H.R. 384 — One Agency Act

This section states congressional findings that (1) it is U.S. policy to promote the vigorous, effective, and efficient enforcement of the antitrust laws; (2) overlapping antitrust enforcement jurisdiction of the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission has wasted taxpayer resources, hampered enforcement, and caused uncertainty for businesses and consumers; and (3) primary federal responsibility for enforcing the antitrust laws should be assigned to a single entity, with the Department of Justice best suited to do so.

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) “antitrust laws” as the Sherman Act and Clayton Act; (2) “effective date” as the date specified in section 6; (3) “FTC” as the Federal Trade Commission; (4) “FTC antitrust action” as any FTC investigation, litigation, proceeding, or action supervised by an FTC antitrust unit or relating to the antitrust laws or unfair methods of competition; (5) “FTC antitrust assets” as records, files, and physical assets (excluding office space) of an FTC antitrust unit; (6) “FTC antitrust employee” as FTC personnel assigned to an antitrust unit before the effective date; (7) “FTC antitrust funding” as appropriations designated for an FTC antitrust unit; (8) “FTC antitrust unit” as the Bureau of Competition and designated divisions of the Bureau of Economics; and (9) “transition period” as one year after the effective date (or up to 18 months if extended by the Attorney General).

This section transfers all Federal Trade Commission (FTC) antitrust enforcement functions—including open investigations, litigations, studies, matters, and proceedings relating to the antitrust laws or unfair methods of competition under FTC Act §5 (15 U.S.C. 45); employees; assets; and funding—to the Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division on a date determined by the Attorney General, no earlier than the effective date and no later than the end of the transition period. (As background, the FTC currently shares antitrust enforcement authority with the Department of Justice, including under the Clayton Act, Sherman Act, and FTC Act §5, which prohibits unfair methods of competition; this consolidates such authority in the Department of Justice. Thus, the FTC's antitrust role ends, though it may deputize former employees with Attorney General consent to assist in resolving certain pre-transfer administrative actions, court cases, and consent decrees.) The section further (1) authorizes the Attorney General to restructure the Antitrust Division and use FTC office space (with compensation post-funding transfer); (2) grants the Attorney General sole authority over FTC antitrust consent decrees after the transition period; and (3) authorizes the Attorney General to require annual or special reports under oath from persons, partnerships, and corporations on competition matters, with public disclosure of non-confidential portions and annual reports to Congress.

This section modifies agency responsibilities relating to the antitrust laws and unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45)—which prohibits unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce—as follows: (1) transfers any requirement for an executive branch or independent agency to consult with or seek concurrence from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or its Chairman to the Attorney General; (2) waives premerger notification requirements to the FTC (while preserving notifications to the Attorney General); (3) prohibits the Attorney General from denying resources to the FTC or disrupting its existing litigation or appeals ongoing before the effective date; (4) preserves the Attorney General's authority to enforce the antitrust laws; and (5) prohibits the FTC from opening new investigations or enforcement actions in these areas, except with Attorney General approval for matters ongoing or in place before the effective date.