WASHINGTON — Several senators are pushing to keep the Chicago and San Francisco antitrust field offices open so that they can actively support competition within the agricultural sector.

On April 11, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote to Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche with their concerns of the Department of Justice (DOF) Antitrust Division’s field offices closing.

On March 25, the DOJ proposed eliminating the field offices in Chicago and San Francisco in order to cut costs and secure savings for American taxpayers.

“We strongly urge you to reconsider the department’s plans to shut down these critical field offices,” the lawmakers wrote. “We should be ramping up our enforcement operations across America, not scaling them back. At a time when Americans are deeply concerned about food prices and the influence of Big Tech, DOJ must root out any anticompetitive behavior that drives up prices, decreases quality or stifles innovation. Maintaining these field offices will further that objective.”

The senators argued that the Chicago field office is critical in enforcing antitrust laws in the agricultural sector, serving as the main antitrust enforcement team in the Midwest. The office helped spearhead the prosecution of Archer Daniels Midland for price-fixing of animal feed additives. The investigation culminated in the defendant pleading guilty and agreeing to pay the largest antitrust fine ever imposed at the time, the senators said.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco field office focuses on civil enforcement, including technology and media industries, as well as criminal enforcement, prosecuting violations including bid-rigging and price-fixing.

“Now more than ever, antitrust enforcement is needed in the agricultural and technology sectors,” the senators wrote. “Industries like meatpacking, fertilizers and seeds are consolidating at an alarming rate. And Americans are struggling to afford their groceries. Additionally, the Antitrust Division has ongoing investigations into, and litigation against, large technology platforms.”