During a markup that began on June 23, ran through the night, and concluded on the afternoon of June 24, the House Judiciary Committee approved amended versions of six antitrust bills.Most of the bills are intended by sponsors to address competitive concerns that arose during the antitrust, commercial, and administrative law subcommittee's 16-month investigation into competition in digital platforms that wound up last year (TR, Oct. 9, 2020).Debate on the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act (HR 3843), viewed as the least controversial bill on the agenda, as Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) noted, ran nearly three hours before the panel approved the amended version on a 29-12 vote, with antitrust subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck (R., Colo.) and four other Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the bill.In his opening remarks on consideration of HR 3843, committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) said that the antitrust subcommittee's investigation into competition in digital markets and the evidence it found of monopolization and market power was a "clarion call to action. Today we answer that call."The Merger Filing Modernization Act, which was sponsored by Rep. Joe Neguse (D., Colo.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Victoria Spartz (R., Ind.), would update filing fees for mergers to be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission or Department of Justice, increasing the fees imposed on large transactions and reducing them on smaller transactions, to "ensure that the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have the resources they need to aggressively enforce the antitrust laws and to protect consumers and competition," Chairman Nadler said.
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