[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10941 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10941
To amend section 5 of the Clayton Act to include proposed voluntary
dismissals in the court's consideration of proposed consent judgments
and clarify the public interest, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 29, 2026
Mr. Raskin (for himself, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms.
Balint, Ms. Ross, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms.
Jayapal, Mr. Goldman of New York, and Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend section 5 of the Clayton Act to include proposed voluntary
dismissals in the court's consideration of proposed consent judgments
and clarify the public interest, and for other purposes.
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 ``Antitrust Accountability and
Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. CLAYTON ACT JUDGMENT AMENDMENTS.
Section 5 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 16) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``or under section 5 of
the Federal Trade Commission Act which could give rise to a
claim for relief under the antitrust laws'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by inserting ``or administrative''
after ``any civil'';
(ii) by inserting ``, or in the case of an
administrative proceeding, filed in accordance
with subsection (k) with a district court in
which 1 or more defendants is incorporated or
headquartered,'' after ``the district court
before which such proceeding in pending'';
(iii) by striking ``published by the United
States'' and inserting ``published'' each place
it appears;
(iv) by striking ``60 days'' and inserting
``45 days'';
(v) by inserting ``A district court to
which a complaint and proposal for a consent
judgment is submitted by the United States or
Federal Trade Commission under this paragraph
shall have jurisdiction under this section.''
after ``prior to the effective date of such
judgment.''; and
(vi) by striking ``sixty-day period'' and
inserting ``45-day period'';
(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``any
commitments made by the parties to the United States or
Federal Trade Commission not memorialized in the
proposal related to the proceeding, how the proposal
remedies any material risk that the antitrust laws may
be violated,'' after ``thereby,''; and
(C) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``or Federal
Trade Commission, including any settlement offers,
divestitures, or other remedies, including the process
through which these proposals were considered'' before
the period;
(3) in subsection (c) by striking ``60 days'' and inserting
``45 days'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking ``during the 60-day period'' and
inserting the following: ``(1) During the 45-day
period'';
(B) by striking ``his designee'' and inserting ``a
designee thereof'';
(C) by striking ``such 60-day time period'' and
inserting ``such 45-day time period'';
(D) by striking ``At the close of'' and inserting
``Not later than 30 days after the close of'';
(E) by inserting ``Parties that submitted comments
shall be allowed to submit a reply to the responses
published by the United States or Federal Trade
Commission.'' before the last sentence;
(F) by adding at the end ``Compliance with this
section by the Federal Trade Commission shall satisfy
any other notice-and-comment requirements relating to
consent judgments.''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(2)(A) In a proceeding brought under section 7, the parties shall
continue to hold all assets related to the transaction separate as if
they are subject to a waiting period under section 7A until the date
that is 15 days after the United States or Federal Trade Commission
files with the district court and causes to be published in the Federal
Register a response to comments under this subsection. The court may
extend the period during which the parties are required to hold all
assets related to the transaction separate upon a finding that--
``(i) there is a reasonable likelihood that the court will
determine that the consent judgment does not meet the
requirements in subsection (e)(1); and
``(ii) the balance of the equities favors extending the
order.
``(B) In the event that the court extends the period during which
the parties are required to hold all assets separate, the court shall
make all reasonable efforts to expedite its determination under
subsection (e)(1).
``(3) A violation of paragraph (2) shall be treated as a violation
of section 7A and parties may be liable for civil penalties pursuant to
subsection (g) of that section.
``(4) Any order to hold assets separate shall expire upon a finding
by the court that the consent judgment satisfies the requirements under
subsection (e)(1).''.
(5) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``there is a reasonable
belief, based on evidence and reasoned
analysis, that'' after ``the court shall
determine that'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``,
does not permit any transaction, merger,
agreement, business practice, or other course
of conduct that creates a material risk of
violating the antitrust laws, and that the
provisions of the consent judgment are
reasonably tailored to the violations of the
antitrust laws alleged in the complaint'' after
``whether the consent judgment is in the public
interest''; and
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph (B)
the following:
``Upon consideration of the factors described in this
paragraph, the court shall enter the proposed consent judgment
or reject the proposed consent judgment and, if the case was
originally filed with the court, retain jurisdiction over the
proceedings, or, if the case was originally an administrative
proceeding, remand the matter.''.
