"I pushed the Justice Department to vigorously review the Tyson-IBP purchase from all angles and consult with the Agriculture Department. But the Justice Department tells me that they've determined there wasn't a potential negative impact on competition in violation of the antitrust laws, which could be sustained in court. I hope that the Justice Department has conducted a thorough analysis of this transaction to make this determination.
"However, I'm concerned that there are going to be problems. That's why I believe we need some changes to the antitrust or agriculture competition laws so that more intense scrutiny is placed on ag mergers. I've authored several legislative measures to protect competition in agriculture, such as restricting meat packer ownership of livestock, granting authority to the Agriculture Department to challenge agribusiness mergers, and requiring the USDA to improve its administration so it can better enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act."