WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (KY-01) today voted in support of H.R. 2745, the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules (SMARTER) Act of 2015. This bill would align procedures followed by the Federal Trade Commission with procedures followed by the Department of Justice when reviewing a proposed merger or acquisition. H.R. 2745 is a direct response to recommendations made by the Antitrust Modernization Commission to equalize differences in procedure that impose unequal burdens on merging parties. Whitfield released the following statement upon passage:
“The most recent of the three core federal antitrust laws was established over 100 years ago and these updates will make the mergers and acquisitions process more predictable and transparent. The SMARTER Act provides better continuity between the standards applied to these two agencies and helps address the problem that arises when the standards used by both come to varying results.”