[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 25]
[Senate]
[Pages 33562-33564]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 3821. Mr. THUNE (for Mr. McConnell) proposed an amendment to 
amendment SA 3500 proposed by Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, 
Mr. Baucus, and Mr. Grassley) to the bill H.R. 2419, to provide for the 
continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012, and for 
other purposes; as follows:

       On page 20, line 11, strike ``pulse crops,''.
       On page 23, strike paragraph (14) and redesignate 
     paragraphs (15) through (17) as paragraphs (14) through (16), 
     respectively.
       On page 24, line 18, strike ``pulse crop or''.
       On page 26, line 6, strike ``pulse crop or''.
       On page 27, line 17, strike ``camelina, or eligible pulse 
     crop'' and insert ``or camelina''.
       On page 27, lines 21 and 22, strike ``Camelina, and 
     Eligible Pulse Crops'' and insert ``and Camelina''.
       On page 27, lines 24 and 25, strike ``camelina, and 
     eligible pulse crops'' and insert ``and camelina''.
       On page 28, line 2, strike ``camelina, or pulse crop'' and 
     insert ``or camelina''.
       On page 28, line 5, strike ``camelina, or pulse crop'' and 
     insert ``or camelina''.
       On page 28, lines 8 and 9, strike ``camelina, or eligible 
     pulse crop'' and insert ``or camelina''.
       Beginning on page 28, line 12, through page 29, line 9, 
     strike ``camelina, or pulse crop'' each place it appears and 
     insert ``or camelina''.
       On page 29, lines 15 through 19, strike ``camelina, and 
     eligible pulse crops'' each place it appears and insert ``and 
     camelina''.
       On page 29, line 24, strike ``(other than pulse crops)''.
       On page 35, strike lines 8 through 13.
       Beginning on page 49, strike line 19 and all that follows 
     through page 51, line 4, and insert the following:
       (a) Loan Rates.--For each of the 2008 through 2012 crop 
     years, the loan rate for a marketing assistance loan under 
     section 1201 for a loan commodity shall be equal to the 
     following:
       (1) In the case of wheat, $2.75 per bushel.
       (2) In the case of corn, $1.95 per bushel.
       (3) In the case of grain sorghum, $1.95 per bushel.
       (4) In the case of barley, $1.85 per bushel.
       (5) In the case of oats, $1.33 per bushel.
       (6) In the case of the base quality of upland cotton, $0.52 
     per pound.
       (7) In the case of extra long staple cotton, $0.7977 per 
     pound.
       (8) In the case of long grain rice, $6.50 per 
     hundredweight.
       (9) in the case of medium grain rice, $6.50 per 
     hundredweight.
       (10) In the case of soybeans, $5.00 per bushel.
       (11) In the case of other oilseeds, $.0930 per pound.
       (12) In the case of dry peas, $5.40 per hundredweight.
       (13) In the case of lentils, $11.28 per hundredweight.
       (14) In the case of small chickpeas, $7.43 per 
     hundredweight.
       (15) In the case of large chickpeas, $11.28 per 
     hundredweight.
       (16) In the case of graded wool, $1.00 per pound.
       (17) In the case of nongraded wool, $0.40 per pound.
       (18) In the case of mohair, $4.20 per pound.
       (19) In the case of honey, $0.60 per pound.
       On page 85, line 4, strike ``pulse crop or''.
       On page 86, line 18, strike ``pulse crop or''.
       On page 663, between lines 18 and 19, insert the following:

     SEC. 49__. PERIODIC SURVEYS OF FOODS PURCHASED BY SCHOOL FOOD 
                   AUTHORITIES.

       Section 6 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1755) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(f) Periodic Surveys of Foods Purchased by School Food 
     Authorities.--
       ``(1) In general.--For fiscal year 2008 and every fifth 
     fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall carry out a 
     nationally representative survey of the foods purchased 
     during the most recent school year for which data is 
     available by school authorities participating in the national 
     school lunch program.
       ``(2) Report.--On completion of each survey, the Secretary 
     shall submit to Congress a report that describes the results 
     of the survey.
       ``(3) Funding.--Of the funds made available under section 
     3, the Secretary shall use to carry out this subsection not 
     more than $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and every fifth 
     fiscal year thereafter.''.
       On page 672, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:

     SEC. 49__. TEAM NUTRITION NETWORK.

