Grassley made his second request this month for an independent review of the enforcement practicesof a federal government agency. He asked the General Accounting Office to study the civil andcriminal antitrust enforcement efforts of the Antitrust Division at the Justice Department. Twelvedays ago, he requested a GAO review of the Agriculture Department's enforcement of the Packersand Stockyards Act. "I have asked the GAO to carefully study the track record of enforcement byour federal agencies," Grassley said. "This will help determine how business practices and possibleviolations of the anti-trust laws have created an un-level playing field for the family farmer."
In each request, Grassley specifically asked the investigative arm of Congress to obtain informationon the policies and practices for identifying, selecting and investigating anti-trust violations; a profileof the complaints and leads that each agency decided not to investigate; and, a profile of closedinvestigations.
"There's legitimate concern that the trend in agribusiness concentration has contributed significantlyto the economic stress in agriculture today. For competition in agriculture we need vigorousenforcement of existing anti-trust laws, along with expanded measures including mandatory pricedisclosure in the meat-packing industry."
Last month, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a bill to require meat packers to revealprices they pay for beef and pork. The information would be made public through the USDA'sAgriculture Marketing Service. The measure followed introduction of legislation in March byGrassley and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Grassley has argued during the last year thataccurate and reliable market information is critical for independent operators to stay competitivewith factory-style hog lots. "Our bipartisan effort was aimed at "helping to prevent insider deals thatundercut fair competition," he said.
Grassley is chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee charged with administrative oversight. He hasasked the Justice Department's top anti-trust official to hold a meeting in Iowa to hear directly fromfarmers about the impact of concentration in agriculture. Grassley's focus on ensuring faircompetition for family farmers is part of his effort to ensure that the Justice Department account forany disproportionately negative affect mega-mergers overall are having on rural America.