990836 Senator Asks Review Of Anti-Monopoly EffortsAugust 14, 1999Washington - The congressional watchdog agency will review how strongly the Agriculture Department is battling anti-competitive practices in the meat- packing industry, Senator Charles Grassley said. Under the 1921 Packers and Stockyards law, USDA has jurisdiction over monopolistic and unfair business activities involving livestock. Grassley, Iowa Republican and a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he asked for the review by the General Accounting Office. As a congressional agency, GAO routinely accepts requests from lawmakers. “There's serious concern that the trend in horizontal and vertical concentration in agribusiness has contributed significantly to the economic stress in agriculture today,” Grassley said. “The question I have for the GAO is, how have business practices, and possible violations of the antitrust laws, aggravated this situation?” At a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Grassley and a couple of other Midwestern senators expressed displeasure with the leadership of USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration. GAO was asked by Grassley to obtain: --information on GIs's policies and practices for identifying, selecting and investigating violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act. --a profile of complaints and leads the agency decided not to investigate. --a profile of closed investigations. A series of large-scale mergers and purchases, headlined by Cargill Inc's plan to buy the grain wing of its largest rival, has heightened concern among lawmakers that farmers were being out-muscled by agribusiness rivals. A handful of firms control slaughter of cattle, hogs and chickens.
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