Senate Ag Panel Expected to Vote Wednesday on Controversial Cattle and Meat Measures

Cattle measures likely to get Senate Ag panel votes. 

Up for expected tallies Wednesday are S 3870, the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2022 and S 4030, the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2022. Both bills are expected to clear the panel, but with some expected Republican opposition. It is unclear if the measure will have at least 60 votes on the full Senate floor to get halt any debate.

It will be interesting to see the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimates if the measured reach Senate floor debate. The bills enjoy support, however, from key farm state Republicans such as Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

“I don’t intend to stop until these bills become law,” Grassley has stated. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking member on the Senate Ag Committee is “opposed to both and yet each individual senator, depending on their states, is going to have to decide how they’re going to vote. When you get into agriculture, it’s not Democrats and Republicans. It’s more areas of the country and the particular product or the particular commodity” that determines a lawmaker’s actions, Boozman said.

Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act 

The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act includes several reforms aimed at improving transparency and price discovery in cattle markets. It would establish a cattle contract library and require the USDA secretary to set a minimum threshold for negotiated trade volumes. Sen. Boozman, whose state is home to Tyson Foods’ headquarters, said that he can’t support the bill, citing problems with the mandatory cash minimums proposed.

Boozman has cited studies indicating that the measure could impose costs on producers, the very people its supporters say it aims to help. One analysis he brought up cited burdens on producers in the Southern Plains region. Boozman previously said he had spoken to lawmakers from states that could be affected, including Oklahoma and Texas. “I think there’s real concern that this bill picks winners and losers and certainly that part of the country would be dramatically affected,” he said.

Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act 

The Meat and Poultry Investigator Act would create a new USDA office dedicated to enforcing competition rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Sen. Boozman also opposes Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) special investigator bill (S 3870). But Tester's special investigator bill has the backing of Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).

Boozman said a special investigator’s powers could affect not only major processors but also increase regulatory costs for smaller operators. The larger operations could adjust to new requirements, but “the smaller ones will be at a competitive disadvantage," he said. "There will be compliance costs. It was sold as we’re going to go after the Big Four and that’s not the case.”

Boozman said if the existing agencies and departments responsible for policing markets are not doing their jobs, “then let’s hold hearings and let’s get after them.” He said he doesn't know if he will offer amendments to either bill at the June 22 markup.