Klobuchar Bows 2 Antitrust Bills

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., filed two bills aimed at strengthening U.S. antitrust laws, her office said Thursday. Klobuchar has been a leading critic of recent media deals, including the proposed AT&T/Time Warner (see 1701250076 and 1705260055). The Merger Enforcement Improvement Act would update antitrust laws to reflect the current U.S. economy and give federal agencies access to better post-merger information to ensure merging companies are meeting federal requirements. Nine other Senate Democrats are co-sponsoring the bill, including Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and four of Klobuchar’s fellow Senate Commerce Committee members. The Consolidation Prevention and Competition Promotion Act would clarify existing antitrust statutes to say “mergers that increase consumer prices, lower the quality of goods, exclude competitors, undermine innovation, or allow a company to unfairly lower the prices it pays can be illegal.” The legislation would add the term “monopsony” to the Clayton Antitrust Act to make single buyers’ control of the market illegal and would create an Office of the Competition Advocate to voice consumer-side concerns about merger activity.