Category: US Senate

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Murphy Statement on Appointment of Marilynn Malerba as United States Treasurer

Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

June 22, 2022

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday released the following statement on Marilynn Malerba’s appointment as Treasurer of the United States:

“Chief Malerba’s appointment to serve as Treasurer of the United States and lead the Treasury Department’s new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs are historic achievements. As Chief of the Mohegan Tribe, she has fought to uplift Tribal communities in Connecticut and proven herself to be a supremely qualified administrator. I look forward to working with her to ensure we support the growth of Tribal economies and expand economic opportunities for all,” said Murphy.

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Bennet’s Bipartisan Bills to Help Coloradans Save for Retirement Pass Out of Committee

Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet

Watch Bennet’s Remarks During the Finance Committee’s Hearing Today HERE

Washington, D.C. – Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, welcomed the Finance Committee’s passage of the Enhancing American Retirement Now (EARN) Act, which includes several of his bipartisan bills to help Coloradans save for a secure retirement. 

“For the past fifty years, our country has had an economy that has worked really well for the wealthiest Americans, but not for anyone else,” said Bennet. “Many families are struggling to make ends meet, especially amid rising prices, let alone plan for the future. The EARN Act is an important step forward to help families save and ensure they can retire with dignity. We must continue this work to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the very top.” 

Among the lowest-income 20% of Americans, just one in ten have a retirement account. The EARN Act will help more low- and middle-income families save and prepare for the future. Bennet-led provisions that passed as a part of the EARN Act today include:

  • The bipartisan Enhancing Emergency and Retirement Savings Act, legislation Bennet introduced with U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) to provide a penalty-free “emergency withdrawal” option of up to $1,000 from employer-sponsored retirement accounts and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The bill will help families cope with an unexpected expense such as a car breakdown or medical bill, and make low-income workers more confident participating in retirement plans.
  • The bipartisan State and Local Corrections Officer Retirement Fairness Act, legislation Bennet introduced with U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to extend an exclusion from early retirement withdrawal penalties starting at age 50 to state and local corrections officers, who were inadvertently left out of provisions for similar law-enforcement officers passed in 2015.
  • The bipartisan Protecting Public Safety Employees’ Timely Retirement Act, legislation Bennet introduced with Toomey to allow public safety officers, such as firefighters and police officers, to access their retirement savings penalty-free upon reaching their eligible retirement age. Current law allows eligible public safety officers to retire at age 50 or after completing 25 years of service — whichever is earlier. However, officers who retire prior to reaching age 50 with 25 years of service face a penalty for accessing their retirement funds until the age of 59 ½. This bipartisan bill would end this penalty for officers who are legally eligible to retire. 
  • The Military Spouses Retirement Security Act, legislation Bennet introduced with U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) to help spouses of active-duty service members save for retirement by expanding access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. It would make small employers eligible for a tax credit of up to $500 per year per military spouse if they make the spouse eligible for retirement plan participation within two months of hire. 
  • The Compassionate Retirement Act, legislation Bennet introduced with U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to provide financial stability and needed resources to Americans battling terminal illnesses, by allowing them to access the retirement savings they have accrued without incurring the typical 10 percent penalty if withdrawing before the age of 59 ½.
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ICYMI: Rubio Joins National Report

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined National Report to discuss the Senate gun legislation, the Biden Administration’s refusal to take ownership of high gas prices, and more. See below for highlights and watch the full interview here. 

 
On the text of the bipartisan gun reform legislation:
 
“I have one fundamental concern. We have a red flag law in Florida passed by a Republican state legislature. It’s a responsible law. It says only law enforcement can pursue it. You get hearings. There’s all kinds of due process. They’re not permanent.… The way it’s primarily worked is two things. It’s prevented people from killing themselves, [if] someone’s suicidal [and] their family’s desperate to prevent that from happening. And if somebody’s out there saying, ‘Look, we’re going to shoot up the school and kill a bunch of people,’ it allows you to take steps in that regard as well.
 
