I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 693
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to institute a program
of mandatory livestock market reporting for meat packers regarding
prices, volume, and the terms of sale for the procurement of domestic
and imported livestock and livestock products, to improve the collection
of information regarding swine inventories and the slaughtering and
measurement of swine, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 10, 1999
Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. MINGE, Mr. BOSWELL, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr.
POMEROY, Mr. EVANS, Mr. WELLER, and Mrs. CLAYTON) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to insti-
tute a program of mandatory livestock market reporting
for meat packers regarding prices, volume, and the terms
of sale for the procurement of domestic and imported
livestock and livestock products, to improve the collection
of information regarding swine inventories and the
slaughtering and measurement of swine, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Livestock Industry Fairness and Enhancement Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Mandatory livestock market reporting.
Sec. 3. Collection, collation, and reporting of data and statistics related to pro-
duction of swine, pork, and pork products.
Sec. 4. Report on jurisdiction, duties, and authorities of Secretary of Agri-
culture regarding packers, livestock, and livestock products.
Sec. 5. Retail price report of representative meat products.
Sec. 6. Regulations.
SEC. 2. MANDATORY LIVESTOCK MARKET REPORTING.
(a) REPORTING REQUIRED.—The Agricultural Mar-
keting Act of 1946 is amended by inserting after section
203 (7 U.S.C. 1622) the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 203A. MANDATORY LIVESTOCK MARKET REPORTING.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘livestock’ means
cattle, sheep, and swine, whether live or dead.
‘‘(2) LIVESTOCK
PRODUCT.—The term ‘live-
stock product’ means any product or byproduct pro-
duced or processed in whole or in part from live-
stock, including boxed beef, boxed lamb, and any
value-added product derived from pork.
‘‘(3) PACKER.—Subject to subsection (b)(1),
the term ‘packer’ means any person engaged in the
business of—
‘‘(A) buying livestock in commerce for pur-
poses of slaughter;
‘‘(B) manufacturing or preparing livestock
products for sale or shipment in commerce; or
‘‘(C) marketing livestock products in an
unmanufactured form acting as a wholesale
broker, dealer, or distributor in commerce.
‘‘(4) PRICES, VOLUME, AND TERMS OF SALE.—
The term ‘prices, volume, and terms of sale’ includes
base price, premium and discount price factors, for-
mula-based pricing systems, quality characteristics
(including percent lean and carcass weight), and any
current or future contract offered by a packer.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture.
‘‘(b) MANDATORY REPORTING REQUIRED.—
‘‘(1) PACKERS SUBJECT TO REQUIREMENT.—
This subsection applies only to a packer that the
Secretary estimates is engaged in the business of
buying, manufacturing, preparing, or marketing
more than five percent (by daily volume) of—
‘‘(A) all cattle, all sheep, or all swine that
are bought, prepared, or marketed in the
United States;
‘‘(B) all livestock products that are bought,
manufactured, prepared, or marketed in the
United States; or
‘‘(C) any combination of subparagraphs
(A) and (B).
‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The Secretary
shall require each packer described in paragraph (1)
to report to the Secretary, in such manner as the
Secretary shall require, such information relating to
prices, volume, and terms of sale for the procure-
ment of domestic and imported livestock and live-
stock products as the Secretary determines is appro-
priate.
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out para-
graph (2), the Secretary shall require packers de-
scribed in paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) to separately report domestic and im-
ported livestock and livestock products; and
‘‘(B) to report the information required
under paragraph (2) by the next business day,
as defined by the Secretary.
‘‘(4) NONCOMPLIANCE.—It shall be unlawful
for any packer described in paragraph (1) to know-
ingly fail or refuse to provide to the Secretary infor-
mation required under paragraph (2).
‘‘(5) VERIFICATION.—The Secretary may take
such actions as are necessary to verify the accuracy
of the information required under paragraph (2), re-
gardless of the source of the information.
