US Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jamie Raskin are urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reconsider a decision to not block meat giant JBS SA from getting government contracts due to the Brazilian company’s “history of criminal misconduct.”
(Bloomberg) — US Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jamie Raskin are urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reconsider a decision to not block meat giant JBS SA from getting government contracts due to the Brazilian company’s “history of criminal misconduct.”
The prominent progressives sent a letter to Vilsack on Wednesday asking him to revisit a decision to not initiate US Department of Agriculture’s suspension and debarment powers against JBS and the Brazilian agribusiness firm that controls the meat supplier, J&F Investimentos.
Reconsidering the 2021 decision “would maintain public trust in USDA’s procurement channels, make good on USDA’s recent commitment to curb misconduct in the industry, and ensure a fair and equitable food system for both producers and consumers,” said the letter seen by Bloomberg.
JBS and its subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride have been awarded government contracts worth more than $118 million since October 2020, when Pilgrim’s Pride struck a plea deal with the US Justice Department on price-fixing allegations, according to the letter. That agreement, along with a plea deal by J&F Investimentos, were seen as a path for JBS to push ahead with a US listing, though the company has since repeatedly delayed those plans.
–With assistance from Mike Dorning and Michael Hirtzer.
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