“What I’m concerned about is the way laws in other states are written. Red flag laws, for example, in states where your coworker can take you to court and try to take away your gun, so you can almost envision a scenario where the due process provisions are not strong enough, then you could have your coworkers taking you to court, harassing gun owners, shopping for the right judge who’s anti-gun to begin with, and suddenly we have an abuse of this and a big, big problem. 
 
“States have the right to pass those laws already. … The federal government should not be funding those kinds of laws, incentivizing those kinds of laws without due process, in state after state. I’ll look through this very carefully…. I have some questions I need answered and we’ll see how this plays out. But obviously, we’re always going to move very cautiously because the Second Amendment right of Americans is not an option. It is a constitutional right.”
 
On the federal government’s role as enforcer of the woke agenda: 
 
“I’m not surprised by polls like that and things I hear from people because the federal government in particular has become the enforcer of woke ideology in America. School districts are going to lose their lunch money if they don’t follow their transgender agenda. Police departments are going to lose their money. You’ve seen the military be turned into a place where woke ideology is now promoted, both publicly and in the academies. People are looking at it and saying, ‘All right, the government has now been deputized into the role of an enforcer for this leftist ideology.’ So, people are increasingly suspicious and doubtful of and quite frankly, in many cases, alienated from government and from institutions they once trusted. 
 
On ways to prevent future massacres:
 
“As far as these laws are concerned, here’s the goal. The only way to stop these things is to identify dangerous people and stop them before they act. If they do act, to not make schools an easy place to just walk in and massacre people. We’ve learned in the last 24 hours that in Texas they were in position to prevent this and stop this from happening. Police chose not to act. In New York, they do have a red flag law and that didn’t stop that lunatic from killing people over there. 
 
“Ultimately, the challenge with gun laws is criminals will continue to violate them, because they’re criminals and that’s what criminals do. Only law abiding people are infringed by them. The goal here is to protect us from dangerous criminals without infringing on the constitutional rights of law abiding Americans. It’s a very difficult balancing act to get right. We’ll always look very carefully at this red flag law. I do think some red flag law[s] can work if they have the right due process. But they have to be very clearly written and if they’re not, then that’s something I won’t be able to support.”
 
On the Biden Administration’s refusal to take ownership of high gas prices:
 
“Every week [the Biden Administration] rolls out a new gimmick. At one point, it was Putin’s fault. Then they rolled out the argument that the corporations were making too much money. The next week the corporations were holding back on refining. Now it’s this gimmick. The bottom line is, none of these gimmicks will solve this problem. 
 
“There is only one way to lower the cost of gasoline, and that is to produce more of it. We are blessed to live in a country that has the ability to do it, but we’re not doing it and we’re not going to do it because this administration is hostile to that industry. They’ve told them, ‘We’re going to put you out of business in 10 years,’ but they expect them to somehow ramp up production in the short term. They have made it impossible to drill and impossible to get permits to transport this. They are hostile to the industry because they want everyone driving electric cars and riding buses. As long as people like that are in charge, we’re going to have this problem. This is a supply problem and the administration’s gimmicks are not going to solve that.”

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Durbin Investigation Finds More Than 750,000 Kids Have Picked Up Vaping Since FDA’s Missed Deadline To Regulate E-Cigarettes

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

06.22.22

WASHINGTON – Following an investigation by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) of multiple health surveys and retail sales data, Durbin announced findings that more than 750,000 children have started to use e-cigarettes over the last nine months, in the period of time during which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has defied a court order to regulate all e-cigarettes on the market. This examination was based upon data from the National Institute of Health’s Monitoring the Future survey data of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in 2020 and 2021.  The findings were also informed by 2022 survey results from the Truth Initiative’s longitudinal cohort study of youth who report initiation of e-cigarettes, as well as data from the CDC Foundation and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids on retail sales of e-cigarettes between 2020-2022. 

“For years, the FDA failed to regulate e-cigarettes, and allowed millions of vaping products to illegally enter the market, fueling the youth vaping epidemic,” said Durbin. “Today, millions of children use e-cigarettes as a result of FDA inaction and our findings underscore the severity of these continued delays. As each day goes by that the FDA defies a court order and allows unregulated products to remain on store shelves, more kids get hooked. It’s time for Commissioner Califf to do his job to protect our children or step aside.”

