WASHINGTON — Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) issued the below statement following the markup of the FY25 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act by the Senate Appropriations Committee:
“We are pleased to see that the Senate appropriations committee reported legislation today restoring the intent of the bipartisan Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, legislation passed by Congress in 2022 to help support the critical mission of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. Today’s bill rejects a bad faith attempt by House Republicans to kneecap the capacity of the Antitrust Division and corrects language included in last year’s bill that made it more difficult for the federal government to combat the harmful effects of monopolies and concentration of industry. We thank Senators Shaheen and Murray and the Department of Justice for working to protect open, fair, and competitive markets, which will benefit American consumers and small businesses.
“We strongly encourage negotiators to ensure that this language becomes law and reject Republican attempts to modify the text. This fix is crucial to ensure that the Antitrust Division can continue its important work to lower prices and protect working families.”
Last year’s version of the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) legislation undermined the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act by setting a cap on appropriations to the Antitrust Division at $233 million for FY2024, regardless of fees collected. In a March letter led by Representative Jerry Nadler and Senator Amy Klobuchar, progressives called on appropriations leadership to correct the language and allow the Antitrust Division to retain the increase in merger filing fees.
Since 1989, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has been partially funded through merger filing fees. In December 2022, Congress enacted the bipartisan Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act to update the funding formula for premerger filing fees as part of the year-end government funding package. This legislation lowered fees on smaller acquisitions and increased them for the largest mergers, raising additional revenue to strengthen enforcement of antitrust laws.
