PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 14, 2025
Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act
This bill establishes the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters within the Agricultural Marketing Service's Packers and Stockyards Division.
Specifically, the office must use all available tools (e.g., subpoenas) to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 (P&S Act). Further, the bill grants the office the authority to bring any civil or administrative action authorized by that act.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Additionally, the office must
serve as a liaison to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector,
consult with the Department of Homeland Security on national security and critical infrastructure security in the food and agricultural sector, and
maintain a staff of attorneys and other professionals with appropriate expertise.
As background, the purposes of the P&S Act are to assure fair competition and trade practices, safeguard farmers and ranchers, protect consumers, and protect livestock, meat, and poultry industry members from unfair, deceptive, unjustly discriminatory, and monopolistic practices. Those engaged in the business of marketing livestock, meat, and poultry in commerce are subject to the P&S Act.
People & committees
Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] · D–NJ
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 21, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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Analyze H.R.1380 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-14 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
H.R. 1380 would create a special investigator’s office within the Department of Agriculture to investigate and pursue violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act. The proposal concerns enforcement affecting businesses covered by that law and coordination on competition, trade practices, and security in food and agriculture. It would give the investigator authority to bring civil cases and administrative enforcement proceedings authorized by that law.
The Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, is amended by inserting after section 415 (7 U.S.C. 228d) the following:
There is established within the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Department of Agriculture an office, to be known as the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters
(1) use all available tools, including subpoenas, to investigate and prosecute violations of this Act;
(2) serve as a Department of Agriculture liaison to, and act in consultation with, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector; (3) act in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security with respect to national security and critical infrastructure security in the food and agricultural sector;
the Special Investigator shall have the authority to bring any civil or administrative action authorized under this Act.
Section 1 would name the legislation the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act.
This Act may be cited as the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act.
Section 2 would place the new office within the Department of Agriculture’s Packers and Stockyards Division. The Secretary of Agriculture would appoint the special investigator who heads it.
(a) Establishment There is established within the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Department of Agriculture an office, to be known as the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters (referred to in this section as the Office).
The Office shall be headed by the Special Investigator for Competition Matters (referred to in this section as the Special Investigator), who shall be appointed by the Secretary.
The investigator would be required to use all available tools, including subpoenas—legal demands for evidence—to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
The Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, is amended by inserting after section 415 (7 U.S.C. 228d) the following:
(c) Duties The Special Investigator shall— (1) use all available tools, including subpoenas, to investigate and prosecute violations of this Act;
The investigator would serve as Agriculture’s liaison to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission and consult with them about competition and trade practices in food and agriculture. The investigator would also consult with Homeland Security about national security and protection of critical infrastructure in that sector.
(2) serve as a Department of Agriculture liaison to, and act in consultation with, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector; (3) act in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security with respect to national security and critical infrastructure security in the food and agricultural sector;
The investigator would be required to maintain a staff of attorneys and other professionals with appropriate expertise.
(c) Duties The Special Investigator shall—
(4) maintain a staff of attorneys and other professionals with appropriate expertise.
The investigator could bring any civil case or administrative enforcement proceeding authorized by the Packers and Stockyards Act. This authority would apply despite conflicting provisions of title 28 of the United States Code; the bill does not reproduce those provisions.
The Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, is amended by inserting after section 415 (7 U.S.C. 228d) the following:
(d) Prosecutorial authority Notwithstanding title 28, United States Code, the Special Investigator shall have the authority to bring any civil or administrative action authorized under this Act.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated August 21, 2026, records introduction and referral to the House Committee on Agriculture on February 14, 2025, followed by referral to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry on March 20, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-08-21T08:05:43Z. 2025-03-20: Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. 2025-02-14: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. 2025-02-14: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-14. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Aug 21, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI