(FEBRUARY 10, 2023) – On Wednesday, Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) reintroduced the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act.
The bill would create the “Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters” within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which would be comprised of a team of investigators, with subpoena power, responsible for targeting and preventing anti-competitive practices amongst large players in the meat and poultry industries.
The last time it was introduced, the bill passed the full House of Representatives and the Senate Agriculture Committee.
U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President Justin Tupper issued the following statement:
“If the bad actors in the marketplace have nothing to hide, then they should have no problem with reinforcing USDA’s oversight authority through the measures provided in this bill. It’s not enough that producers stand on a level playing field in the marketplace – there also needs to be a referee, with a whistle, there to throw a flag when there’s a penalty.
“USCA fully supports the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act and would like to applaud our Champions for ‘Competition’ in the Senate who never waiver on supporting producers not just in Montana, South Dakota, and Iowa – but across the countryside.”