       Section 19 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
     1788) is amended by striking subsection (l) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(l) Funding.--
       ``(1) Mandatory funding.--
       ``(A) In general.--On October 1, 2008, and on each October 
     1 thereafter through October 1, 2011, out of any funds in the 
     Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary to carry out this 
     section $25,000,000, to remain available until expended.
       ``(B) Receipt and acceptance.--The Secretary shall be 
     entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to carry out 
     this section the funds transferred under subparagraph (A), 
     without further appropriation.
       ``(C) Nutritional health of school children.--In allocating 
     funds made available under this paragraph, the Secretary 
     shall give priority to carrying out subsections (a) through 
     (g).
       ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to the 
     amounts made available under paragraph (1), there are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to 
     carry out this section.''.
  SA 3822. Mr. THUNE (for Mr. Gregg) proposed an amendment to amendment 
SA 3500 proposed by Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Baucus, 
and Mr. Grassley) to the bill H.R. 2419, to provide for the 
continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012, and for 
other purposes; as follows:

       Strike subtitle A of title XII and insert the following:

             Subtitle A--Low-Income Home Energy Assistance

     SEC. 12101. APPROPRIATIONS.

       In addition to any amounts appropriated under any other 
     Federal law, there is appropriated, out of any money in the 
     Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for fiscal year 2008, 
     $924,000,000 (to remain available until expended) for making 
     payments under section 2604(e) of the Low-Income Home Energy 
     Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623(e)), notwithstanding 
     the designation requirement of section 2602(e) of such Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 8621(e)).

     SEC. 12102. DEFICIT REDUCTION.

       It is the sense of Congress that the difference between--
       (1) the amount that would be made available under subtitle 
     A of title XII (as specified in Senate amendment 3500, as 
     proposed on November 5, 2007, to H.R. 2419, 110th Congress); 
     and
       (2) the amount made available under section 12101,

     should be used only for deficit reduction.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 3823. Mr. THUNE (for Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. 
Harkin)) proposed an amendment to amendment SA 3500 proposed by Mr. 
Harkin (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Baucus, and Mr. Grassley) to 
the bill H.R. 2419, to provide for the continuation of agricultural 
programs through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes; as follows:

       On page 1220, between lines 11 and 12, insert the 
     following:
       (c) Agriculture Competition Task Force.--
       (1) Establishment.--There is established, under the 
     authority of the Attorney General, the Agriculture 
     Competition Task Force, to examine problems in agricultural 
     competition.
       (2) Membership.--The Task Force shall consist of--
       (A) the Assistant Attorney General, who shall serve as 
     chairperson of the Task Force;
       (B) the Special Counsel;
       (C) a representative from the Federal Trade Commission;
       (D) a representative from the Department of Agriculture, 
     Office of Packers and Stockyards;
       (E) 1 representative selected jointly by the attorneys 
     general of States desiring to participate in the Task Force;
       (F) 1 representative selected jointly by the heads of the 
     departments of agriculture (or similar such agency) of States 
     desiring to participate in the Task Force;
       (G) 8 individuals who represent the interests of small 
     family farmers, ranchers, independent producers, packers, 
     processors, and other components of the agricultural 
     industry--
       (i) 2 of whom shall be selected by the Majority Leader of 
     the Senate;
       (ii) 2 of whom shall be selected by the Minority Leader of 
     the Senate;
       (iii) 2 of whom shall be selected by the Speaker of the 
     House of Representatives; and
       (iv) 2 of whom shall be selected by the Minority Leader of 
     the House of Representatives; and
       (H) 4 academics or other independent experts working in the 
     field of agriculture, agricultural law, antitrust law, or 
     economics--
       (i) 1 of whom shall be selected by the Majority Leader of 
     the Senate;
       (ii) 1 of whom shall be selected by the Minority Leader of 
     the Senate;
       (iii) 1 of whom shall be selected by the Speaker of the 
     House of Representatives; and
       (iv) 1 of whom shall be selected by the Minority Leader of 
     the House of Representatives.
       (3) Duties.--The Task Force shall--

[[Page 33563]]

