Last week, House Appropriations CJS Subcommittee voted out drastic cuts to Antitrust Division
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Tech Oversight Project called out the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations for advancing a lackluster funding bill with wholly inadequate funding for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. The bill places a cap on the amount of money the Division gets from merger filing fees and includes hiring limitations – making it harder for enforcers to do their jobs.
“Under AAG Jonathan Kanter, DOJ’s Antitrust Division has earned plaudits from Democrats and Republicans alike for taking the fight to powerful tech giants like Amazon, Google, Apple, and LiveNation, and getting the job done,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of the Tech Oversight Project. “The committee’s funding bill undermines the will of Congress by subverting the recently passed Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, and unnecessarily handcuffs the Division – threatening to take the cop off the white collar crime beat when they’ve already proved their worth in lowering costs and increasing options for everyday Americans. The American people cannot afford a defanged Antitrust Division, and we call on the House Appropriations Committee to reverse its funding cuts and negotiate in good faith.”
Background:
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The latest version of the House Appropriations Committee’s FY2025 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act includes a significant cut to the Antitrust Division’s requested budget.
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The House Appropriations Committee only allocates $192.776 million to the Division, which is a whopping $40 million below last year’s level and $95 million below the President’s request.
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It also includes a rider that would cap the amount of fees the Division receives from the bipartisan Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act—which was passed in 2022 with the intent of giving Antitrust Division full access to the fees it collects when companies file for merger authorization—and includes another rider that would broadly prohibit the Division from hiring additional staff.