Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in 1914, Congress passed the Federal Trade Commission Act, marking the beginning of a dual antitrust enforcement regime in the United States. Because both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission enforce our Nation's antitrust laws, companies may and often do have different experiences when interacting with one agency relative to the other. One area in which the disparity can be the most striking and troubling is in the merger review process. When a company wishes to merge with or purchase another company, it must notify both antitrust enforcement agencies of the proposed transaction. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission then determine which agency will be responsible for reviewing the transaction. As there are no fixed rules for making this determination, it can appear that the decision is made on the basis of a flip of the coin. There are two substantive differences that companies face based on the identity of the antitrust enforcement agency that reviews the company's proposed transaction. The first difference arises if the agency seeks to prevent the transaction by pursuing a preliminary injunction in Federal court. A different legal standard is applied to a preliminary injunction request based solely on the identity of the requesting antitrust enforcement agency.…”