       (A) study problems in competition in the agricultural 
     industry;
       (B) establish ways to coordinate Federal and State 
     activities to address unfair and deceptive practices and 
     concentration in the agricultural industry;
       (C) work with representatives from agriculture and rural 
     communities to identify abusive practices in the agricultural 
     industry;
       (D) submit to Congress such reports as the Task Force 
     determines appropriate on the state of family farmers and 
     ranchers, and the impact of agricultural concentration and 
     unfair business practices on rural communities in the United 
     States; and
       (E) make such recommendations to Congress as the Task Force 
     determines appropriate on agricultural competition issues, 
     which shall include any additional or dissenting views of the 
     members of the Task Force.
       (4) Working group.--
       (A) In general.--The Task Force shall establish a working 
     group on buyer power to study the effects of concentration, 
     monopsony, and oligopsony in agriculture, make 
     recommendations to the Assistant Attorney General and the 
     Chairman, and assist the Assistant Attorney General and the 
     Chairman in drafting agricultural guidelines under subsection 
     (e)(1).
       (B) Members.--The working group shall include any member of 
     the Task Force selected under paragraph (2)(H).
       (5) Meetings.--
       (A) First meeting.--The Task Force shall hold its initial 
     meeting not later than the later of--
       (i) 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act; and
       (ii) 30 days after the date of enactment of an Act making 
     appropriations to carry out this subsection.
       (B) Minimum number.--The Task Force shall meet not less 
     than once each year, at the call of the chairperson.
       (6) Compensation.--
       (A) In general.--The members of the Task Force shall serve 
     without compensation.
       (B) Travel expenses.--Members of the Task Force shall 
     receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
     subsistence, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of 
     title 5, United States Code.
       (7) Staff of task force; experts and consultants.--
       (A) Staff.--
       (i) Appointment.--The chairperson of the Task Force may, 
     without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 of title 5, 
     United States Code (relating to appointments in the 
     competitive service), appoint and terminate an executive 
     director and such other staff as are necessary to enable the 
     Task Force to perform its duties. The appointment of an 
     executive director shall be subject to approval by the Task 
     Force.
       (ii) Compensation.--The chairperson of the Task Force may 
     fix the compensation of the executive director and other 
     staff without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 
     subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code 
     (relating to classification of positions and General Schedule 
     pay rates), except that the rate of pay for the executive 
     director and other staff may not exceed the rate of basic pay 
     payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 
     5315 of title 5, United States Code, as in effect from time 
     to time.
       (B) Experts and consultants.--The Task Force may procure 
     temporary and intermittent services of experts and 
     consultants in accordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (8) Powers of the task force.--
       (A) Hearings and meetings.--The Task Force, or a member of 
     the Task Force if authorized by the Task Force, may hold such 
     hearings, sit and act at such time and places, take such 
     testimony, receive such evidence, and administer such oaths 
     or affirmations as the Task Force considers to be 
     appropriate.
       (B) Official data.--
       (i) In general.--The Task Force may obtain directly from 
     any executive agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5, 
     United States Code) or court information necessary to enable 
     it to carry out its duties under this subsection. On the 
     request of the chairperson of the Task Force, and consistent 
     with any other law, the head of an executive agency or of a 
     Federal court shall provide such information to the Task 
     Force.
       (ii) Confidential information.--The Task Force shall adopt 
     procedures that ensure that confidential information is 
     adequately protected.
       (C) Facilities and support services.--The Administrator of 
     General Services shall provide to the Task Force on a 
     reimbursable basis such facilities and support services as 
     the Task Force may request. On request of the Task Force, the 
     head of an executive agency may make any of the facilities or 
     services of such agency available to the Task Force, on a 
     reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, to assist the Task 
     Force in carrying out its duties under this subsection.
       (D) Expenditures and contracts.--The Task Force or, on 
     authorization of the Task Force, a member of the Task Force 
     may make expenditures and enter into contracts for the 
     procurement of such supplies, services, and property as the 
     Task Force or such member considers to be appropriate for the 
     purpose of carrying out the duties of the Task Force. Such 
     expenditures and contracts may be made only to such extent or 
     in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation 
     Acts.
       (E) Mails.--The Task Force may use the United States mails 
     in the same manner and under the same conditions as other 
     departments and agencies of the United States.
       (F) Gifts, bequests, and devises.--The Task Force may 
     accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of 
     services or property, both real and personal, for the purpose 
     of aiding or facilitating the work of the Task Force. Gifts, 
     bequests, or devises of money and proceeds from sales of 
     other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall 
     be deposited in the Treasury and shall be available for 
     disbursement upon order of the Task Force.
       (9) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $1,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010.
       (d) Authorization for Additional Staff and Funding.--There 
     are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
     to hire additional employees (including agricultural law and 
     economics experts) for the Transportation, Energy, and 
     Agriculture Section of the Antitrust Division of the 
     Department of Justice, to enhance the review of agricultural 
     transactions and monitor, investigate, and prosecute unfair 
     and deceptive practices in the agricultural industry.
       (e) Ensuring Full and Free Competition in Agriculture.--
       (1) Agricultural guidelines.--
       (A) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (i) The effective enforcement of the antitrust laws in 
     agriculture requires that the antitrust enforcement agencies 
     have guidelines with respect to mergers and other 
     anticompetitive conduct that are focused on the special 
     circumstances of agricultural commodity markets.
       (ii) There has been a substantial increase in concentration 
     in the markets in which agricultural commodities are sold, 
     with the result that buyers of agricultural commodities often 
     possess regional dominance in the form of oligopsony or 
     monopsony relative to sellers of such commodities. A 
     substantial part of this increase in market concentration is 
     the direct result of mergers and acquisitions that the 
     antitrust enforcement agencies did not challenge, in large 
     part because of the lack of guidelines focused on identifying 
     particular structural characteristics in the agricultural 
     industry and the adverse competitive effects that such 
     acquisitions and mergers would create.
       (iii) The cost of transportation, impact on quality, and 
     delay in sales of agricultural commodities if they are to be 
     transported to more distant buyers may result in narrow 
     geographic markets with respect to buyer power.
       (iv) Buyers have no economic incentive to bid up the price 
     of agricultural commodities in the absence of effective 
     competition. Further, the nature of buying may make it 
     feasible for larger numbers of buyers to engage in tacit or 
     overt collusion to restrain price competition.
       (v) Buyers with oligopsonistic or monopsonistic power have 
     incentives to engage in unfair, discriminatory, and 
     exclusionary acts that cause producers of agricultural 
     commodities to receive less than a competitive price for 
     their goods, transfer economic risks to sellers without 
     reasonable compensation, and exclude sellers from access to 
     the market.
       (vi) Markets for agricultural commodities often involve 
     contexts in which many producers have relatively limited 
     information and bargaining power with respect to the sale of 
     their commodities. These conditions invite buyers with 
     significant oligopsonistic or monopsonistic power to exercise 
     that power in ways that involve discrimination and undue 
     differentiation among sellers.
       (B) Issuance of guidelines.--After consideration of the 
     findings under subparagraph (A), the Assistant Attorney 
     General and the Chairman, in consultation with the Special 
     Counsel, shall issue agricultural guidelines that--
       (i) facilitate a fair, open, accessible, transparent, and 
     efficient market system for agricultural products;
       (ii) recognize that not decreasing competition in the 
     purchase of agricultural products by highly concentrated 
     firms from a sector in perfect competition is entirely 
     consistent with the objective of the antitrust laws to 
     protect consumers and enhance consumer benefits from 
     competition; and
       (iii) require the Assistant Attorney General or the 
     Chairman, as the case may be, to challenge any merger or 
     acquisition in the agricultural industry, if the effect of 
     that merger or acquisition may be to substantially lessen 
     competition or tend to create a monopoly.
       (C) Contents.--The agricultural guidelines issued under 
     subparagraph (B) shall consist of merger guidelines relating 
     to existing and potential competition and vertical 
     integration that--
       (i) establish appropriate methodologies for determining the 
     geographic and product markets for mergers affecting 
     agricultural commodity markets;

