HOUSE
Curbs on Federal Trade Commission
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Voting 235 for and 171 against, the House on March 23 passed a GOP-drafted bill (HR 2745) that would strip the Federal Trade Commission of its 102-year-old authority to use in-house administrative judges for determining whether proposed mergers and acquisitions violate antitrust laws. Under the bill, the FTC could pursue antitrust litigation only in federal courts rather than in both federal courts and its own administrative-law tribunals as is now the case. This would align FTC procedures with those at the Department of Justice (DOJ), which uses only federal courts to adjudicate proposed mergers. The FTC and DOJ are the two agencies that enforce federal antitrust laws. The bill was backed by business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which often see the DOJ as easier to deal with in antitrust matters. The bill was opposed by groups such as the Consumers Union on grounds it would weaken FTC defenses against monopolistic business practices.
Kirkpatrick Nay
McSally, Gosar, Salmon, Schweikert Franks, Sinema Yea
Gallego Nay
Grijalva Did not vote
Corporate Mergers, Rising Drug Costs
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Voting 174 for and 235 against, the House on March 23 defeated a Democratic motion to prevent HR 2745 (above) from applying to proposed corporate mergers that would lead to unreasonable increases in the cost of prescription drugs.
McSally, Gosar, Salmon, Schweikert, Franks, Sinema, Nay
Kirkpatrick, Gallego, Yea
Grijalva Did not vote
House Republicans’ Immigration Stance
A yes vote was to oppose the administration’s DAPA policy.
Voting 234 for and 186 against, the House on March 17 agreed to file a Supreme Court brief against the administration’s Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) immigration policy. The measure (H Res 639) authorized the filing in United States vs. Texas. In this case, the court is reviewing an order by President Obama to temporarily block the potential deportation of an estimated five million undocumented aliens who are the parents of U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents born before Nov. 20, 2014. To qualify for DAPA status and receive work permits, these individuals must have lived in the U.S. for at least five years, pass criminal background checks, submit biometric data, establish that their child was born by the date of the order and agree to pay fees and taxes.
McSally, Gosar, Salmon, Schweikert, Franks Yea
Grijalva, Gallego, Sinema, Nay
Kirkpatrick, did not vote
