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Session of 2000
          Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1633           By Committee on Agriculture           1-27          

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  9             A  CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION encouraging Congress to pass a
10             moratorium on agribusiness and agricultural mergers and acquisitions.
11      
12             WHEREAS,  Monopoly power, whether it arises in industry, labor, fi-
13       nance, agriculture or government, is a threat to our competitive enterprise
14       system and the individual freedom of every American; and
15             WHEREAS,  An effective antitrust policy and program should include
16       clarification of farmer cooperatives' rights to encourage the development
17       of cooperatives and producer bargaining associations; and
18             WHEREAS,  The continued mergers of agribusiness firms that supply
19       input products, process meats and purchase farm commodities are re-
20       ducing firms to the level that the free enterprise system that is based on
21       competition is greatly threatened; and
22             WHEREAS,  The Kansas legislature is opposed to mergers, acquisi-
23       tions or leveraged buyouts which tend to create a monopoly of production,
24       production inputs, marketing, processing and transportation situations or
25       which reduce competition in production inputs, acquiring, pricing, proc-
26       essing or transportation of commodities and products: Now, therefore,
27             Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Kansas, the House of Rep-
28       resentatives concurring therein: That Congress pass a moratorium on
29       agribusiness and agricultural mergers and acquisitions until such a time
30       that new rules to govern structural changes are in place; and
31             Be it further resolved: That the United States department of justice
32       immediately investigate the mergers that are occurring in the agricultural
33       industry and action that will protect producer interests be taken when
34       needed that will stop this trend; and
35             Be it further resolved: That Congress, in conjunction with the U.S.
36       department of justice, should continue to monitor the agricultural indus-
37       try for antitrust abuse and make sure that the current process is successful
38       in maintaining a needed level of competition; and
39             Be it further resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send
40       enrolled copies of this resolution to the President of the United States,
41       the Vice-President of the United States, Majority Leader and Minority
42       Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker, Majority Leader and
43       Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Sec-

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  1       retary of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Attorney Gen-
  2       eral of the United States and to each member of the Kansas Congressional
  3       Delegation.
  4