[[Page 33564]]

       (ii) establish thresholds of increased concentration that 
     raise a concern that the merger will have an adverse effect 
     on competition in the affected agricultural commodities 
     markets;
       (iii) identify potential adverse competitive effects of 
     mergers in agricultural commodities markets in a nonexclusive 
     manner; and
       (iv) identify the factors that would permit an enforcement 
     agency to determine when a merger in the agricultural 
     commodities market might avoid liability because it is not 
     likely to have an adverse effect on competition.
       (2) Agriculture competition task force working group on 
     buying power.--In issuing agricultural guidelines under this 
     subsection, the Chairman and the Assistant Attorney General 
     shall consult with the working group on buyer power of the 
     Task Force established under subsection (c)(4).
       (3) Completion.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Chairman and the Assistant 
     Attorney General shall--
       (A) issue agricultural guidelines under this subsection;
       (B) submit to Congress the agricultural guidelines issued 
     under this subsection; and
       (C) submit to Congress a report explaining the basis for 
     the guidelines, including why it incorporated or did not 
     incorporate each recommendation of the working group on buyer 
     power of the Task Force established under subsection (c)(4).
       (4) Report.--Not later than 30 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Chairman and the Assistant 
     Attorney General shall jointly submit a report to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the House of Representatives regarding the 
     issuing of agricultural guidelines under this subsection.
       (f) Agribusiness Merger Review and Enforcement by the 
     Department of Agriculture.--
       (1) Notice.--The Assistant Attorney General or the 
     Commissioner, as appropriate, shall notify the Secretary of 
     any filing under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 
     18a) involving a merger or acquisition in the agricultural 
     industry, and shall give the Secretary the opportunity to 
     participate in the review proceedings.
       (2) Review.--
       (A) In general.--After receiving notice of a merger or 
     acquisition under paragraph (1), the Secretary may submit to 
     the Assistant Attorney General or the Commissioner, as 
     appropriate, and publish the comments of the Secretary 
     regarding that merger or acquisition, including a 
     determination regarding whether the merger or acquisition may 
     present significant competition and buyer power concerns, 
     such that further review by the Assistant Attorney General or 
     the Commissioner, as appropriate, is warranted.
       (B) Second requests.--For any merger or acquisition 
     described in paragraph (1), if the Assistant Attorney General 
     or the Chairman, as the case may be, requires the submission 
     of additional information or documentary material under 
     section 7A(e)(1)(A) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 
     18a(e)(1)(A))--
       (i) copies of any materials provided in response to such a 
     request shall be made available to the Secretary; and
       (ii) the Secretary--

