Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: House passes SMARTER Act, (Mar 23, 2016)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 2745, the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act of 2015 (SMARTER Act). The legislation seeks to amend the Clayton Act and FTC Act to provide that the FTC shall exercise authority with respect to mergers only under the Clayton Act and only in the same procedural manner as the Attorney General exercises such authority.

The House’s vote follows a resolution passed yesterday to consider the bill as read and a statement released by the Obama Administration strongly opposing House passage of the bill.

The proposed SMARTER Act is intended to address concerns that parties to a proposed merger or acquisition currently face different preliminary injunction standards in court challenges, as well as different processes, depending on whether the FTC or the U.S. Department of Justice reviews the transaction. The legislation has two main objectives: (1) equalize the standards of the two federal antitrust agencies for obtaining a preliminary injunction against a proposed merger or acquisition and (2) eliminate the FTC’s ability to pursue administrative adjudication to challenge a proposed transaction.

The bill passed by a recorded vote of 235-171.

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews AntitrustDivisionNews