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Creates an Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters inside the Department of Agriculture, led by a senior career Special Investigator. The Special Investigator is required to investigate and bring civil or administrative cases under the Packers and Stockyards Act against packers and live poultry dealers, coordinate with other agencies (including DOJ, FTC, and DHS), and maintain a staff of attorneys and subject-matter experts. The measure also makes conforming changes recognizing the Secretary's authority to implement the new office and contains a technical redesignation of an existing statutory provision.
Insert a new section 217 into the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 establishing the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters within the Department of Agriculture.
The Office shall be headed by the Special Investigator for Competition Matters, who must be a senior career employee appointed by the Secretary.
The Special Investigator must use all available tools, including subpoenas, to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, by packers and live poultry dealers concerning competition and trade practices in the food and agriculture sector.
The Special Investigator shall serve as a Department liaison to, and act in consultation with, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission regarding competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector.
The Special Investigator shall act in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security regarding national security and critical infrastructure security in the food and agricultural sector.
Primary impacts:
Implementation considerations:
Adds a new section 217 to the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 establishing the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters (the Office) in the Department, headed by a Special Investigator for Competition Matters, specifying duties (investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act; liaison/consultation with DOJ, FTC, DHS; maintain staff; coordinate with the Office of the General Counsel and the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service), grants the Special Investigator authority to bring civil or administrative actions under the Packers and Stockyards Act notwithstanding title 28, requires notification to the Attorney General for actions brought in federal district court, and limits actions to entities regulated under the Packers and Stockyards Act.
Amends subsection (b) of 7 U.S.C. 7014 to add at the end a new paragraph (11) preserving the Secretary's authority to carry out the newly added section 217 (Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters).
Redesignates the first section 225 (relating to Food Access Liaison), currently codified at 7 U.S.C. 6925, as section 224A.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced April 7, 2025 by Ronald Lee Wyden · Last progress April 7, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced in Senate