[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 115 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S9211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS ENFORCEMENT IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2000

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise to address something about which 
the occupant of the chair has a great deal of concern. A bill was 
introduced recently by Senator Grassley from Iowa. I support his bill, 
the Packers and Stockyards Enforcement Improvement Act of 2000. I think 
this is a commonsense approach to a very difficult agricultural 
antitrust concern taking place. I applaud Senator Grassley's approach 
and endorse his Stockyards Enforcement Act of 2000.
  Concerns about concentration and market monopolization have risen in 
recent years, with the remaining low prices that farmers have received 
and the struggle that we have had to adopt and adapt to the globalized 
commerce that we see taking place.
  I was visiting yesterday with my dad, who farms full time in Kansas, 
and my brother who farms with him, about concerns regarding the 
concentration and the low prices taking place and what is happening 
around them.
  What Senator Grassley has done is request a GAO study, and he found 
that the USDA has not adequately put forward efforts of enforcement in 
the packers and stockyards field, and that needs to take place. He is 
taking the GAO study and putting it into legislative language. I 
believe it would be prudent and wise for this Congress to pass that 
language.
  Senator Grassley's bill spells out specific reforms that will make a 
direct difference in the way antitrust issues and anticompetitive 
practices are dealt with. Specifically, the bill will require USDA to 
formulate and improve investigation and case methods for competition-
related allegations in consultation with the Department of Justice and 
the Federal Trade Commission; integrate attorney and economist teams, 
with attorney input from the very beginning of an investigation, rather 
than merely signing off at the end of the inquiry.

  It turns out that the GAO study reports that the economists are 
looking at the cases early on but the attorneys are not. The attorneys 
need to be involved at the very outset. By the nature of these charges, 
they are legal issues and should be looked at by attorneys at the very 
outset. It would establish specific training programs for attorneys and 
investigators involved in antitrust investigations. It would require a 
report to Congress on the state of the market and concerns about 
anticompetitive practices.
  Senator Grassley, today, chaired a hearing that further illuminated 
the problems, needs, and solutions.
  Senator Grassley's bill comes after a thorough examination of USDA's 
enforcement of the Packer's and Stockyards Act by the GAO. That report, 
released last week, found numerous problems in the way the agency 
approaches these investigations. I have to say, as somebody whose 
family is directly involved in farming, who has been secretary of 
agriculture for the State of Kansas, it troubles me when the Department 
is having difficulties enforcing this very important area of the law.
  This bill simply puts into law these GAO recommendations for USDA 
reform. This bill is necessary because USDA has been struggling to 
address many of these concerns raised by the GAO in terms of antitrust 
enforcement over the past 3 years. This issue has been raised in the 
Kansas State Legislature this last session with a great deal of concern 
about really who is watching. Are they properly prepared and adequately 
staffed to look into these antitrust investigations and allegations? 
This bill gets reforms done within a year and ensures that the law is 
being enforced.
  Today's agricultural markets are in tough shape. Prices are too low. 
We cannot, however, make assumptions about concentration as the cause 
without having accurate information and thorough investigations. Under 
Senator Grassley's bill, this process will be greatly improved because 
it requires USDA to retool and devote more resources to the area of 
antitrust enforcement.
  This bill avoids the pitfalls of lumping the innocent in with the 
guilty and instead sorts out anticompetitive practices where they 
occur. These reforms are necessary to restore producer confidence in 
the Packers and Stockyards Act and USDA's ability to police this 
increasingly concentrated industry.
  Again, I thank Senator Grassley for his wise approach on this tough 
issue and his continued sincere concern for the farmers of this Nation. 
This has been an excellent effort to move forward by Senator Grassley.

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