Last week, the House of Representatives passed a small package of antitrust reform bills. These bills will limit gamesmanship and increase security on the largest corporations in the world [1]. Two of these bills have already passed in the Senate. They are expected to become law.
Funding Disclosures
One bill requires firms undergoing a merger to disclose whether they receive funding from China.
Antitrust
The second bill allows states to have their antitrust cases heard in local courts, rather than distant courts.
Cost Of Merging
The third bill increases fees large corporations pay to have their mergers reviewed by antitrust enforcers at the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. There is already a fee for merging; this simply raises the fee.
The second and third bills already passed in the Senate. They are expected to all become laws.
Votes
The voting was split. While more Democrats did vote in favor of the bill, many conservative republicans also did. Our Representative Jason Smith voted against the bill.
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Notes:
- ^https://thefederalist.com/2022/10/05/last-week-marked-the-first-step-against-big-tech-and-a-win-for-the-realignment/ (go back ↩)
