-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Klobuchar on the floor today. Senator Klobuchar is the chair of the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. I chair the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee, and we are here to do a colloquy about the work of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and its funding.
First of all, I would like to thank my friend from Minnesota for her tireless work to strengthen competition policy and protect consumers. In particular, I want to commend her for her leadership on the Merger Fee Modernization Act, her bipartisan bill that was signed into law at the end of 2022. That bill modernized the merger fee filing structure for the first time in decades, resulting in more funding for the antitrust enforcers at the Justice Department.
Today, we are considering fiscal year 2024 funding for the CJS bill as part of the six-bill minibus that is before the Senate. I can state with certainty that as a direct result of Senator Klobuchar's leadership, the bipartisan, bicameral appropriations package that the Senate is considering provides the highest ever appropriation for the Antitrust Division in the Agency's 121-year history.
The Antitrust Division plays a vital role in promoting competition and cracking down on monopolistic practices that hurt U.S. consumers. That is why despite the extremely tight fiscal constraints for this year's budget, we fought off the House Republicans' attempts to gut funding for the Division and to impede its vital work. I am proud that we managed to secure increased funding for the Division in extremely tough bipartisan negotiations. And I want to thank the staff of the Commerce, Science and Justice Appropriations Subcommittee for their good work.
House Republicans wanted to cut antitrust by $32 million or 14 percent. We ended up providing antitrust with a 3.6 percent increase compared to last year. It is one of the only Agencies within the bill to receive an increase, and we fought for this increase because the Antitrust mission is as critical as ever.
Decades of consolidation have left Americans with less choice and less innovation, and the effects of that consolidation can be felt in all facets of American life. So this funding will further the Agency's critical mission to promote competition and level the playing field for the American people.
Now, the Antitrust Division is funded primarily through fees that are paid by companies seeking to merge. My colleague's legislation increases fees that are paid by large corporations and big mergers and decreases those on small businesses and smaller mergers. And for the first time, it adjusts the filing fee amounts each year based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.
Hopefully, I got that right, Senator Klobuchar.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. SHAHEEN. As someone who voted for that bill and who thinks it was a good bill, I certainly do agree with that; and I hope that, in fact, going forward, we will see the Antitrust Division produce more fees so that we can get over the amount in the future as we look at putting together the appropriations bill for 2025.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Absolutely, and I hope in 2025, we are able to convince our Republican colleagues in the House that this is something that the original legislation that you and Senator Grassley passed intended, and that they will support that. And if we start from now, hopefully, we can engage Senator Grassley and Senator Lee to help us do that with the House Republicans.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. As we know, we are about to start the 2025 appropriations process. So we will begin very soon, and I look forward to you and your staff working closely with us as we try to provide the desired outcome intended by the legislation.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source