[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 138 (Wednesday, October 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S11914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ANTITRUST CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE IMPROVEMENTS ACT

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate 
yesterday passed the Antitrust Criminal Investigative Improvements Act 
of 2005, which represents a significant addition to the Antitrust 
Division's arsenal for prosecuting criminal violations of the antitrust 
laws.
  In criminal antitrust investigations, it is critical that prosecutors 
gain access to evidence on the inner workings of the alleged 
conspiracy. To meet their burden of proof, prosecutors must marshal 
strong evidence of the participants in the conspiracy, the nature of 
their participation, and the terms of the illegal agreement. This type 
of evidence is very difficult to gain without penetrating the inner 
workings of a conspiracy in action. Currently, the Antitrust Division 
often has no option but to rely on the cooperation of members of a 
conspiracy, who are frequently reluctant to come forward to assist the 
Division in uncovering illegal activities in which they, themselves, 
have taken part. Without the ability to obtain wiretaps, the Antitrust 
Division unnecessarily faces a much heavier burden in detecting and 
preventing these conspiracies.
  There is no principled reason for excluding criminal antitrust 
violations from the list of over 150 predicate offenses for obtaining a 
wiretap. Offenses, such as wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud are 
predicate offenses, but up to now, criminal antitrust offenses have not 
been on the list, despite the fact that their penalties are similar. 
Criminal antitrust offenses are basically white-collar fraud offenses, 
and often do much more harm to consumers than other types of fraud 
offenses. Given the gravity of these crimes, it is time that antitrust 
violations are added as a predicate offense.
  Of course, antitrust prosecutors still will need to meet the ordinary 
requirements for obtaining wiretap authority to receive court 
permission to utilize this tool, but it is important that they have 
that ability. Accordingly, I am very pleased that we have passed this 
legislation, and hope that the House will act soon to move it, as well.

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