“Nicotine vaping is now one of the most common forms of substance use among U.S. adolescents, second only to alcohol.  Of the approximately 793,969 new adolescent initiates to nicotine vaping each year, many will become addicted, particularly with the high concentrations of nicotine in many of today’s vaping devices,” said Dr. Robert Miech, University of Michigan, principal investigator for the NIH-funded Monitoring the Future survey.  “With the return to school buildings in 2021-22 students had greater exposure to peer pressure to vape, more access to friends who could provide vaping devices, and more opportunity to try vaping free from parental supervision.”

“The data released by Sen. Durbin underscores both that youth e-cigarette use remains a serious public health problem in the United States and that the FDA’s delay in eliminating flavored e-cigarettes is leaving our kids at risk. We applaud Sen. Durbin for his strong leadership in urging the FDA to act now to protect the health of our nation’s kids,” said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. 

The Monitoring the Future survey is administered in the Spring of a given year and found that in 2021, 793,969 students grades 8-12 newly initiated using e-cigarettes, a decline from 2020 due to the pandemic.  With students returning to in-person learning and socialization in schools for the school year beginning in September 2021, the number is likely much higher—as reinforced by retail sales level data showing large increases in 2022 compared to the prior two years.  The Truth Initiative’s longitudinal study found that 797,698 youth between the ages of 15-18 years newly initiated using e-cigarettes in Spring 2022 since the Fall of 2021.  These figures are very conservative estimates and likely an undercount because it excludes 6th and 7th graders who vape (of which they are likely hundreds of thousands) who are not fully captured by these survey sources. 

After years of delay, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ordered the agency to finally begin regulating these addictive, kid-friendly vaping products—specifying that FDA had until September 9, 2021 to finalize review of e-cigarette applications. And yet, more than nine months after the court-ordered deadline, and despite calls from Durbin and other Members of Congress, FDA has still not finished its review of these products—leaving dangerous, kid-friendly e-cigarettes, like JUUL and PuffBar, still available on store shelves to hook children.

Durbin previously sent a letter with ten Senators to FDA Commissioner Califf urging FDA to immediately remove all unreviewed e-cigarettes from store shelves until the agency completes its public health review of these vaping products.  Currently, addictive, kid-friendly e-cigarettes like JUUL are on the market illegally but are being granted a free pass to be sold due to FDA’s decision to grant enforcement discretion. FDA recently submitted an update on the agency’s long-overdue review of e-cigarette applications. In it, FDA admitted it will not finish reviewing e-cigarettes until July 2023—nearly two years past the court’s deadline.

In March, Durbin led a bipartisan letter with 14 of his colleagues calling on FDA to finish its review of e-cigarettes immediately; reject applications for e-cigarettes, especially kid-friendly flavors, that do not prove they will benefit the public health; and clear the market of all unapproved e-cigarettes. The letters build upon an important bipartisan provision that Durbin and many of the letter’s co-signers led in the fiscal year 2022 Omnibus appropriations bill to clarify FDA’s authority over e-cigarettes’ synthetic nicotine. 

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Durbin Delivers Opening Statement In Latest Nominations Hearing

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

06.22.22

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Rachel Bloomekatz, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Florence Y. Pan, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit; Elizabeth Wilson Hanes, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ana C. Reyes, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; and Carlos Felipe Uriarte, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs. 

During his opening remarks, Durbin introduced Judge Florence Pan and Ana Reyes, noting that the nominees are highly qualified and bring important professional and demographic diversity to their positions.

Key quotes:

“Prior to her appointment to the D.C. Superior Court in 2009, Judge Pan devoted her entire legal career to public service. She was selected for the prestigious Bristow Fellowship in the Office of the Solicitor General, was an attorney in the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division at the Justice Department, and was a Senior Advisor in the Treasury Department. Finally, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for a decade, rising to become Deputy Chief of the Appellate Division in 2007.”

