[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5577-S5578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6047. Ms. WARREN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
[[Page S5578]]
At the appropriate place in title V, insert the following:
SEC. _____. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REVIEW OF PROSPECTIVE
COVERED TRANSACTIONS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Department notification.--The parties to a covered
transaction shall simultaneously file the notification under
section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a) with the
Department.
(2) Department assessment.--For each covered transaction,
the Department shall--
(A) assess whether the transaction is likely to harm the
public interest; and
(B) assess whether any divestiture or other structural
remedy would likely benefit the public interest, and if so,
describe the recommended structural remedy.
(3) Deadline.--The Department shall determine whether a
covered transaction is likely to harm the public interest not
later than the end of the waiting period under section 7A of
the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a).
(4) Additional documentation.--The parties to a covered
transaction shall simultaneously provide to the Department
any additional documentation or information submitted to the
Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission during
the waiting period under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15
U.S.C. 18a).
(5) Compulsory process.--The Department may use compulsory
process, including issuing subpoenas or civil investigative
demands, in order to assess the potential impacts of a
covered transaction.
(6) Reporting.--All findings, assessments, and
recommendations of the Department described in this
subsection shall be reported to the Department of Justice or
the Federal Trade Commission, as applicable, and may be
reported in the Hart-Scott-Rodino annual reports.
(b) Standards Regarding Harm to the Public Interest.--
(1) In general.--Harms to the public interest described in
this section include harms to competition, national security,
sustainment of the industrial and technological base,
innovation, access to critical technologies, the workforce,
or talent management in the industrial base.
(2) Determination.--Notwithstanding any other harms to the
public interest that may be determined when evaluating a
covered transaction, the Department may determine that the
transaction is likely to harm the public interest if--
(A) any party is a critical trading partner in the supply
chains or business ecosystems of the parties;
(B) any party offers overlapping, competing, or
functionally equivalent services or products to those of the
major defense supplier;
(C) the acquiring person would have a market share of
greater than 33 percent of any relevant market; or
(D) the transaction would result in a Herfindahl-Hirschman
Index greater than 1,800 in any relevant market and increase
the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index by more than 100 in such
relevant market.
(3) Additional considerations.--The Department may use
additional considerations when determining whether a covered
transaction is likely to harm the public interest.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered transaction.--The term ``covered transaction''
means an actual or proposed merger, acquisition, joint
venture, strategic alliance, or investment--
(A) for which the parties are required to file a
notification under section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C.
18a); and
(B) any party to the transaction is, owns, or controls a
major defense supplier.
(2) Critical trading partner.--The term ``critical trading
partner'' means a person that has the ability to restrict,
impede, or foreclose access to its inputs, customers,
partners, goods, services, technology, platform, facilities,
or tools in a way that harms the competitive process or
limits the ability of the customers or suppliers of the
person to carry out business effectively.
(3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Defense.
(4) Major defense supplier.--The term ``major defense
supplier'' means--
(A) any current prime contractor of a major system as
defined in section 2302(5), of title 10, United States Code;
(B) any current prime contractor, under a contract awarded
pursuant to section 2304(c)(3), title 10, United States Code,
for reasons described in subparagraph (A) of that section; or
(C) any prime contractor or subcontractor that the
Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the
Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, or
the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing
and Industrial Base Policy designates as a main source of
supply, including any firm that supplies or could supply
goods or services directly or indirectly to the Department or
any company with technology potentially significant to
defense capabilities.
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