       (I) shall submit to the Assistant Attorney General or the 
     Chairman such additional comments as the Secretary determines 
     appropriate; and
       (II) shall publish a summary of any comments submitted 
     under subclause (I).

       (3) Report.--
       (A) In general.--The Secretary shall submit an annual 
     report to Congress regarding the review of mergers and 
     acquisitions described in paragraph (1).
       (B) Contents.--Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) 
     shall provide a description of each merger or acquisition 
     described in paragraph (1) that was reviewed by the Secretary 
     during the year before the date that report is submitted, 
     including--
       (i) the name and total resources of each entity involved in 
     that merger or acquisition;
       (ii) a statement of the views of the Secretary regarding 
     the competitive effects of that merger or acquisition on 
     agricultural markets, including rural communities and small, 
     independent producers; and
       (iii) a statement indicating whether the Assistant Attorney 
     General or the Chairman, as the case may be, instituted a 
     proceeding or action under the antitrust laws, and if so, the 
     status of that proceeding or action.
       (g) Authorization for Additional Staff and Funding for the 
     Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration.--
     There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to enhance the capability of the Grain Inspection, 
     Packers, and Stockyards Administration to monitor, 
     investigate, and pursue the competitive implications of 
     structural changes in the meat packing and poultry industries 
     by hiring litigating attorneys to allow the Grain Inspection, 
     Packers, and Stockyards Administration to more 
     comprehensively and effectively pursue its enforcement 
     activities.
       (h) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Agricultural commodity.--The term ``agricultural 
     commodity''--
       (A) has the meaning given that term in section 102 of the 
     Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602); and
       (B) does not include biofuels.
       (2) Agricultural cooperative.--The term ``agricultural 
     cooperative'' means an association of persons that meets the 
     requirements of the Capper-Volstead Act (7 U.S.C. 291 et 
     seq.).
       (3) Agricultural industry.--The term ``agricultural 
     industry''--
       (A) means any dealer, processor, commission merchant, or 
     broker involved in the buying or selling of agricultural 
     commodities; and
       (B) does not include sale or marketing at the retail level.
       (4) Antitrust laws.--The term ``antitrust laws'' has the 
     meaning given that term in the first section of the Clayton 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 12).
       (5) Assistant attorney general.--The term ``Assistant 
     Attorney General'' means the Assistant Attorney General in 
     charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of 
     Justice.
       (6) Biofuel.--The term ``biofuel'' has the meaning given 
     that term in section 9001 of the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002, as amended by section 9001 of this 
     Act.
       (7) Broker.--The term ``broker'' means any person 
     (excluding an agricultural cooperative) engaged in the 
     business of negotiating sales and purchases of any 
     agricultural commodity in commerce for or on behalf of the 
     vendor or the purchaser.
       (8) Chairman.--The term ``Chairman'' means the Chairman of 
     the Federal Trade Commission.
       (9) Commission merchant.--The term ``commission merchant'' 
     means any person (excluding an agricultural cooperative) 
     engaged in the business of receiving in commerce any 
     agricultural commodity for sale, on commission, or for or on 
     behalf of another.
       (10) Dealer.--The term ``dealer'' means any person 
     (excluding an agricultural cooperative) engaged in the 
     business of buying, selling, or marketing agricultural 
     commodities in commerce, except that no person shall be 
     considered a dealer with respect to sales or marketing of any 
     agricultural commodity produced by that person.
       (11) Processor.--The term ``processor'' means any person 
     (excluding an agricultural cooperative) engaged in the 
     business of handling, preparing, or manufacturing (including 
     slaughtering) an agricultural commodity, or the products of 
     such agricultural commodity, for sale or marketing in 
     commerce for human consumption (excluding sale or marketing 
     at the retail level).
       (12) Special counsel.--The term ``Special Counsel'' means 
     the Special Counsel for Agricultural Competition of the 
     Department of Agriculture established under section 11 of the 
     Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, as added by this Act.
       (13) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the 
     Agriculture Competition Task Force established under 
     subsection (c).

                          ____________________