“Last year, she was nominated to serve on the D.C. District Court and she received a strong bipartisan vote both in Committee and when she was confirmed by the Senate. Judge Pan’s sterling credentials, as well as her extensive litigation and judicial experience, will be an asset to the D.C. Circuit.”

“She [Ms. Reyes] immigrated to this country with her parents when she was five years old and before she knew any English. But one of her teachers at her Louisville elementary school made sure she would have all the support she needed to excel, meeting with her for an hour before school every morning to tutor her one-on-one.”

“Ms. Reyes began her legal career as a clerk for Judge Amalya Kearse on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit before joining Williams & Connolly as an associate in 2001, becoming a partner in 2009… She has devoted over 3,300 hours to pro bono service over the past 21 years.”

“This varied work has given Ms. Reyes extensive experience in every stage of trial and appellate litigation. Moreover, her substantial pro bono efforts speak to a spirit of public service that, coupled with her experience, will serve her well as a federal District Court Judge.”

“If confirmed, she’ll be the first Hispanic woman and first openly LGBTQ person to serve as a District Court Judge for the District of Columbia.”

Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

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Durbin, Grassley, Whitehouse, Cornyn Bill To Help Small Businesses And Families In Bankruptcy Signed Into Law

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

06.21.22

Legislation helps small businesses stay open and individuals keep their homes as they find their financial footing through bankruptcy

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX), today released the following statements after President Biden signed into law their bipartisan legislation to help small businesses and individuals stay afloat during bankruptcy.

“Too many mom-and-pop shops are getting caught up in a complicated bankruptcy system while working to get back on their feet,” said Durbin. “At the same time, many families are struggling with overwhelming levels of debt.  This bipartisan bill brings relief to both.  I’m grateful to my Senate colleagues for their partnership on this critical legislation, and applaud President Biden for acting swiftly to sign this into law—a testament to this Congress’s, and this Administration’s, commitment to supporting American businesses and families.”

“As American families and small businesses face mounting economic uncertainty amid historic inflation and spiking interest rates, it’s more important than ever that we remove hurdles to reorganizing when folks fall on hard times.  Our bipartisan bill – now law – builds on my Small Business Reorganization Act in 2019 with Sen. Whitehouse to streamline the bankruptcy process for small businesses by eliminating onerous paperwork requirements designed for major corporations,” said Grassley.

“The bankruptcy process should assist small businesses and working families to weather financial hardship and emerge stronger.  This new law will help them do that,” said Whitehouse.  “I’m gratified to see President Biden sign this bipartisan effort.  I was pleased to work with Senators Grassley, Durbin, and Cornyn to improve our bankruptcy process.”

“For small businesses and families who fought their way through the pandemic and are now facing economic hardship, our complicated bankruptcy process can be another barrier to survival,” said Cornyn.  “I’m glad we could come together on this reprieve from burdensome requirements, especially given record-high inflation and rising interest rates.”

The Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act would aid small businesses by extending for two years an increase of the debt limit threshold for expedited Ch. 11 bankruptcy filings from $2.7 million to $7.5 million. It would also give substantial assistance to families struggling with high levels of mortgage, student loan, and medical debt by altering and increasing the debt limit for consumers to file for Ch. 13 bankruptcy repayment plans. This bill passed the Senate unanimously on April 7, 2022, and passed the House with a strong bipartisan majority two months later.

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Durbin Statement On Release Of Bipartisan Gun Safety Legislative Text

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

06.21.22

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the bipartisan group of Senators working on legislation to help keep America’s children and communities safe from the gun violence epidemic released legislative text:

“This bipartisan agreement will not end gun violence, but it is an important step towards making our nation safer.

“I want to commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working tirelessly to find compromise and produce legislative text to address our nation’s gun violence epidemic.  While this legislation does not accomplish everything I wanted, we cannot let the perfect Congressional response be the enemy of the good.  This result represents a bipartisan compromise that will make the most significant gun safety reforms and violence reduction investments in decades.  Now, let’s get it passed through the Senate without delay.” 

