Herb Kohl: “I rise today to introduce the Antitrust Criminal Penalties Enforcement and Reform Act of 2004 Extension Act. This…”

“I rise today to introduce the Antitrust Criminal Penalties Enforcement and Reform Act of 2004 Extension Act. This legislation makes permanent a critical component of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enforcement and Reform Act of 2004, set to expire on June 22, which encourages participation in the Antitrust Division's leniency program. As a result, the Justice Department will be able to continue to detect, investigate and aggressively prosecute price-fixing cartels which harm consumers. The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has long considered criminal cartel enforcement a top priority, and its Corporate Leniency Policy is an important tool in that enforcement. Criminal antitrust offenses are generally conspiracies among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, or allocate markets of customers. The Leniency Policy creates incentives for corporations to report their unlawful cartel conduct to the Division, by offering the possibility of immunity from criminal charges to the first-reporting corporation, as long as there is full cooperation. For more than 15 years, this policy has allowed the Division to uncover cartels affecting billions of dollars worth of commerce here in the United States, which has led to prosecutions resulting in record fines and jail sentences.”