Sec. 201. Establishment of Commission

547 words·~2 min read·/bill/115/hr/6800/ih/section-201

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There is established a commission to be known as the Food and Agriculture Concentration and Market Power Review Commission (hereafter in this title referred to as the Commission ). The purpose of the Commission is to— study the nature and consequences of concentration in America’s food and agricultural economy; and make recommendations on how to change underlying antitrust laws and other Federal laws and regulations to keep a fair and competitive agriculture marketplace for family farmers, other small and medium sized agriculture producers, generally, and the communities of which they are a part.

The Commission shall be composed of 12 members as follows: Three persons, one of whom shall be a person currently engaged in farming or ranching, shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the Majority Leader of the Senate, after consultation with the Chairs of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and of the Committee on the Judiciary. Three persons, one of whom shall be a person currently engaged in farming or ranching, shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon the recommendation of the Minority Leader of the Senate, after consultation with the ranking minority member of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Three persons, one of whom shall be a person currently engaged in farming or ranching, shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after consultation with the Chairs of the Committee on Agriculture and of the Committee on the Judiciary. Three persons, one of whom shall be a person currently engaged in farming or ranching, shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, after consultation with the ranking minority member of the Committee on Agriculture and of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Persons who are appointed under paragraph

(1)shall be persons who— have experience in farming or ranching, expertise in agricultural economics and antitrust, or have other pertinent qualifications or experience relating to agriculture and food and agriculture industries; and are not officers or employees of the United States. In appointing Commission members, every effort shall be made to ensure that the members— are representative of a broad cross sector of agriculture and antitrust perspectives within the United States; and provide fresh insights to analyzing the causes and impacts of concentration in agriculture industries and sectors. Members shall be appointed not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act and the appointment shall be for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Not later than 30 days after the date on which all members of the Commission have been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meeting. The Commission shall meet at the call of the Chairperson. The members of the Commission shall elect a chairperson and vice chairperson from among the members of the Commission. A majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Each member of the Commission shall be entitled to 1 vote, which shall be equal to the vote of every other member of the Commission.