[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 47 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. J. RES. 47
Directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and report on
anticompetitive practices and violations of antitrust law in the beef
packing industry.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 19 (legislative day, May 17), 2022
Ms. Warren (for herself and Mr. Rounds) introduced the following joint
resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
JOINT RESOLUTION
Directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and report on
anticompetitive practices and violations of antitrust law in the beef
packing industry.
Whereas sections 6 and 6A of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 46,
46a) authorize Congress, through a resolution passed by the Senate and
the House of Representatives, to direct the Federal Trade Commission to
investigate and report the facts relating to any alleged violations of
antitrust law by any corporation;
Whereas ranchers in the United States receive approximately 39 cents of every
dollar a consumer spends on beef, compared to the 60 cents of every
dollar they received 50 years ago;
Whereas, each year since 1980, an average of nearly 17,000 cattle ranchers have
gone out of business;
Whereas, between 2015 and 2018, the difference between the cost of wholesale
beef and the price paid to ranchers increased by 60 percent, while the
top beef packers enjoyed record profits;
Whereas beef packing companies have paid millions of dollars to settle beef
price-fixing claims in recent years;
Whereas increased multinational agribusiness consolidation has put foreign firms
in dominant positions within the United States beef packing industry;
Whereas increased consolidation in the beef packing industry has exposed
vulnerabilities in the food supply system of the United States;
Whereas the top 4 beef packers increased their market share from 32 percent to
85 percent in the past 3 decades;
Whereas the top 4 beef packers control roughly 85 percent of the beef supply to
the wholesale market in the United States; and
Whereas consolidated lawsuits were filed against the top 4 beef packers with
many complaints, including that of a 10-year quality assurance officer
at a top 4 beef packer who witnessed the cutback on slaughter numbers
when fed cattle prices rose above a specific threshold: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Federal Trade
Commission is directed to investigate and, not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this Act, report to the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House
of Representatives on--
(1) the extent of anticompetitive practices and violations
of the antitrust laws (as defined in the first section of the
Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12)) in the beef packing industry,
including--
(A) price fixing;
(B) anticompetitive acquisitions;
(C) anticompetitive vertical integration;
(D) dominance of supply chains; and
(E) monopolization;
(2) the monetary and other harms of anticompetitive
practices and violations of the antitrust laws in the beef
packing industry on consumers, ranchers, farmers, plant
workers, and small businesses; and
(3) recommendations for legislation, or other remedial
actions, as appropriate.
<all>