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or to require
the court to permit anyone to intervene'' and inserting
``, but the court shall take into account any written
request for a hearing by any Federal or State agency,
including any State attorney general, when determining
whether to conduct an evidentiary hearing''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) If the court determines that an evidentiary hearing
is appropriate, any Federal or State agency, including any
State attorney general that made a written request under
paragraph (2), shall be allowed to intervene. Nothing shall
require the court to permit any other party to intervene.
``(4) A consent judgment filed under this section shall
take effect only upon entry by the court. The decision to enter
a consent judgment under this section is within the discretion
of the court, which need not defer to the United States's
predictions about the efficacy of its remedies.''';
(6) in subsection (f)--
(A) by inserting ``current or former'' before
``Government officials'';
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph
(7); and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) order the production of the communications that were
disclosed or should have been disclosed pursuant to subsection
(g), including all related documents and testimony relating to
the communications;
``(6) order the production of information or testimony
regarding the provision of, or offer to provide, a benefit or
concession by any party in the proceeding to the Government or
an employee or officer thereof, including payments, donations,
or alterations in policy or business practices that the court
finds may have a reasonable connection to the proceeding or
decision to enter the proposed judgment; and'';
(7) in subsection (g)--
(A) by inserting ``, including the Executive Office
of the President,'' after ``any officer or employee of
the United States''; and
(B) by striking ``except that any'' and inserting
``, and shall include the date of each written or oral
communication and each author of, recipient of, and
participant to each written or oral communication.
Any'';
(8) in subsection (h), by inserting ``, or by the Federal
Trade Commission under section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45),'' after ``under section 4A of
this Act''; and
(9) by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Voluntary Dismissals.--
``(1) In general.--Any proposal to file a motion to
voluntarily dismiss any civil proceeding brought by the United
States or Federal Trade Commission under the antitrust laws
shall be filed with the district court before which such
proceeding is pending, and published in the Federal Register
not less than 45 days prior to the effective date of such
voluntary dismissal. The case shall be stayed during this 45-
day period.
``(2) Substitution.--During the 45-day period under
paragraph (1), any State attorney general may file a motion for
substitution in the proceeding. A court shall grant the motion
for substitution unless presented with clear and convincing
evidence by the parties that there are no genuine issues of
material fact that could support any claim in the proceeding or
that the defendant would be entitled to judgment as a matter of
law. If the motion for substitution is granted, the action does
not abate, but proceeds in favor of or against the remaining
parties.
``(3) Transfer.--Upon a grant of a motion for substitution
under paragraph (2), the United States or the Federal Trade
Commission shall promptly transfer all materials relevant to
the litigation that are not subject to the deliberative process
privilege to the applicable State attorneys general and the
case shall continue on a schedule that will not cause undue
delay, as determined appropriate by the court.
``(k) FTC Civil Proceeding.--
``(1) Stay and disposition.--At the time that the Federal
Trade Commission submits a proposal for a consent judgment to
resolve an administrative proceeding, the administrative
proceeding shall be stayed until such time as the court to
which a complaint is filed in accordance with subsection (b)
determines whether to--
``(A) enter the proposed consent judgment; or
``(B) reject the proposed consent judgement and
remand the matter.
``(2) Commencement.--The Federal Trade Commission shall
commence a civil proceeding by filing with the district court a
complaint setting forth the violations of the antitrust laws
alleged in the administrative proceeding and the proposal for a
consent judgment.
``(l) Transfer of Materials.--In the case that a matter remanded
under subsection (k)(1)(B) is dismissed and a State commences a civil
proceeding under the antitrust laws with respect to that matter, the
Federal Trade Commission shall transfer materials to the State in
accordance with subsection (j)(3).
``(m) References.--In this section, all references to--
``(1) the United States or the Attorney General shall be
deemed to include the Federal Trade Commission, as applicable;
and
``(2) the antitrust laws shall be deemed to include an
unfair method of competition under section 5 of the Federal
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).''.
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