Main Street Competes Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for bringing this bill forward and for his leadership. I also thank my colleague from Michigan (Ms. Scholten). It has been a pleasure to work with her on this bipartisan, commonsense piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I add my voice to those advocating in support of the Main Street Competes Act. Our bill addresses the concerns that small businesses have limited visibility into how Federal antitrust enforcement efforts may affect their ability to compete.

While large mergers and anticompetitive practices can disadvantage small firms, there is currently no consistent governmentwide assessment of how enforcement actions by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission may affect small business competitiveness or how such agencies respond to small business complaints.

To address this gap, the Main Street Competes Act requires regular reporting and analysis of antitrust enforcement related to small businesses. It directs the two enforcement agencies to submit those biennial reports to the SBA Office of Advocacy, detailing their antitrust work.

That office, in turn, is positioned to take that information and data and report and recommend to Congress steps that may be prudent for our consideration in increasing the competitiveness of small businesses in the marketplace.

By better understanding how antitrust enforcement affects small businesses, Congress can make more informed policy decisions to promote competition, prevent harmful market consolidation, and ensure small businesses have a fair opportunity to grow.

Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, a free-market economy requires that players compete in good faith and have an opportunity to be at the table when the competition occurs. Small businesses are where ideas come from. They are the lifeblood of our communities.

This bill makes sure that policymakers and antitrust enforcers are taking those facts into consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the work to make this happen, and I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill.

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