Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) chaired a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights hearing today, examining the impact on the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act, or the SMARTER Act.
 
“The SMARTER Act contains important reforms designed to address existing disparities in the standards applied to, and processes used by, the two antitrust enforcement agencies – the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission – when they seek to prevent the consummation of a proposed transaction,” Lee sad.
 
“These disparities were examined by the bi-partisan Antitrust Modernization Commission, which was formed pursuant to the Antitrust Modernization Act and charged with conducting a comprehensive examination of the antitrust laws and existing enforcement practices,” Lee finished.
 
The subcommittee heard testimony from Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, Covington & Burling antitrust and competition law practice group co-chair Deborah Garza, Baker & McKenzie senior counsel David Clanton, Latham & Watkins partner Tad Lipsky, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati partner Jonathan Jacobson.