Grassley Wants Probe of USDA's Antitrust Activity

Aug. 16, 1999

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) wants a review of how well USDA is preventing anti-competitive practices and protecting competition in agriculture under the Packers and Stockyards Act. He asked the General Accounting Office to conduct the investigation.

Grassley says by law USDA is responsible for investigating and taking enforcement actions against individuals and companies that engage in anti-competitive and unfair business practices. USDA also has the authority to issue rules regulating activities in the livestock and poultry industries and enforce compliance on industry trade practices.

He asked GAO to obtain information on the P&SA's policies and practices for identifying, selecting and investigating violations of the act; a profile of complaints and leads that the administration decided not to investigate, and a profile of closed investigations.

"I want to make sure that the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration is taking every appropriate action to preclude unlawful anti-competitive practices and to protect competition in agriculture," says Grassley. "There is serious concern that the trend in horizontal and vertical concentration in agribusiness has contributed significantly to the economic stress in agriculture today. The question I have for the GAO is, how have business practices and possible violations of the anti-trust laws aggravated this situation."