‘‘(6) CEASE
AND
DESIST
AND
CIVIL
PEN-
ALTY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary has
reason to believe that a packer described in
paragraph (1) is violating this subsection (or a
regulation issued under this subsection), the
Secretary may issue an order to cease and de-
sist from continuing the violation and assess a
civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each
violation. The order shall be issued only after
notice and an opportunity for hearing is pro-
vided to the packer.
‘‘(B) 
FACTORS.—In 
determining 
the
amount of a civil penalty to be assessed under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider
the gravity of the offense, the size of the busi-
ness involved, and the effect of the penalty on
the ability of the packer to continue in business.
‘‘(7) REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.—If,
after expiration of the period for appeal or after the
affirmance of a civil penalty assessed under para-
‘‘(e) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this sec-
tion restricts or modifies the authority of the Secretary
to collect voluntary reports in accordance with other provi-
sions of law.
‘‘(f) TERMINATION
OF
MANDATORY
REQUIRE-
MENT.—The reporting requirement established by sub-
section (b) shall expire at the end of the three-year period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this section.’’.
(b) REPEAL OF PILOT PRICE REPORTING INVES-
TIGATION.—Section 416 of the Packers and Stockyards
Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 229a), as added by section 1127(a)
of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
1999 (as contained in section 101(a) of division A of Pub-
lic Law 105–277), is repealed.
SEC. 3. COLLECTION, COLLATION, AND REPORTING OF
DATA AND STATISTICS RELATED TO PRODUC-
TION OF SWINE, PORK, AND PORK PRODUCTS.
The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 is amended
by inserting after section 203A (as added by section 2 of
this Act) the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 203B. SPECIAL REPORTING AND MEASUREMENT RE-
QUIREMENTS REGARDING SWINE.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) PACKER.—The term ‘packer’ has the
meaning given the term in section 203A(a).
‘‘(2) SWINE.—The term ‘swine’ means the por-
cine animal raised for feeder pigs, seedstock, or
slaughter.
‘‘(3) BARROW.—The term ‘barrow’ means a
neutered male swine.
‘‘(4) GILT.—The term ‘gilt’ means a young fe-
male swine, one that has not produced a litter.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture.
‘‘(b) SWINE INVENTORY REPORT IMPROVEMENT.—
‘‘(1) NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—As soon
as practicable after the date of the enactment of this
section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall implement
a reporting procedure that results in a monthly re-
port of the inventory of swine located on farms and
other confinement or production areas, in the 17
leading pork producing States in the United States.
The reporting procedure shall include in a separate
category the number of bred female swine that are
assumed, or have been confirmed, as pregnant dur-
ing the reporting period.
‘‘(2) EFFECT ON EXISTING REPORT.—The Sec-
retary shall continue to maintain and publish the
current quarterly report known as the ‘‘Hogs and
Pigs Inventory Report’’ for a period of not less than
eight quarters after the inception of the monthly re-
port initiated under paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—The monthly
report referred to in paragraph (1) shall be made
available to swine producers, packers, market ana-
lysts and researchers, and such other persons and
entities as the Secretary determines to be in the
public interest. The quarterly report continued as
provided in paragraph (2) shall be designed to be
provided to those same persons or entities intended
to receive the monthly report so as to provide them
with a data overlap period until the monthly report
is fully functional.
‘‘(c) CARCASS MEASUREMENT
AND VALUE PRIC-
ING.—
‘‘(1) LEAN
CONTENT
MEASUREMENTS.—As
soon as practicable after the date of the enactment
of this section, the Secretary shall conduct a study
and survey and issue regulations requiring packers
to implement a program to measure the lean content
(containing little or no fat) of swine carcasses using
trained and impartial personnel. In issuing the regu-
lation, the Secretary shall provide for the adminis-
tration of the program and inspection of such packer
operations by personnel of the Grain Inspection,
Packers and Stockyards Administration.
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION
REPORT.—Not later
than six months after the date of the enactment of
this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress
a report setting forth the actions taken to implement
this subsection. The report shall set forth the num-
bers and names of packers who have initiated such
a measurement program on a voluntary basis, the
percentage of the packing industry that has initiated
such voluntary programs, the date such voluntary
programs were initiated, the estimated cost to pack-
ers to implement a voluntary program, the estimated
cost to be incurred by packers to implement the
mandatory program required by paragraph (1), and
other benefits that may accrue from the program.