Specifically, the bill will:

  • Provide more than $4.5 billion in supplemental funds to Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), and the Department of Education, including:
    • $250 million over five years in DOJ grants for community violence intervention (CVI) programs, which would double existing DOJ annual funding for CVI;
    • $750 million over five years in DOJ Byrne-JAG grants to states for crisis intervention programs, including implementation of red flag laws;
    • $3 billion for school and community mental health grants and activities, including at least $28 million over four years for the Trauma Support in Schools program that Durbin and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) created in 2018 to help break the cycle of trauma and violence;
    • $300 million over five years in DOJ school safety grants for training, technology, and security infrastructure; and,
    • $100 million for the FBI to increase their capacity to conduct NICS background checks.
  • Take a significant step toward closing the “boyfriend loophole” by prohibiting gun possession for five years by persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence who are in a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim. 
  • Create new federal criminal offenses for straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, which will provide a significant federal deterrent for this behavior.
  • Redefine and clarify what it means to be “engaged in the business” of dealing guns, which triggers the requirement to conduct background checks on prospective purchasers.
  • Require an enhanced background check process before long guns can be sold to prospective buyers who are between the ages of 18-20.  
  • Expand nationwide an innovative payment model, the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, that boosts access to behavioral health care services.  
  • Increase the delivery of mental health care in schools and communities, including through telehealth, by updating Medicaid policies and guidance to clarify the availability of coverage for key services for youth.  

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Graham Supports Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the release of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

OVERVIEW:

“As a long-time gun owner and strong supporter of the Second Amendment, I have been horrified by the recent spate of mass shootings and the link between mental health and gun violence. 

“My goal in working with the bipartisan group has been to meaningfully address these problems while protecting the Second Amendment constitutional right to keep and bear arms.  I believe the legislation announced today has a very good chance of saving lives while at the same time protecting the rights of responsible gun owners.  Unless you’re adjudicated mentally ill or a convicted violent criminal, your Second Amendment rights won’t be affected. 

“This legislation is much different than President Biden’s laundry list of gun control proposals which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month.  The Senate bill has a chance of being passed and signed into law.  The House-passed bill has no chance.  I continue to oppose the House-passed bill and will vote against it should it come up for a vote in the United States Senate.”

LEGISLATIVE GOALS:

“My goal has always been to have a constitutional system that can intervene in time to stop unstable, mentally ill individuals from obtaining and using firearms to kill.  Our legislation takes important steps to help address this concern.   

“In dealing with the mental health component of mass shootings, we provide states with additional resources to act in this area as they see fit.  All states will be eligible for health care grants no matter if they have a Red Flag law or not. 

“I’m very proud of the fact that my home state of South Carolina has been a leader in the area of working to keep mentally ill individuals from obtaining firearms.  Several years ago, South Carolina passed a law that required probate courts in our state to report the names of individuals adjudicated mentally ill within the past ten years to the background check system.  South Carolina also continues to report new cases as they arise.  I expect additional states will use the resources we make available in this legislation to follow South Carolina’s lead. 

“The Senate legislation also expands the scope of mental health records that will be entered into the background check system to capture already adjudicated behavior for juveniles related to violence.”  

CONCLUSION:

“This legislation will not magically solve all of our problems when it comes to gun violence.  Deranged individuals who are intent on killing and maiming others will find ways to accomplish their hateful objective.

“However, I do think there is a greater likelihood this legislation will help us avert a mass killing than prevent a law-abiding citizen from losing their constitutional right to keep and bear arms. 

“My goal from the start was to have a constitutional system that can intervene in time to stop unstable, mentally ill from obtaining firearms and killing innocent people. The legislation is not perfect, but we must not let the perfect become the enemy of the good.  That is why I hope it will pass the U.S. Senate in a strong bipartisan vote.”

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Fischer, Grassley, Tester, Wyden Cattle Market Reform Bill Passes Ag Committee

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation sponsored by U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee today. Their Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act passed by voice vote with only two recorded no votes, and is now eligible for a final vote on the Senate floor. The senators unveiled the updated version of the legislation in March. 

