10 Secretary shall thereupon file in the court the record

11 in such proceedings, as provided in section 2112 of

12 title 28, United States Code. If before such record

13 is filed the Secretary amends or sets aside his report

14 or order, in whole or in part, the petitioner may

15 amend the petition within such time as the court

16 may determine, on notice to the Secretary.

17 (3) TEMPORARY INJUNCTION.—At any time

18 after such petition is filed, the court, on application

19 of the Secretary, may issue a temporary injunction,

20 restraining, to the extent it deems proper, the deal21 er, processor, commission merchant, or broker, and

22 his officers, directors, agents, and employees, from

23 violating any of the provisions of the order pending

24 the final determination of the appeal.
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1 (4) EVIDENCE.—The evidence so taken or ad2 mitted, and filed as aforesaid as a part of the

3 record, shall be considered by the court as the evi4 dence in the case.

5 (5) ACTION BY THE COURT.—The court may

6 affirm, modify, or set aside the order of the Sec7 retary.

8 (6) ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE.—If the court de9 termines that the just and proper disposition of the

10 case requires the taking of additional evidence, the

11 court shall order the hearing to be reopened for the

12 taking of such evidence, in such manner and upon

13 such terms and conditions as the court may deem

14 proper. The Secretary may modify his findings as to

15 the facts, or make new findings, by reason of the ad16 ditional evidence so taken, and the Secretary shall

17 file such modified or new findings and his rec18 ommendations, if any, for the modifications or set19 ting aside of his order, with the return of such addi20 tional evidence.

21 (7) INJUNCTION.—If the court of appeals af22 firms or modifies the order of the Secretary, its de23 cree shall operate as an injunction to restrain the

24 dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker,

25 and his officers, directors, agents, and employees
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1 from violating the provisions of such order or such

2 order as modified.

3 (8) FINALITY.—The court of appeals shall have

4 jurisdiction, which upon the filing of the record with

5 it shall be exclusive, to review, and to affirm, set

6 aside, or modify, such orders of the Secretary, and

7 the decree of such court shall be final except that it

8 shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of

9 the United States upon certiorari, as provided in

10 section 1254 of title 28, United States Code, if such

11 writ is duly applied for within 60 days after entry

12 of the decree. The issue of such writ shall not oper13 ate as a stay of the decree of the court of appeals,

14 insofar as such decree operates as an injunction un15 less so ordered by the Supreme Court.

16 (d) PUNISHMENT FOR VIOLATION OF ORDER.—Any

17 dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker, or any

18 officer, director, agent, or employee of a dealer, processor,

19 commission merchant, or broker, who fails to obey any

20 order of the Secretary issued under the provisions of sub21 section (b), or such order as modified—

22 (1) after the expiration of the time allowed for

23 filing a petition in the court of appeals to set aside

24 or modify such order, if no such petition has been

25 filed within such time;
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1 (2) after the expiration of the time allowed for

2 applying for a writ of certiorari, if such order, or

3 such order as modified, has been sustained by the

4 court of appeals and no such writ has been applied

5 for within such time; or

6 (3) after such order, or such order as modified,

7 has been sustained by the courts as provided in sub8 section (c);

9 shall on conviction be fined not less than $500 nor more

10 than $10,000, or imprisoned for not less than 6 months

11 nor more than 5 years, or both. Each day during which

12 such failure continues shall be deemed a separate offense.

13 SEC. 6. REPORT ON CORPORATE STRUCTURE.

14 A dealer, processor, commission merchant, or broker

15 with annual sales in excess of $100,000,000 shall annually

16 file with the Secretary a report which describes, with re17 spect to both domestic and foreign activities, the strategic

18 alliances, ownership in other agribusiness firms or agri19 business-related firms, joint ventures, subsidiaries, and

20 brand names, interlocking boards of directors with other

21 corporations, representatives, and agents that lobby Con22 gress on behalf of such dealer, processor, commission mer23 chant, or broker, as determined by the Secretary.
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1 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSES IN

2 LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY PRODUCTION

3 CONTRACTS.

4 Confidentiality clauses barring a party to a contract

5 from sharing terms of such contract for the purposes of

6 obtaining legal or financial advice, are prohibited in live7 stock production contracts and grain production contracts

8 (except to the extent a legitimate trade secret (as applied

9 in the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 et seq.)

