[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2506 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2506

 To require the President to appoint a Commission on Concentration in 
                        the Livestock Industry.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 18, 1995

 Mr. Johnson of South Dakota (for himself, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Minge, Mr. 
Leach, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Lightfoot, Mr. Barrett of Nebraska, Mr. Watts 
 of Oklahoma, Mr. Ganske, Mr. Gephardt, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. Cooley, Ms. 
 Kaptur, Mr. Williams, and Ms. Danner) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 
    the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the President to appoint a Commission on Concentration in 
                        the Livestock Industry.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Livestock Concentration Report Act 
of 1995''.

SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the President shall appoint a Commission on Concentration in the 
Livestock Industry which shall be composed of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, who shall be the chairperson of the Commission, and 2 
members appointed from among individuals in each of the following 
categories:
            (1) Cattle producers.
            (2) Hog producers.
            (3) Lamb producers.
            (4) Experts in antitrust laws.
            (5) Economists.
            (6) Corporate chief financial officers.
            (7) Corporate procurement experts.

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Duties.--The Commission on Concentration in the Livestock 
Industry shall--
            (1) determine whether the study of concentration in the red 
        meat packing industry adequately--
                    (A) examined and identified regional procurement 
                markets for slaughter cattle in the continental United 
                States;
                    (B) analyzed the effects that slaughter cattle 
                procurement practices, and concentration in the 
                procurement of slaughter cattle, have on the purchasing 
                and pricing of slaughter cattle by beef packers;
                    (C) examined the use of captive cattle supply 
                arrangements by beef packers and the effects of such 
                arrangements on slaughter cattle markets;
                    (D) examined the economics of vertical integration 
                and of coordination arrangements in the hog 
                slaughtering and processing industry;
                    (E) examined the pricing and procurement by hog 
                slaughtering plants operating in the eastern corn belt;
                    (F) reviewed the pertinent research literature on 
                issues relating to the structure and operation of the 
                meat packing industry; and
                    (G) represents, for the matters described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (F), the current situation in 
                the livestock industry compared to the situation of 
                such industry reflected in the data on which such study 
                is based; and
            (2) review the application of the antitrust laws, and the 
        operation of other Federal laws applicable, with respect to 
        concentration and vertical integration in the procurement and 
        pricing of slaughter cattle and of slaughter hogs by meat 
        packers;
            (3) make recommendations regarding whether the laws 
        relating to the operation of the meat packing industry should 
        be modified regarding the concentration, vertical integration, 
        and vertical coordination in such industry;
            (4) review the farm-to-retail price spread for livestock 
        during the period beginning on January 1, 1993, and ending on 
        the date the report is submitted under section 4;
            (5) review the adequacy of price data obtained by the 
        Department of Agriculture under section 203 of the Agricultural 
        Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1622);
            (6) make recommendations regarding the adequacy of price 
        discovery in the livestock industry for animals held for 
        market; and
            (7) review the lamb industry study completed by the 
        Department of Justice in 1993.
    (b) Solicitation of Information.--For purposes of complying with 
the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a), the 
Commission on Concentration in the Livestock Industry shall solicit 
information from all parts of the livestock industry, including 
livestock producers, livestock marketers, meat packers, meat 
processors, and retailers.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) Submission of Report to the President.--Not later than 90 days 
after the study of concentration in the red meat packing industry is 
submitted to the Congress, the Commission on Concentration in the 
Livestock Industry shall submit to the President a report summarizing 
the results of the duties carried out under section 3. Not later than 
30 days after the President receives such report, the President shall 
terminate the Commission.
    (b) Transmission of Report to the Congress.--The President shall 
promptly transmit, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
the President pro tempore of the Senate, a copy of the report the 
President receives under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``antitrust laws'' has the meaning given it in 
        subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
        U.S.C. 12(a)), except that such term includes section 5 of the 
        Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent such 
        section applies to unfair methods of competition; and
            (2) the term ``study of concentration in the red meat 
        packing industry'' means the study of concentration in the red 
        meat packing industry proposed by the Department of Agriculture 
        in the Federal Register on January 9, 1992 (57 Fed. Reg. 875), 
        and for which funds were appropriated by Public Law 102-142.
                                 <all>