Deluzio, Neguse Call for Full Funding of Antitrust Division to Fight Harmful Monopolies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday March 8th, Congressmen Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and Joe Neguse (CO-02) sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for robust funding of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in his 2025 budget proposal. The President’s Budget was released on Monday, March 11th and followed the President’s annual State of the Union Address in which he emphasized his administration’s work to lower prices by cracking down on corporate consolidation. In their letter, the congressmen also encourage the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that all merger filing fees continue to go to antitrust enforcers. 

In their letter, Reps. Deluzio and Neguse write, “There is a monopoly crisis in America, with corporate concentration having risen substantially for decades without proper oversight. This crisis is often the culprit behind unstable supply chains, the enfeeblement of our industrial and defense industrial base, drug shortages, regional inequality, and a host of other social challenges of concern to all Americans. Your Executive Order on Competition acknowledges these issues and requires a whole-of-government response to restore competition to our markets. However, our agencies cannot accomplish their missions without sufficient funding, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.” 

They continue, “As you are aware, one reason for the increase in market power in recent decades is that antitrust enforcement has slowed due to resource constraints. Despite having to contend with today’s much larger U.S. economy, the Antitrust Division has fewer employees now than it did in 1979! ...We would encourage you to keep these dynamics in mind and support the appropriate level of funding for antitrust enforcement.” 

The full text of Rep. Deluzio and Rep. Neguse’s letter is available here. 

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