Budget Agreement May Give FTC, DOJ Breathing Room

The Washington Post reports today that the bipartisan budget agreement reached earlier this week is likely to pass Congress.  Late Tuesday evening, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, reached a bipartisan, bicameral budget agreement that, if passed, may provide some relief to the FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division from the continuing effects of the sequestration.

Currently, the antitrust enforcement agencies are operating under the budget cuts mandated by the sequestration.  As the law stands, even larger cuts were scheduled to kick in across the board next year.  Instead, the budget deal would restore approximately half of the non-defense discretionary spending that would have automatically been cut.

The budget of the antitrust agencies is appropriated annually as discretionary spending.  WaPo reports that the budget deal is expected to pass the House this week and the Senate next week, and appropriations committees in both chambers would work over the holidays to prepare funding bills for individual agencies.

posted by Anant Raut

Audio from Oct. 1 Panel on Gvt Shutdown Now Available

The audio from yesterday’s Legislative Committee panel, “What Happens When the Lights Go Out:  Antitrust and Consumer Protection and the Government Shutdown,” is now available for members of the American Bar Association’s Section on Antitrust Law here.

posted by Anant Raut

DOJ Posts Shutdown Plan

With a federal government shutdown increasingly likely on Tuesday, October 1st, the Department of Justice posted its shutdown plan (the Antitrust Division is discussed on page 7).  The shutdown plan is available for viewing here.

posted by Anant Raut

FTC Posts Shutdown Plan

With Congress at an impasse over a continuing resolution, the possibility of a federal government shutdown on Tuesday, October 1st grows increasingly likely.   The Federal Trade Commission today posted its shutdown plan, available for viewing here.

posted by Anant Raut

This Week in Congress

The focus of Congress this week will be budget negotiations, with funding for the federal government scheduled to run out on October 1st.  The Housed passed a budget bill on Friday that would defund parts of the Affordable Care Act, a provision that will be a non-starter for the Democrat-controlled Senate.  The Senate is expected to send a budget bill (Politico speculates that it will be a three-month continuing resolution keeping the government operating under current levels) back to the House sometime early next week without the ACA defunder.

Whether the two parties will reach a budget agreement prior to October 1st is fodder for punditry, but ultimately a matter of uninformed speculation, just as the sports commentary this morning has no real idea who will be in the Super Bowl next year.

Were the government to shut down on October 1st, it is our understanding that large parts of the DOJ and FTC, particularly those in active litigation or operating under statutorily mandated timelines, would continue to operate as “necessary personnel.”  We will supplement this with more accurate information once it is made available.

The House, which was scheduled to be in recess this week, remains in session due to budget ping pong.  The Senate has no antitrust- or privacy-related hearings this week.

posted by Anant Raut