Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Let's look at the arguments, the straw men that have been set up by the other party claiming that this legislation does a manner of things that it simply does not do. First, they say enacting the SMARTER Act only benefits large companies that wish to merge, but the SMARTER Act protects small and midsize companies which also come under the Federal Trade Commission's scrutiny. This legislation is not designed to help big companies get bigger. Indeed, large companies have the resources to hire the lawyers, economists, lobbyists, and other regulatory professionals to wrestle with the FTC. It is the small- and medium-size companies that would benefit from a fair process and an assurance that they would have their day in court. The FTC does not always focus its attention on the large companies. In fact, a Wall Street Journal article from 2013 documents how the FTC pursued anticompetitive practices of the Music Teachers National Association, a nonprofit with about a dozen employees. In short, this nonprofit was a collection of piano teachers. So if you think the FTC only engages with conglomerates, you are mistaken. They will even prosecute your after-school piano teacher. The SMARTER Act ensures that, if the FTC does focus its efforts on piano teachers, on the small- and medium-size companies, they will have the benefit of a fair process.…”