Republicans are kicking off the Biden administration on Thursday for its plan to crack down on large meat-packing companies and for blaming a sharp rise in food prices under President Biden’s watch over beef, pork and poultry.
It comes after the Biden administration announced its plans to take a tougher stance on meat-packing companies, he says, which are causing clash of stickers in grocery stores.
Four companies control much of the U.S. meat processing market and White House officials blamed these companies for rising food prices.
During Wednesday’s press conference, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke about the actions the administration was taking to help alleviate what Deese called “exploitation by pandemic “of major meat processing companies.
“Thank you, Brian Deese, for proving again why the rest of America doesn’t support coastal elites,” Florida Rep. Byron Donalds wrote on Twitter. “NEWS FLASH: People in REAL AMERICA are affected by rising beef, pork and poultry prices.”
‘America doesn’t work with tofu; it works with real food ”.
Donalds told DailyMail.com in a statement Thursday morning, “The Biden-Harris administration must stop blaming everyone for the policies they created.”
Florida Representative Byron Donalds (left) said the increase in the cost of groceries is not due to meat, as Biden officials said Wednesday, but blamed “Bidenomics and Socialist Spending in Washington “.
“Rising prices for beef, poultry and pork among other essential products and services are the direct result of Bidenomics and socialist spending in Washington,” the legislator wrote.
From the White House podium on Wednesday, Deese blamed “about half of the overall rise in grocery prices” to “significant increases” in beef, pork and poultry.
“If you eliminate these three categories, we’ve really seen price increases that fit more in line with historical standards,” he continued. “And we’ve seen some categories (e.g., fresh fruit and vegetable prices) have been declining since late last year.”
Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw mocked the Biden administration’s argument Wednesday on Twitter.
“America: Our food prices are too high, what do you do about inflation?” Crenshaw put. “Biden Administrator: Be vegan and stop complaining about a lot of rubbish.”
New York representative Claudia Tenney said Deese “stood on the podium in the White House today and said the price increases for groceries are in line with historical standards if only meat is ignored, birds and pigs “.
“Like Biden he said all Americans were evacuated from Afghanistan if they only ignored the 10% that ran aground,” he added.
National Economic Council Director Brian Deese (center) and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (right) spoke on Wednesday about the actions the administration was taking to help alleviate what Deese called “leverage for pandemic “of major meat processing companies
On Wednesday, Deese said between 55 and 85 percent of the beef, pork and poultry markets are controlled by four producers who all make record or near-record profits.
“So when you see this level of consolidation and the rise in prices, you are concerned about the lucrative pandemic, the companies that drive price increases in a way that harms consumers who go to the grocery store and who do not it is benefiting real producers, farmers and ranchers who grow the product, ”he said.
The North American Meat Institute trade association criticized Deese’s claims as inflammatory.
‘Issuing inflammatory statements that ignore the fundamentals of how supply and demand affects markets achieves nothing. The meat and poultry markets are competitive and dynamic, as no sector of the industry dominates the market constantly at the expense of another, ”they said on Wednesday.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa broke away from his party colleagues and praised Biden’s official comments.
“A long-term solution is still needed to provide fairness and transparency to independent producers in the livestock market, as I would provide my bill with Senator Tester,” Grassley wrote in a statement. “The Biden Administration has recognized the ongoing work in Congress and has shown interest in reaching a real legislative solution.”
“I am grateful for this recognition and look forward to working bipartisanly on behalf of Iowa farmers and independent producers across the country.”
Republican lawmakers criticized the fact that the Biden administration ran the meat industry
Grassley and Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester introduced bipartisan legislation in March aimed at increasing competition and transparency in the meat market.
As part of a set of initiatives, the administration will channel $ 1.4 billion in COVID-19 pandemic stimulus money to small producers and meat workers, administration aides said in the publication of the block. They also promised actions to “repress illegal pricing.”
The four major processors in the U.S. beef sector are: Cargill, a global commodity operator based in Minnesota; Tyson Foods Inc., the chicken producer that is the largest U.S. meat company for sales; JBS SA, based in Brazil, the largest meat packer in the world; and National Beef Packing Co., which is controlled by Brazilian beef producer Marfrig Global Foods SA.
Neither Deese nor Vilsack called the companies by name in the briefing.
Rising beef, pork and poultry prices have caused half the rise in prices Americans have paid for food they eat at home since December, the White House said.
And the administration sees those companies making too much profit after the stimulus helped drive demand for their products.
Senator Chuck Grassley split from the rest of his party to praise the Biden administration’s move
“We have helped maintain this market and it is frustrating to see how these companies turn around and raise prices,” Bharat Ramamurti, the deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, said in an interview. “What we see here smells lucrative with pandemic and that’s the behavior the administration finds.”
Rising inflation has posed a serious threat to Biden’s efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic, his top priority as president, and generate an economic recovery from the recession it caused.
The Biden administration has responded to these problems in part by stepping up efforts to crack down on what it considers anti-competitive and monopolistic behavior that could drive up prices.
The meeting of a new White House Competition Council created by Biden is scheduled for Friday.
USDA and the Department of Justice have already conducted an investigation into pricing in the chicken processing industry.
“The goal of this over time is to reduce those prices,” Ramamurti said.
U.S. lawmakers are seeking greater oversight of the cattle sector as concerns about anti-competitive behavior after the pandemic and a cyberattack on JBS USA increase.
The administration is “encouraged” by bipartisan legislation that could help further price negotiations in the meat market, the blog said.