The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Meatpacking Industry (Executive Session)” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S4002 on June 9.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Meatpacking Industry
The JBS attack also highlighted a second problem--the highly concentrated nature of the meatpacking industry. When one or more of a handful of companies controlling the meatpacking industry experiences a problem, whether that is a plant shutdown due to COVID transmission or a cyber attack, that creates a potentially serious problem for the entire U.S. meat supply.
We all remember seeing bare meat department shelves at times during the pandemic. Had meatpacking capacity been less concentrated, it is likely that we would not have seen such significant shortages.
This high level of concentration in the industry also creates a problem for livestock producers, who rely on meatpackers to buy and harvest their animals and get them to consumers.
If a meatpacker has to shut down a plant, that means that farmers or ranchers may lose out on getting their livestock to market.
The highly concentrated nature of the meatpacking industry also creates the opportunity for market manipulation. In fact, serious concerns have been raised about market manipulation in the beef industry, owing to the substantial and ongoing gulf between meatpacker profits and rancher profits.
I recently sent a letter to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee requesting that the committee hold an oversight hearing into potential anticompetitive behavior and antitrust violations of the meatpacking sector. This followed on my letter to the Attorney General, urging the Justice Department to disclose the results of its investigation into the meatpacking industry, and my request to the Senate Agriculture Committee to hold a hearing examining the challenges livestock producers have been facing.
I will continue to work to make sure any anticompetitive behavior in the beef-packing industry is addressed.
I will continue to support efforts to increase competition in the meatpacking industry, like my legislation to support small meatpackers, the Strengthening Local Processing Act. I introduced this legislation in February, along with Senator Merkley, to help strengthen and diversify national meat processing capacity by providing new resources for smaller, more local meat processing operations.
As I said, more than 80 percent of the beef-packing industry in this country is controlled by just four companies.
Encouraging more companies to get into this marketplace and encouraging small meatpackers to expand will dilute the power of these four companies and create more competition for ranchers' cattle, which will lead to higher prices for ranchers--higher prices for ranchers--
when they bring their cattle to the market.
Plus, spreading out and expanding our Nation's meat processing capacity will make our Nation's meat supply less vulnerable to interruptions in situations like the pandemic or other natural disasters or the JBS ransomware attack.
South Dakota cattle producers work hard every day to deliver top-
quality beef to our Nation and to the world. I am proud to represent them here in the Senate, and I will continue to fight to enhance competition in the meatpacking industry so that ranchers and all livestock producers can receive a competitive price for their livestock.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
