Fair Play for Family Farms Act of 2000
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Fair Play for Family Farms Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to monitor competitive conditions in the agricultural economy and review specified mergers or acquisitions. (Sec.4) Establishes within the Department of Justice an Assistant Attorney General for Agriculture Competition, who shall be responsible for agriculture-related antitrust matters. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 5) Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to require, with exemptions, livestock dealers (including market agencies) to hold in trust proceeds from livestock purchased in cash sales for the benefit of all unpaid cash sellers of such livestock until receipt of full payment. Authorizes monetary penalties for violations of such provisions. (Sec. 7) Authorizes appropriations for additional Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration staff, including litigating attorneys, in order to monitor the meat packing industry. (Sec. 8) Directs the Comptroller General of the General Accounting Office to study whether disparities exist in the Administration's authority respecting the poultry, beef, and pork industries. (Sec. 9) States that non-trade secret confidentiality clauses in livestock or grain production contracts are unenforceable. (Sec. 10) Directs the Administration to establish a trust fund for producers harmed by packer anticompetitive behavior.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 15, 2000. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 15, 2000: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 106th Congress (1999-00), 580 of the 9,158 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 6.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN ASHCROFT (R-MO) introduced it on June 15, 2000. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 15, 2000, 9631 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9631 days ago, on June 15, 2000.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 106th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2001 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers