[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H8226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MONOPOLY MOMENT

  (Mrs. TRAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves in a monopoly moment as a 
country. Multibillion-dollar corporations have grown into behemoths, 
eliminating any real competition in their industries and using their 
dominance to hurt small businesses and consumers.
  Meta's monopoly power has enabled it to harm women, children, and 
people of all ages without recourse. Amazon has used its dominance to 
copy competitors' products and run small businesses into the ground.
  This slide has happened under the watch of Democratic and Republican 
governments alike, and it is on us to stop it. That starts with giving 
the FTC the resources necessary to enforce our antitrust laws.
  It starts with the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act. This 
bipartisan, bicameral legislation is simple. It requires that a 
billion-dollar corporation looking to acquire or merge with a 
competitor pay a fee for the FTC to review the deal. That is it: a one-
time fee to help ensure we don't slide further back to the times of the 
railroad and steel monopolies that abused workers, hurt consumers, and 
killed competition.
  Families are hurting enough right now. They deserve competition, not 
capitulation to corporate interests.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this long-overdue 
bipartisan package.

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