Today, I led a coalition letter in support of Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s full access to estimated merger filing fees. Click here to download a PDF of the letter.
We, the undersigned organizations committed to free, fair, and competitive markets, write to support the Department of Justice (DoJ or the Department) Antitrust Division’s full access to estimated merger filing fees. These fees enable vital antitrust and law enforcement efforts that have enjoyed widespread, bipartisan support across administrations.
Importantly, DoJ’s merger fees, and funds collected through criminal penalties, almost always exceed budgetary estimates, meaning antitrust enforcement is not a burden on taxpayers—on the contrary, it is often a source of surplus.
While Congressional appropriators are right to seek cost savings and efficiencies in government, the DoJ Antitrust Division is a lean and cost-effective operation that punches miles above its weight. Despite taking on deep-pocketed monopolies with virtually unlimited resources, the Department has a track record of success in reducing prices, increasing consumer choice, and safeguarding competition.
In a time of political division, antitrust enforcement has enjoyed widespread, bipartisan support across administrations—the cases against Google’s search and advertising technology monopolies, and the case against Apple’s app store, started and continued under bipartisan presidencies. This level of continuity is extraordinary in today’s Washington, and is enabled by the DoJ’s access to the fees it needs to litigate.
Congress recognized that the Department was a David facing multiple Goliaths, particularly in these cases against Big Tech. That’s why lawmakers in the 117th Congress passed the bipartisan Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022 (the Act) to ensure that the DoJ had the resources it needed to take on companies that can hire every white-shoe law firm in the world.
We are concerned, however, that the House and Senate Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) and Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bills do not reflect Congress’s intent in the Act. We ask that you make clear in the final funding language that the DoJ have full access to the estimated merger filing fees to fulfill its mission and deliver maximum value to the American people. In the Act, Congress understood the importance of strong antitrust enforcement while creating a funding mechanism that wouldn’t burden hardworking Americans. Today’s appropriators should simply carry that forward.
We appreciate your consideration of this request and look forward to working with members of Congress in both parties to continue supporting the law enforcement necessary to protect consumers, support innovation, and fuel economic growth.
Sincerely,
Evan Swarztrauber
Senior Fellow
Foundation for American Innovation
Daniel Kishi
Policy Advisor
American Compass
Matt Stoller
Director of Research
American Economic Liberties Project
Nick Solheim*
Chief Executive Officer
American Moment
Terry Schilling
President
American Principles Project
Aiden Buzzetti
President
Bull Moose Project
Rachel Bovard*
Vice President of Programs
Conservative Partnership Institute
Gerard Scimeca
Chairman
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Nathan Leamer
Executive Director
Digital First Project
Joel Thayer
President
Digital Progress Institute
Mike Davis
President
Article III Project
Roslyn Layton, PhD
Senior Fellow
National Security Institute
Sacha Haworth
Executive Director
Tech Oversight Project
*Affiliation listed for identification purposes only.
