(WASHINGTON D.C.) — Senate Democrats this week have introduced legislation that aims to break up dominant meatpackers, rein in foreign control of the meat industry and use federal tools to stop unfair pricing that drives up grocery bills for American families and hurts workers, farmers, and ranchers.
The “Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act”, introduced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), is legislation that co-sponsors say is “a competition driven, pro-farmer, pro-rancher, pro-worker, pro-consumer, cost of living bill that breaks up dominant meatpackers, reins in foreign controlled corporate giants, and uses all available tools to stop unfair pricing that drives up grocery bills for American families. It is designed to turn big structural reforms into concrete benefits: more competition and greater fairness for farmers and ranchers, more resilient supply chains, and lower prices and better choices at the meat counter.”
“The pernicious stranglehold of the meatpacking monopoly has weakened our supply chains and price gouged consumers at the grocery store,” according to Senator Schumer. “This not the “Golden Age” Donald Trump promised. But it’s what this administration does best – cater to special interests and corporations at the expense of middle-class families. That’s why Democrats are going to do what Donald Trump refuses to do: put the affordability crisis front and center, every day, all year long.”
This legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Democrats say the legislation would:
- Makes it unlawful for a major meatpacking conglomerate to control more than one major type of meat, forcing the biggest players to choose a line of business;
- Imposes hard caps on the concentration of beef markets at both the regional and national levels;
- If these thresholds are exceeded, the FTC must order targeted divestitures—selling off plants, facilities, or business units, or spinning off new independent firms—until markets are competitive again
- Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to design and enforce divestiture plans, so the law delivers real structural change, not just fines that companies treat as a cost of doing business, while maintaining or improving employment, honoring collective bargaining agreements, and promoting safer and more stable workplaces for workers across the supply chain.
- Prohibits foreign leverage over the domestic meat market, empowering FTC to protect competition and national security;
- Links the bill’s structural reforms to kitchen-table prices by focusing on unfair and unjustly discriminatory pricing practices in retail and wholesale meat markets that hit independent and neighborhood grocers hardest;
- Authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide financial assistance, loan guarantees, technical assistance, and other support to farmers’ cooperatives and small business concerns that seek to acquire, operate, or expand meatpacking plants or facilities divested under the Act;
- Makes failure to divest enforceable under the FTC act, backed by significant civil penalties.
The text of the legislation can be seen here. A breakdown of each section of the legislation can be seen here.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard issued the following statement in response to the legislation:
“For decades, R-CALF USA has been rigorously fighting on behalf of cattle feeders and ranchers for free and fair competition in the cattle markets. We welcome Congress’s recent effort to address the competition crisis plaguing our nation’s cattle markets.
“Senator Schumer’s legislation targets the same concentration problems that President Trump has also prioritized. President Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate the nation’s largest beef packers for potential collusion, price-fixing, and price manipulation — and issued an executive order directing the DOJ and FTC to form task forces to determine whether beef prices are being distorted throughout the supply chain. Senator Schumer’s bill similarly calls on the FTC to address concentration-driven distortions in retail beef prices.
“The administration and Congress are aligned: Both recognize the scope of the crisis facing the U.S. beef supply chain, which has seen the alarming contraction of the American cattle herd and a steady loss of the farmers who care for those animals.
“This bipartisan attention is exactly what is needed to spark a meaningful, nationwide debate on restoring competition in cattle and beef markets. R-CALF USA looks forward to working with both the administration and Congress to advance measures that ensure unrestricted market access, price transparency, price discovery and truly competitive prices for cattle producers and consumers alike.
“We will closely analyze Senator Schumer’s bill, engage actively in the debate over its passage and potential improvements, and treat it as a serious proposal to address the broken market conditions that have harmed America’s cattle producers for far too long.”
