Klobuchar, Grassley, Buck, Neguse, and Nadler Call For Restoration of Antitrust Division Funding

Letter

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"While we appreciate the work of the Appropriations Committee, as written, the bill would undermine the intent of the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, which was supported in the Senate by a vote of 88-8 and was enacted in 2022 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act restructured premerger filing fees, raising fees for the largest mergers and reducing them for smaller transactions, and was explicitly intended to provide additional funding, through access to the merger filing fees, to strengthen enforcement of the antitrust laws.

Unfortunately, the 2024 appropriations bill does not provide the Antitrust Division with full access to the premerger filing fees. We urge you to support the enforcement work of our antitrust agencies by committing to ensure the DOJ Antitrust Division can fully access the premerger filing fees as envisioned under the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act. This will allow the Antitrust Division to use those additional resources to more effectively to fulfill its mission to protect competition and consumers."

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