10 is being protected).

11 SEC. 8. PROTECTIONS FOR CONTRACT POULTRY GROWERS.

12 (a) REMOVAL OF POULTRY SLAUGHTER REQUIRE13 MENT FROM DEFINITIONS.—Section 2(a) of the Packers

14 and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182) is amended—

15 (1) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the

16 following new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(8) the term ‘poultry grower’ means any per18 son engaged in the business of raising or caring for

19 live poultry under a poultry growing arrangement,

20 whether the poultry is owned by such person or by

21 another person;’’;

22 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and cares for

23 live poultry for delivery, in accord with another’s in24 structions, for slaughter’’ and inserting ‘‘or cares for

25 live poultry in accord with another person’s instruc26 tions’’; and
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1 (3) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘for the pur2 pose of either slaughtering it or selling it for slaugh3 ter by another’’.

4 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY

5 OVER LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.—Sections 203, 204, and

6 205 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 193, 194, 195) are amended

7 by inserting ‘‘or live poultry dealer’’ after ‘‘packer’’ each

8 place it appears.

9 (c) AUTHORITY TO REQUEST TEMPORARY INJUNC10 TION OR RESTRAINING ORDER.—Section 408 of such Act

11 (7 U.S.C. 229) is amended by striking ‘‘on account of

12 poultry’’ and inserting ‘‘on account of poultry or poultry

13 care’’.

14 (d) VIOLATIONS BY LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.—Sec15 tion 411 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 228b–2) is amended—

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘any provision

17 of section 207 or section 410 of’’; and

18 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘any provi19 sions of section 207 or section 410’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘any provision’’.
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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORITY TO MAKE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

2 GUARANTEED LOANS FOR FARMER-OWNED

3 PROJECTS THAT ADD VALUE TO OR PROCESS

4 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

5 Section 310B(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and

6 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(a)(1)) is amended

7 by inserting ‘‘(and in areas other than rural communities,

8 in the case of insured loans, if a majority of the project

9 involved is owned by individuals who reside and have farm10 ing operations in rural communities, and the project adds

11 value to or processes agricultural commodities)’’ after

12 ‘‘rural communities’’.

13 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL STAFF AND

14 FUNDING FOR AGRICULTURE COMPETITION

15 ENFORCEMENT.

16 (a) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Secretary of Agri17 culture shall hire sufficient staff, including antitrust and

18 litigation attorneys, economists, and investigators, to ap19 propriately carry out the agribusiness merger review and

20 prohibition against unfair practices responsibilities, de21 scribed in sections 4 and 5.

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap23 propriated such sums as are necessary to hire the staff

24 referenced in subsection (a) to implement this Act.
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1 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL STAFF AND

2 FUNDING FOR THE GRAIN INSPECTION,

3 PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS ADMINISTRA4 TION.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

6 as are necessary to enhance the capability of the Grain

7 Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration to

8 monitor, investigate, and pursue the competitive implica9 tions of structural changes in the meat packing industry.

10 Sums are specifically earmarked to hire litigating attor11 neys to allow the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stock12 yards Administration to more comprehensively and effec13 tively pursue its enforcement activities.

14 SEC. 12. ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR AGRICUL15 TURAL ANTITRUST MATTERS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established within

17 the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice an

18 Assistant Attorney General for Agricultural Antitrust

19 Matters, who shall be responsible for oversight and coordi20 nation of antitrust and related matters which affect agri21 culture, directly or indirectly.

22 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The Assistant Attorney General

23 for Agricultural Antitrust Matters shall be appointed by

24 the President subject to the advice and consent of the Sen25 ate.
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1 SEC. 13. INCREASE IN HART-SCOTT-RODINO FILING FEES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The filing fee the Federal Trade

3 Commission assesses on a person acquiring voting securi4 ties or assets who is required to file premerger notifica5 tions under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a)

6 for mergers and acquisitions satisfying the $15,000,000

7 size-of-transaction requirement is increased to $100,000

8 for those transactions valued at more than $100,000,000.

9 (b) FEES EARMARKED.—The filing fee increase de10 scribed in subsection (a) is partially earmarked to pay for

11 the costs of staff increases at the Transportation, Energy

12 and Agriculture section at the Department of Justice, as

13 considered necessary by the Assistant Attorney General,

14 to enhance their review of agriculture transactions.

Æ