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Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025
To establish the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters within the Department of Agriculture.
Summary
This bill establishes a new Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters within the Department of Agriculture, headed by a senior career employee appointed by the Secretary. The Special Investigator will investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act by meat packers and live poultry dealers regarding unfair competition and trade practices. The position will serve as liaison between the USDA, Department of Justice, and Federal Trade Commission on competition matters in the food and agriculture sector, and will coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security on national security and critical infrastructure issues. The Special Investigator will have prosecutorial authority to bring civil or administrative actions under the Packers and Stockyards Act and will maintain a staff of attorneys and subject-matter experts to support these investigations.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR)
9 cosponsors
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ)
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM)
- Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND] (R-ND)
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS)
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD)
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT)
Actions (2)
- Apr 7, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. · senate
- Apr 7, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 7, 2025
Mr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Welch, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Hoeven) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
A BILL
To establish the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters within the Department of Agriculture.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR FOR COMPETITION MATTERS.
(a) In General.—The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by inserting after section 216 (7 U.S.C. 6916) the following:
“SEC. 217. OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR FOR COMPETITION MATTERS.
“(a) Establishment.—There is established in the Department an office, to be known as the ‘Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Office’).
“(b) Special Investigator for Competition Matters.—The Office shall be headed by the Special Investigator for Competition Matters (referred to in this section as the ‘Special Investigator’), who shall be a senior career employee appointed by the Secretary.
“(c) Duties.—The Special Investigator shall—
“(1) use all available tools, including subpoenas, to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), by packers and live poultry dealers with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agriculture sector;
“(2) serve as a Department liaison to, and act in consultation with, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector;
“(3) act in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security with respect to national security and critical infrastructure security in the food and agricultural sector;
“(4) maintain a staff of attorneys and other professionals with appropriate expertise; and
“(5) in carrying out paragraphs (1) through (4), coordinate with the Office of the General Counsel and the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service.
“(d) Prosecutorial Authority.—
“(1) In general.—Notwithstanding title 28, United States Code, the Special Investigator shall have the authority to bring any civil or administrative action authorized under the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), against a packer or a live poultry dealer.
“(2) Notification.—With respect to any action brought under this section in Federal district court, the Special Investigator shall notify the Attorney General.
“(3) Effect.—Nothing in this section alters the authority of the Secretary to issue a subpoena pursuant to the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).
“(e) Limitation on Scope.—The Special Investigator may not bring an action under this section with respect to an entity that is not regulated under the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).”.
(b) Conforming Amendment.—Section 296(b) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(11) The authority of the Secretary to carry out section 217.”.
(c) Technical Amendment.—Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by redesignating the first section 225 (relating to Food Access Liaison) (7 U.S.C. 6925) as section 224A. <all>
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