‘‘(3) INSPECTION OF EQUIPMENT.—This para-
graph applies to a packer that slaughters more than
five percent (by daily volume) of all swine that are
bought, prepared, or marketed in the United States.
All equipment used by such a packer in the meas-
urement and determination of the value of swine
shall be subject to inspection by personnel of the
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Adminis-
tration designated by the Secretary. All formulas
and pricing procedures used to determine the value
of swine by such a packer may be obtained by the
Secretary who shall ensure its publication as deter-
mined by the Secretary.
‘‘(d) BARROW
AND GILT SLAUGHTER.—The Sec-
retary shall promptly obtain, either through a valid report-
ing procedure for a packer described in subsection (c)(3)
or other valid statistical sampling procedure at packing
plants as determined by the Secretary, data on the division
of the total market slaughter of swine that reflects dif-
ferences in numbers between barrows and gilts. Such in-
formation shall be made available to swine producers in
a report published by the Secretary.’’.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON JURISDICTION, DUTIES, AND AUTHORI-
TIES OF SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE RE-
GARDING PACKERS, LIVESTOCK, AND LIVE-
STOCK PRODUCTS.
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report describing
the jurisdiction, power, duties, and authorities of the Sec-
retary over packers, livestock, livestock products, and
interstate commerce in livestock and livestock products
under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C.
1621 et seq.), the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7
U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and all other related laws, such as
sections 6, 8, 9, and 10 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act (as referred to in section 402 of the Packers and
Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 222)).
(b) CONTENT.—With respect to such jurisdiction,
power, duties, and authorities, the report shall address the
following:
(1) The burdens on, and obstructions to, inter-
state commerce in livestock and livestock products
by packers and other persons who enter into ar-
rangements with packers that are contrary to, or do
not protect, the public interest.
(2) Non-competitive pricing arrangements be-
tween or among packers, or other persons involved
in the processing, distribution, or sale of livestock or
livestock products to consumers, including those pro-
vided for in contracts for the purchase of livestock.
(3) Measures to provide transparency to, and
effective monitoring of, contracts entered into be-
tween packers and livestock producers.
(4) Investigations that relate to, and affect the
disclosure of, transactions involved in the business of
packers involved in the ownership of such busi-
nesses, the pricing of livestock to producers, and the
pricing of livestock products in the entire mer-
chandising chain.
(5) Cooperation and enhancement by the Sec-
retary with the enforcement of actions initiated by
other Federal agencies to protect trade and com-
merce in the livestock and livestock product indus-
tries against unlawful restraints and monopolies.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘pack-
er’’, ‘‘livestock’’, and ‘‘livestock products’’ have the mean-
ing given such terms in section 203A of the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946, as added by section 2 of this Act.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON THE ABILITY OF THE SECRETARY OF
AGRICULTURE TO PROVIDE RELIABLE PERI-
ODIC RETAIL PRICE REPORTS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit
to Congress a report describing the ability of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture to provide reliable periodic reports of
the retail prices of representative meat products. The re-
port shall include at least the following:
(1) Existing private and public retail price re-
porting services.
(2) Existing authorities to use, interpret, and
publish data from such services, and any additional
authorities necessary to improve the use, interpreta-
tion, and publication of such data.
(3) Opportunities to cooperate with other Fed-
eral and State agencies.
SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.
(a) ISSUANCE
OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall issue such regulations as the
Secretary considers necessary to implement the amend-
ments made by this Act. The Secretary shall issue the reg-
ulations without regard to the following:
(1) The notice and comment provisions of sec-
tion 553 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) The Statement of Policy of the Secretary of
Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg.
13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking
and public participation in rulemaking.
(3) Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code
(commonly known as the Paperwork Reduction Act).
(b) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW
OF AGENCY RULE-
MAKING.—In issuing regulations under subsection (a), the
Secretary of Agriculture shall use the authority provided
under section 808(2) of title 5, United States Code.
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