Antitrust
More on Antitrust
Reps. Kristi Noem (R-SD) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) today led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in reintroducing H.R. 2193, the Remote Transactions Parity Act (RTPA), which aims to create a level playing field so Main Street stores and online retailers can compete fairly. Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Steve Stivers (R-OH), Lou Barletta (R-PA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and David Cicilline (D-RI) joined Noem and Conyers as lead cosponsors for the reintroduction.
Although I rise in qualified support of H.R. 372, the "Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2017," I do not endorse the Majority's exaggerated claims regarding the bill's impact on the affordability and availability of health insurance.
H.R. 372 would partially repeal the limited Federal antitrust exemption for the business of insurance established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act in 1945.
Specifically, the bill only permits Federal antitrust enforcement with regard to the business of health insurance.
I support H.R. 372, the "Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2017," which repeals the antitrust exemption in the McCarran-Ferguson Act for the health insurance business.
For many years, I have advocated for such a repeal and so I am pleased to see bipartisan support for this position.
My own bill, H.R. 143, the "Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2017," would similarly repeal the McCarran-Ferguson antitrust exemption for the health insurance business.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) welcomed four new Democratic Members to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and announced the new subcommittee structure for the 115th Congress.
Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) are new to the committee. Congressman Jamie Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, will serve in a newly created Vice Ranking Member position this Congress.
Sudden and sharp increases in the cost of life-saving prescription medications have caused much public outcry, most recently regarding the substantial spike in the price of EpiPen, which is used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions.
Although today's hearing focuses on competition in the markets for a particular set of life-saving drugs -- namely, those that treat opioid addiction -- I hope that there are some broader lessons that we can draw from our discussion today.
Earlier today, House Speaker Paul Ryan's Task Force on Reducing Regulatory Burdens introduced the anti-regulatory portion of their so-called "Better Way" agenda. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Ranking Member Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) today released the following statements in response to this report:
Today's hearing promises to be not only informative, but timely given the various issues presented by international antitrust enforcement, particularly with respect to China's enforcement of its Anti-Monopoly Law.
In just the last two days, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew was in China for the latest round of talks in the ongoing U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
It was through this very mechanism that concerns about China's antitrust enforcement practices had been raised previously.