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119-hr-384119th CongressWALLET

One Agency Act

Sponsored By: Representative Cline, Ben [R-VA-6]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would centralize federal antitrust enforcement at the Department of Justice (DOJ) by transferring the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) antitrust actions, staff, assets, and funding to the DOJ. It sets a defined transition window of about one year with a possible single 180-day extension and rules to move open cases, consent decrees, records, and funding while limiting FTC antitrust activity during the shift.

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  • Businesses and parties under investigation: Antitrust investigations, premerger notifications tied to FTC-initiated matters, and enforcement of consent decrees would be handled by DOJ instead of the FTC, and the FTC is generally barred from opening new antitrust matters during the transition. This changes which agency reviews mergers and enforces competition rules.
  • FTC antitrust staff and resources: FTC antitrust employees, assets, and funding would transfer to the DOJ Antitrust Division and those employees could be deputized to continue specific cases. DOJ may use FTC office space and must compensate FTC after funding moves.
  • Ongoing cases, courts, and consent decrees: DOJ would assume responsibility for pending investigations and court matters and would have sole authority over FTC consent decrees at the end of the transition. DOJ may publish information in the public interest while protecting trade secrets and may share certain information with law enforcement partners.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

AG can require business reports

If enacted, the Attorney General would be able to order businesses that affect commerce to file annual or special reports about organization, conduct, practices, and competition-related matters, and those reports could be required under oath. The Attorney General could publish information that is in the public interest but must protect trade secrets and privileged financial information, with limited disclosures allowed to federal or state law enforcement and certain foreign law enforcement under rules like those the FTC used. The bill would also move statutory consult and notification duties from the FTC to the Attorney General for antitrust matters, and would waive requirements to notify the FTC where those duties are tied to the transferred antitrust authorities.

DOJ takes over FTC antitrust

If enacted, the Attorney General would take control of all FTC antitrust actions, assets, employees, and funding and assign them to the DOJ Antitrust Division. The bill would start a transition period on the Act's effective date that ends on the later of one year after that date or 180 days after that, with one one-time 180-day extension allowed. During the transition, open FTC antitrust investigations and court matters would be moved to DOJ as soon as practicable, the FTC generally could not start new antitrust probes without the Attorney General's approval, and unresolved FTC actions could continue only with the AG's consent or by deputized former FTC staff. DOJ could use former FTC office space temporarily and the Attorney General could restructure the Antitrust Division to carry out the transfer.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Cline, Ben [R-VA-6]

VA • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Fitzgerald, Scott [R-WI-5]

    WI • R

    Sponsored 1/14/2025

  • Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large]

    WY • R

    Sponsored 1/14/2025

  • Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2]

    NJ • R

    Sponsored 2/21/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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