Leahy, Grassley Press DOJ, USDA for Follow Up to Agriculture Competition Workshops

Press Release

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, seeking follow up on a recent series of competition workshops held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The conferences, which were held in locations across the country from March 2010 to December 2010, focused on vertical integration, buyer power, market transparency, competition and retail pricing in several agricultural industries, including dairy, seed and poultry. In 2009, Leahy chaired a Judiciary Committee field hearing in Vermont about competition in the dairy industry, one of several hearings held by the Committee in recent years to examine antitrust issues in the agriculture sector. Now Leahy and Grassley are seeking information about DOJ and USDA plans for further action to promote competition in agriculture.

"With the conclusion of the last workshop on December 8, 2010, we would appreciate an update as to what the DOJ and USDA plans for its next steps," the Senators wrote. "As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Judiciary, please provide to us an outline of any plans or further action items that DOJ and USDA intend to take in this area."

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