[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3843 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 375
117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3843

                      [Report No. 117-493, Part I]

   To promote antitrust enforcement and protect competition through 
 adjusting premerger filing fees, and increasing antitrust enforcement 
                               resources.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 2021

  Mr. Neguse (for himself, Mrs. Spartz, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Buck, Mr. 
Nadler, and Mr. Roy) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

                           September 26, 2022

Additional sponsors: Mr. Jones, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Deutch, Mr. 
   Swalwell, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Scanlon, Mrs. McBath, Mrs. 
Trahan, Mr. Cawthorn, Mr. Donalds, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Amodei, Mr. Gooden 
of Texas, Mr. Armstrong, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Khanna, Mrs. Boebert, 
Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Ross, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. 
   Espaillat, Mr. Carson, Ms. Porter, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Pingree, Mr. 
 DeFazio, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Jeffries, Mrs. Axne, Mrs. Hinson, 
                     Mr. Meeks, and Mr. DeSaulnier

                           September 26, 2022

      Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with amendments
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

                           September 26, 2022

Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee 
 of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 
                               11, 2021]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To promote antitrust enforcement and protect competition through 
 adjusting premerger filing fees, and increasing antitrust enforcement 
                               resources.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act 
of 2022''.

SEC. 2. PREMERGER NOTIFICATION FILING FEES.

    Section 605 of Public Law 101-162 (15 U.S.C. 18a note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``$45,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$30,000'';
                            (ii) by striking ``$100,000,000'' and 
                        inserting ``$161,500,000'';
                            (iii) by striking ``2004'' and inserting 
                        ``2022''; and
                            (iv) by striking ``2003'' and inserting 
                        ``2021'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking ``$125,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$100,000'';
                            (ii) by striking ``$100,000,000'' and 
                        inserting ``$161,500,000'';
                            (iii) by striking ``but less'' and 
                        inserting ``but is less''; and
                            (iv) by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (C) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``$280,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$250,000''; and
                            (ii) by striking the period at the end and 
                        inserting ``but is less than $1,000,000,000 (as 
                        so adjusted and published);''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) $400,000 if the aggregate total amount determined 
        under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) 
        is not less than $1,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published) 
        but is less than $2,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published);
            ``(5) $800,000 if the aggregate total amount determined 
        under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) 
        is not less than $2,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published) 
        but is less than $5,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and published); 
        and
            ``(6) $2,250,000 if the aggregate total amount determined 
        under section 7A(a)(2) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(a)(2)) 
        is not less than $5,000,000,000 (as so adjusted and 
        published).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1) For each fiscal year commencing after September 30, 2022, 
the filing fees in this section shall be increased each year by an 
amount equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price 
Index, as determined by the Department of Labor or its successor, for 
the year then ended over the level so established for the year ending 
September 30, 2021.
    ``(2) As soon as practicable, but not later than January 31 of each 
year, the Federal Trade Commission shall publish the adjusted amounts 
required by paragraph (1).
    ``(3) The Federal Trade Commission shall not adjust amounts 
required by paragraph (1) if the percentage increase described in 
paragraph (1) is less than 1 percent.
    ``(4) An amount adjusted under this section shall be rounded to the 
nearest multiple of $5,000.
    ``(5) For each fiscal year commencing after September 30, 2022, 
through September 30, 2027, the Federal Trade Commission and Department 
of Justice shall include in its joint annual report pursuant to the 
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. 18(a) 
et seq.) the following:
            ``(A) the increase in funds made available to the Federal 
        Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, respectively, 
        through the adjustment in premerger notification filing fees in 
        15 U.S.C. 18(a) from the funds made available to the Federal 
        Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, respectively, 
        from premerger notification filing fees as the fees were 
        determined in fiscal year 2021;
            ``(B) the total revenue derived from premerger notification 
        filing fees, by tier, and how such revenue is used by the 
        Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, 
        respectively; and
            ``(C) the gross cost of operations of the Federal Trade 
        Commission and the Department of Justice, respectively, 
        associated with activities related to the use of revenue 
        derived from premerger notification filing fees.
    ``(6) The Federal Trade Commission shall report, in addition to the 
requirements listed in paragraph (5), a listing of all cases where the 
Federal Trade Commission took or declined to take action on a 3 to 2 
vote and what percentage of actions of the Federal Trade Commission 
were decided on a 3 to 2 vote.
    ``(7) The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice 
shall make the joint annual report pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino 
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. 18(a) et seq.) available 
to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on the 
Judiciary and shall, for fiscal years 2022 through 2027, no later than 
July 1, present a summary of the joint annual report for the preceding 
fiscal year, including the information required in paragraph (5) and 
(6) of this Act, to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House 
Committee on the Judiciary.
    ``(8) None of the funds collected by the Federal Trade Commission 
from premerger notification filing fees under 15 U.S.C. 18(a) and 
allocated by the Federal Trade Commission shall be available for 
obligation or expenditure by the Federal Trade Commission and the 
Department of Justice in excess of the amounts appropriated by Congress 
for spending authority from offsetting collections, including premerger 
notification filings under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements 
Act of 1976.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2022--
            (1) $252,000,000 for the Antitrust Division of the 
        Department of Justice; and
            (2) $418,000,000 for the Federal Trade Commission.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to protect 
        competition and promote antitrust enforcement by adjusting 
        premerger filing fees to increase antitrust enforcement 
        resources.''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 375

117th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 3843

                      [Report No. 117-493, Part I]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To promote antitrust enforcement and protect competition through 
 adjusting premerger filing fees, and increasing antitrust enforcement 
                               resources.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 26, 2022

      Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with amendments

                           September 26, 2022

Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee 
 of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed