[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9810]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXTENSION OF ANTITRUST CRIMINAL PENALTY ENHANCEMENT AND REFORM ACT OF 
                                  2004

  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of H.R. 5330, which was received from the House 
and is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 5330) to amend the Antitrust Criminal Penalty 
     Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 to extend the operation of 
     such Act, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate today will 
extend the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 
2004, ACPERA, for an additional 10 years. This legislation ensures that 
the Justice Department will have the tools it needs to effectively 
prosecute criminal antitrust cartels for years to come. I thank Senator 
Kohl for his hard work in securing passage of this important 
legislation.
  I have long supported vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws. 
ACPERA provides a necessary complement to the Justice Department's 
highly successful corporate leniency program by limiting civil damages 
recoverable against a party who submits an application for leniency. 
Without this legislation, potential leniency applicants could be 
deterred from self-reporting antitrust violations that otherwise would 
result in significant criminal prosecutions.
  I would have preferred that ACPERA be permanently reauthorized. Even 
so, a 10-year extension ensures that the Justice Department can still 
provide applicants with certainty that the rules of the game will not 
suddenly shift underneath them. ACPERA's incentives are critical to the 
Justice Department's criminal antitrust enforcement efforts, and I look 
forward to continuing to work to provide the Antitrust Division to 
ensure it has the resources necessary to protect consumers.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent the bill be read three times and 
passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no 
intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 5330) was ordered to be read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed.

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