One Agency Act

Summary#

This bill moves primary antitrust enforcement work from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the Attorney General and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division. It defines which FTC investigations, employees, records, assets, and funding are "FTC antitrust" items and requires those items to be transferred to the Attorney General during a set transition period. The DOJ may deputize former FTC antitrust employees to continue work when needed. The bill gives the Attorney General authority to run investigations, require reports, publish nonconfidential findings, and handle consent decrees that concerned FTC antitrust matters before the transfer. The FTC is restricted from opening new antitrust investigations or hiring for FTC antitrust units during the transition, except with DOJ approval. The law would take effect at the start of the first fiscal year at least 90 days after enactment.

What it means for you#

  • Ongoing FTC antitrust investigations and cases would move to the DOJ Antitrust Division.
  • FTC staff who worked on antitrust matters may be assigned to the DOJ.
  • Businesses and others asked for information about competition could be required to report to the Attorney General instead of the FTC.
  • The FTC generally could not start new antitrust investigations during the transition without DOJ approval.
  • Premerger notification requirements to the FTC that relate to FTC antitrust authority are waived; required notifications to the DOJ remain unchanged.

Expenses#

The bill says FTC antitrust funding appropriated before the effective date will be transferred to the DOJ for use by the Antitrust Division. The text does not include any numerical cost estimates, fiscal analyses, or detailed budget changes. No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

The bill's findings state that overlapping FTC and DOJ antitrust authority wastes taxpayer resources, hampers enforcement, and causes uncertainty for businesses and consumers. It says a single Federal agency should have primary responsibility for enforcing the Sherman and Clayton Acts and that the DOJ is best suited for that role.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.