This bill, the Main Street Competes Act, changes parts of the Small Business Economic Policy Act. It adds a goal to promote competitive markets, consumer choice, and business ownership by enforcing Federal antitrust laws when anticompetitive conduct or illegal mergers harm small businesses. The bill requires the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to each send a report to the SBA Office of Advocacy within 180 days after the fiscal year in which the act is enacted and every two fiscal years after. Those reports must describe how antitrust enforcement promoted competition, list complaints filed by self-identified small businesses (broken down by offense type and law), and count inquiries, investigations, and enforcement actions both from small-business complaints and from other openings. The SBA Office of Advocacy must then summarize and analyze those reports, break the data down by industry, evaluate harms and helpful actions, and, if appropriate, recommend administrative or legislative steps to promote competition or remedy anticompetitive conduct. The bill also adds definitions for antitrust violation, Federal antitrust laws (including the Clayton Act and section 5 of the FTC Act as applicable), small business, and specified entities (DOJ and FTC).
If you run or work at a small business, the bill directs federal antitrust enforcers to record and report complaints and actions that affect small businesses. The SBA Office of Advocacy will analyze that information and may recommend changes to how agencies enforce antitrust rules or propose laws. The bill focuses on tracking enforcement activity and producing analysis and recommendations; it does not itself change penalties or specific enforcement rules.
No publicly available information on estimated expenses or budgetary effects in the bill text.
Supporters in the bill text say the change will promote competitive markets, consumer choice, and business ownership by making antitrust enforcement more visible and by identifying anticompetitive conduct and illegal mergers that harm small businesses. They expect regular reporting and analysis to help deter harms and guide administrative or legislative responses.
No publicly available information.