September, 27 2022, 02:35pm EDT
Statement Regarding Vote on Antitrust Package (H.R. 3843)
Ahead of today's House Rules Committee vote on H.R. 3843, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, Demand Progress Legal Director Ginger Quintero-McCall issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON
Ahead of today's House Rules Committee vote on H.R. 3843, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, Demand Progress Legal Director Ginger Quintero-McCall issued the following statement:
"The antitrust package being considered today in Congress (H.R.3843, Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act) is a very important first step in reining in the power of Big Tech companies like Amazon and Google. This legislation is supported by a bipartisan coalition of legislators, as well as small business groups, organized labor, and advocacy organizations. If passed, it represents the first time in many decades that Congress has taken an action to strengthen antitrust enforcement.
"Critically, the bill strengthens antitrust laws and injects much-needed funds to the antitrust enforcement agencies and allows them to properly fulfill their role safeguarding the economy and consumers from anticompetitive conduct and harmful mergers. We task our antitrust enforcers with a duty to protect us, and it is only right we give them adequate resources to do so.
"While much more must be done, this bipartisan package represents a critical first step for Congress to reverse the course of lax antitrust enforcement that has proved to be destructive to small businesses, workers, communities, and innovation. While we continue to support the broader antitrust reforms put forward in the House and Senate, especially the American Choice and Innovation Online Act and the Open App Markets Act, we recognize that antitrust enforcers should urgently have the resources they need, and it is imperative that the legislative package included in H.R. 3843 move forward in the House."
Demand Progress amplifies the voice of the people -- and wields it to make government accountable and contest concentrated corporate power. Our mission is to protect the democratic character of the internet -- and wield it to contest concentrated corporate power and hold government accountable.
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Despite the Pentagon's repeated failures to pass audits and various alarming policies, 81 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with 200 Republicans on Wednesday to advance a $883.7 billion annual defense package.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, unveiled by congressional negotiators this past Saturday, still needs approval from the Senate, which is expected to vote next week. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he plans to vote no and spoke out against the military-industrial complex.
The push to pass the NDAA comes as this congressional session winds down and after the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that it had failed yet another audit—which several lawmakers highlighted after the Wednesday vote.
Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairs and co-founders of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, said in a joint statement, "Time and time again, Congress seems to be able to find the funds necessary to line the pockets of defense contractors while neglecting the problems everyday Americans face here at home."
"Instead of fighting the rising cost of healthcare, gas, or groceries, this Congress prioritized rewarding the wealthy and well-connected military-industrial complex with even more unaccountable funds," they continued. "After a seventh failed audit in a row, it's disappointing that our amendment to hold the Pentagon accountable by penalizing the DOD's budget by 0.5% for each failed audit was stripped out of the final bill. It's time Congress demanded accountability from the Pentagon."
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Several of the 124 House Democrats who voted against the NDAA cited those "culture war" policies, in addition to concerns about how the Pentagon spends massive amounts of money that could go toward improving lives across the country.
"Once again, Congress has passed a massive military authorization bill that prioritizes endless military spending over the critical needs of American families. This year's NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), noting the audit failures. "While I recognize the long-overdue 14.5% raise for our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel is important, this bill remains flawed. The bloated military budget continues to take away crucial funding from programs that could help millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet."
Taking aim at the GOP's push to deny gender-affirming care through TRICARE, the congresswoman said that "I cannot support a bill that continues unnecessary military spending while also attacking the rights and healthcare of transgender youth, and for that reason, I voted NO."
As Omar, a leading critic of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, also pointed out: "The NDAA includes a provision that blocks the Pentagon from using data on casualties and deaths from the Gaza Ministry of Health or any sources relying on those statistics. This is an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people, ignoring the human toll of ongoing violence."
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Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who voted against the NDAA, directed attention to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), set to be run by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
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