“Our bipartisan bill to facilitate price discovery and bring much needed transparency to the cattle market passed the committee by voice vote with only two recorded no votes. The broad support reflects the importance of restoring market fairness so that every segment of the cattle supply chain can succeed. These reforms are especially needed now at a time when family ranchers and consumers are all struggling to navigate a slow economy and record inflation,” said Senator Fischer, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

 “Iowa cattle producers have struggled to receive a fair price for years – long before inflation hit a 40-year high. It’s past time for Congress to stand with independent cattle producers and put an end to the cozy relationship between large meat packers and big cattle feedlots. I’m grateful for the diligent work of Senators Fischer, Tester, Wyden and all of my colleagues to advance this bill out of committee and I look forward to a floor vote in short order,” said Senator Grassley, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

 “Americans are paying too much at the meat counter in their local grocery store while multi-national corporations make record profits at their expense. At the same time, these corporations refuse to pay family ranchers a fair rate for the beef they raise. Getting this legislation through Committee is a big deal, and I want to thank Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman for their input and fairness throughout this process. Now we need to put this bill on the Senate floor, because we can’t afford to let massive multi-national corporations continue to price gouge consumers while ripping off our family ranchers,” said Senator Tester.

 “This takes a significant step to restore fairness and reform a marketplace now benefiting only a few corporate meat packers, while unjustly hurting Oregon’s family ranchers and artificially driving up beef prices for consumers. I’m glad our bipartisan bill has earned committee support. And I’ll keep working for the passage of this legislation that would help grocery store shoppers and provide our state’s ranchers the opportunity to do what they do best – compete and provide top-notch and affordable beef,” said Senator Wyden, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

“Senator Deb Fischer led the introduction of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act as one of the much-needed solutions to an increasingly consolidated meat industry. Studies have shown that, without government intervention, negotiated trade in the U.S. marketplace will fall to zero percent by 2026 in parts of the country. When producers don’t have the ability to negotiate a fair price for their cattle based on current market conditions, it results in a vertically integrated, corporate-controlled beef supply chain. This threatens the livelihoods of producers and the security of our national food system,”said Dr. Brooke Miller, President of U.S. Cattlemen’s Association. 

“For family farmers and ranchers to thrive, they need markets that offer adequate price discovery and transparency. NFU strongly supports the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2022, which will preserve the cash market as an option for cattle producers by establishing regional minimums for cash trades, and through other provisions. We would like to thank Senator Fischer and the cosponsors of the bill for their strong leadership on this issue, and we urge swift passage of this bill by the full Senate,” said National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew.

 The updated bill would:

  1. Require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish 5-7 regions encompassing the entire continental U.S. and then establish minimum levels of fed cattle purchases made through approved pricing mechanisms. Approved pricing mechanisms are fed cattle purchases made through negotiated cash, negotiated grid, at a stockyard, and through trading systems that multiple buyers and sellers regularly can make and accept bids. These pricing mechanisms will ensure robust price discovery.
  1. Establish a maximum penalty for covered packers of $90,000 for mandatory minimum violations. Covered packers are defined as those packers that during the immediately preceding five years have slaughtered five percent or more of the number of fed cattle nationally.
  1. The bill also includes provisions to create a publicly available library of marketing contracts, mandating box beef reporting to ensure transparency, expediting the reporting of cattle carcass weights, and requiring a packer to report the number of cattle scheduled to be delivered for slaughter each day for the next 14 days. The contract library would be permanently authorized and specify key details about the contents that must be included in the library like the duration of the contract and provisions in the contract that may impact price such as schedules, premiums and discounts, and transportation arrangements.

Click here to read the bill text.

Click here for an one-pager on the bill. 

Click here for an updated section-by-section summary of the bill. 

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Fischer’s Bipartisan Cattle Market Reform Bill Passes Ag Committee

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act today passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The bill passed by voice vote with only two recorded no votes, and is now eligible for a final vote on the Senate floor. Sen. Fischer, along with Sens. Grassley, Tester, and Wyden unveiled the updated version of the legislation in March.

