Lori Trahan: “We find ourselves in a monopoly moment as a country. Multibillion-dollar corporations have grown into behemoths…”

“We find ourselves in a monopoly moment as a country. Multibillion-dollar corporations have grown into behemoths, eliminating any real competition in their industries and using their dominance to hurt small businesses and consumers. Meta's monopoly power has enabled it to harm women, children, and people of all ages without recourse. Amazon has used its dominance to copy competitors' products and run small businesses into the ground. This slide has happened under the watch of Democratic and Republican governments alike, and it is on us to stop it. That starts with giving the FTC the resources necessary to enforce our antitrust laws. It starts with the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is simple. It requires that a billion-dollar corporation looking to acquire or merge with a competitor pay a fee for the FTC to review the deal. That is it: a one- time fee to help ensure we don't slide further back to the times of the railroad and steel monopolies that abused workers, hurt consumers, and killed competition. Families are hurting enough right now. They deserve competition, not capitulation to corporate interests. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this long-overdue bipartisan package. ____________________”