S. 2818 — Introduced in Senate

II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2818 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 14, 2023Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, to make unlawful acquisitions that would create monopolies, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Strengthening Antitrust Enforcement for Meatpacking Act of 2023. 2. Unlawful activities under Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 Section 202 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 192), is amended— (1) in each of subsections (a) through (f), by striking ; or at the end and inserting a period; (2) in subsection (e) (as amended by paragraph (1)), by inserting , in accordance with subsection (b) before the period at the end; (3) in subsection (f)— (A) by striking (1); (B) by striking or (2); and (C) by striking (3); (4) in subsection (g), by striking made unlawful by subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) and inserting described in paragraphs (1) through (5); (5) by redesignating subsections (a) through (g) as paragraphs (1) through (7), respectively, and indenting appropriately; (6) by striking the section designation and all that follows through It shall be unlawful in the matter preceding paragraph (1) (as so redesignated) and inserting the following: 202. Unlawful activities (a) In general It shall be unlawful ; (7) in subsection (a) (as so designated), in the matter preceding paragraph (1) (as so redesignated), by striking to: and inserting to carry out the following activities:; and (8) by adding at the end the following: (b) Acquisition creating a monopoly (1) In general For purposes of subsection (a)(5), an acquisition shall be deemed to create a monopoly if the acquisition would— (A) result in a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index greater than 1,800 in any relevant market; or (B) increase the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index by more than 100 in any relevant market. (2) Clayton Act violation Any acquisition deemed to create a monopoly under paragraph (1) shall be considered a violation of section 7 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18). .