HR 5357 · 107th Congress 2001–2003, ended

Agriculture Competition Enhancement Act

Introduced Sep 10, 2002 Originated House Sponsor Doug Bereuter R-NE

Fact sheet

Latest action · Sep 13, 2002 Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedSep 10, 2002
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Agriculture Competition Enhancement Act - Establishes within the Department of Agriculture a Special Counsel for Competition Matters, to be appointed by the President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

Directs the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission to notify the Secretary of Agriculture of specified (size- and market share-related) agribusiness premerger filings under the Clayton Act, and provide the Secretary with an opportunity to participate in such review. States that in addition to such antitrust review the Special Counsel shall conduct a contemporaneous review of the proposed action's marketplace effect on independent producers and family farmers, and may challenge such merger or acquisition.

Authorizes the Special Counsel to request notification of a smaller merger or acquisition that may threaten market competition.

Amends the Clayton Act with respect to proposed agricultural mergers or acquisitions.

Sets forth: (1) unlawful practices for agricultural dealers, processors, commission merchants, or brokers; and (2) related enforcement provisions.

Prohibits confidentiality clauses in livestock and poultry production contracts.

Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize business and industry guaranteed loans for non-rural sited, farmer-owned projects that add value to or process agricultural commodities.

Establishes within the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice an Assistant Attorney General for Agricultural Antitrust Matters.

Increases certain Federal Trade Commission premerger filing fees (Hart-Scott-Rodino filing fees), to be partially earmarked for agribusiness-related staff increases at the Transportation, Energy and Agriculture section of the Department of Justice.

Cosponsors

Members who signed on, in the order they did.

No cosponsors are on file for this measure.

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Sep 13, 2002Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
  2. Sep 13, 2002Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture.
  3. Sep 10, 2002Introduced in House
  4. Sep 10, 2002Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.