AG Slatery Leads Coalition Applauding Federal Legislation to Modernize Antitrust Enforcement and Protect Consumers
Nashville- Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III is leading a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam today applauding legislative proposals to modernize federal antitrust laws.
In a letter sent to House and Senate leaders, the attorneys general urged them to continue improving several bills under consideration, including the Ending Platform Monopolies Act, the American Choice and Innovation Online Act, the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act, the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (“ACCESS”) Act, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, and the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act.
The attorneys general recommend the addition of provisions that would further protect consumers from unlawful and irresponsible mergers and business practices, and to facilitate competition and innovation.
“As the chief legal officers of our states, attorneys general often lead the way in antitrust enforcement, and federal laws are essential tools for that work,” said General Slatery. “We call on Congress to prioritize protecting competition and innovation and we welcome the opportunity to discuss and improve the proposed laws.”
The letter notes that updated legislation is required to respond to changes in technology, decreased competition in important sectors, and undue judicial skepticism towards robust antitrust enforcement, commending the antitrust bills as steps in the right direction.
Along with these updates to Federal law, the coalition also urges Congress to include in the proposed legislation provisions confirming that the states are sovereigns that stand on equal footing with federal enforcers under federal antitrust law, including with regard to the timing of challenging anticompetitive mergers and other practices.
The letter was led by Attorneys General Phil Weiser of Colorado, Douglas Peterson of Nebraska, Letitia James of New York, and Herbert H. Slatery III of Tennessee. They were joined by California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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