 “Our bipartisan bill to facilitate price discovery and bring much needed transparency to the cattle market passed the committee by voice vote with only two recorded no votes. The broad support reflects the importance of restoring market fairness so that every segment of the cattle supply chain can succeed. These reforms are especially needed now at a time when family ranchers and consumers are all struggling to navigate a slow economy and record inflation,” said Senator Fischer, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

 “Price discovery is a public good. Negotiated market participants invest time and resources to discover fed cattle prices for their respective regions and the entire industry. Until price discovery participation is better valued at all points in the supply chain, live cattle market price negotiation will continue to decrease. Eventually, negotiated trade will become too thin to accurately discover price in the physical live cattle market, which will also undermine the functionality of the industry’s primary risk management mechanism – CME Live Cattle futures. We thank Senator Fischer for her continued work and dedication to identifying resolutions to this complex issue,” said Nebraska Cattlemen President Brenda Masek.

 “USDA ranks Nebraska first in the nation in commercial cattle slaughter, and second in all cattle and calves, cattle on feed, and commercial red meat production. It is essential for our state that our cattle producers who do the work, invest the capital, take the risk and drive our state’s economy have cattle markets that function as they should to provide true price discovery and value allocation. When Nebraska’s beef sector does well, our state prospers. We thank Sen. Fischer and the Senate Agriculture Committee for their support for the ‘Cattle price discovery and Transparency Act’. This long overdue and badly needed legislation is a giant step forward in the right direction towards more competition, transparency, and fairness in cattle markets. This bipartisan bill deserves the support of all 100 Unites States Senators,” said Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen.

 “Today’s successful Senate Ag Committee mark-up of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act is a win for Nebraska’s cattle producers who have long asked for additional price discovery and transparency opportunities. Without the hard work and dedication of Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, this important piece of legislation would not have taken this significant step forward. Nebraska Farm Bureau members from around our great state stand firmly behind Sen. Fischer’s tireless efforts to find compromise on this unbelievably complex issue,” said Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation President Mark McHargue.

 “Senator Deb Fischer led the introduction of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act as one of the much-needed solutions to an increasingly consolidated meat industry. Studies have shown that, without government intervention, negotiated trade in the U.S. marketplace will fall to zero percent by 2026 in parts of the country. When producers don’t have the ability to negotiate a fair price for their cattle based on current market conditions, it results in a vertically integrated, corporate-controlled beef supply chain. This threatens the livelihoods of producers and the security of our national food system,” said U.S. Cattlemen’s Association President Dr. Brooke Miller. 

 “For family farmers and ranchers to thrive, they need markets that offer adequate price discovery and transparency. NFU strongly supports the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2022, which will preserve the cash market as an option for cattle producers by establishing regional minimums for cash trades, and through other provisions. We would like to thank Senator Fischer and the cosponsors of the bill for their strong leadership on this issue, and we urge swift passage of this bill by the full Senate,” said National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew.

 The updated bill would:

  1. Require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish 5-7 regions encompassing the entire continental U.S. and then establish minimum levels of fed cattle purchases made through approved pricing mechanisms. Approved pricing mechanisms are fed cattle purchases made through negotiated cash, negotiated grid, at a stockyard, and through trading systems that multiple buyers and sellers regularly can make and accept bids. These pricing mechanisms will ensure robust price discovery. 
  1. Establish a maximum penalty for covered packers of $90,000 for mandatory minimum violations. Covered packers are defined as those packers that during the immediately preceding five years have slaughtered five percent or more of the number of fed cattle nationally.
  1. The bill also includes provisions to create a publicly available library of marketing contracts, mandating box beef reporting to ensure transparency, expediting the reporting of cattle carcass weights, and requiring a packer to report the number of cattle scheduled to be delivered for slaughter each day for the next 14 days. The contract library would be permanently authorized and specify key details about the contents that must be included in the library like the duration of the contract and provisions in the contract that may impact price such as schedules, premiums and discounts, and transportation arrangements.

 

Click the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s remarks

Click here to read the bill text.

Click here for an one-pager on the bill. 

Click here for an section-by-section summary of the bill. 

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