Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I rise in support of this amendment which will ensure that the Department of Justice has the resources it needs to fight white collar crime. The Department is preparing to close antitrust regional offices in Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, and Philadelphia. This amendment will prevent the closure of these field offices during fiscal year 2013.

As a member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet, I am concerned about the impact of these closures. This action will seriously undermine the division's ability to enforce antitrust laws by limiting the number of boots on the ground, particularly in the Southeast and the Southwest.

Closing these offices is very shortsighted. It puts nearly 100 jobs at risk in Atlanta and saves only $500,000 in fiscal year 2013. The proposal could end up costing money by transferring employees to regional offices with higher costs of living and higher salaries, like New York and San Francisco.

Further, the proposal will weaken the antitrust division as experienced attorneys who choose not to transfer leave for other opportunities. Antitrust law is a highly specialized field of law and the institutional knowledge of an experienced attorney is invaluable.

The Atlanta office ranks number one in terms of the most trial wins of any of the eight criminal offices. In fiscal year 2008, the Atlanta office ranked first among all of the criminal offices in the amount of restitution obtained for victims. For that fiscal year, the Atlanta office accounted for 71.2 percent of all restitution imposed by the division.

As this Nation recovers from a recession largely caused by white collar misdoing, I implore this House to consider the message that closure of these offices will send to the public. Those considering whether to commit white collar crime need to know that there is strict Federal enforcement. Closing these field offices sends the wrong message to criminals and the public at exactly the wrong time.

This Congress has been consumed with debating the proper role and scope of government. During that debate, we have all agreed that the minimum role of government is to ensure an equal playing field that allows opportunity for all and ensures that all wrong-doers will be prosecuted, no matter if they are engaged in petty criminal offenses or white collar crimes.

The antitrust division, which promotes and protects competition in the marketplace, is essential to good governance and fairness. Surely Tea Partyers and progressives, ALEC members and union leaders can all agree that government must ensure a fair and competitive marketplace that allows for innovation.

The closure of these four field offices will have the effect of significantly eroding the division's criminal enforcement program, leaving U.S. consumers and businesses in at least 19 States, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico unprotected against white collar crooks like Bernie Madoff who seek to rig bids, inflate prices, and otherwise defraud consumers and businesses.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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