Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens protections and transparency for small businesses and could boost competition for consumers, but it increases demands on federal agencies and raises costs and risks for some businesses and investigations.
Small businesses will have clearer statutory support and an explicit enforcement priority to challenge anticompetitive conduct and illegal mergers, improving their ability to seek remedies and compete.
Small businesses and Congressional small-business committees will get industry-disaggregated reporting and analysis from DOJ, FTC, and SBA, increasing transparency, enabling targeted advocacy, and making enforcement patterns public (which can deter anticompetitive behavior).
Consumers may benefit from stronger antitrust enforcement that increases competition, potentially lowering prices and expanding choices.
Taxpayers and federal agencies may face higher administrative costs because expanded enforcement priorities and new reporting duties will require more resources or reallocation at DOJ, FTC, and SBA.
Firms considering mergers and some businesses may face increased regulatory scrutiny and higher compliance or transaction costs as enforcement emphasis strengthens.
Public reporting requirements could disclose sensitive enforcement details or priorities, potentially complicating ongoing investigations or litigation strategy for DOJ and FTC.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Adds an antitrust-enforcement purpose to small business policy and requires DOJ and FTC to deliver biennial reports to the SBA on antitrust enforcement affecting small businesses, with SBA summaries to Congress.
Official title: To amend the Small Business Economic Policy Act of 1980 to examine how the competitiveness of small businesses is affected by the enforcement of Federal antitrust laws, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 19, 2026 by Hillary Scholten · Last progress June 24, 2026
Adds an explicit antitrust-enforcement purpose to the federal small business policy statement and creates a new reporting requirement to measure how antitrust enforcement affects small businesses. The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission must produce biennial reports to the SBA Office of Advocacy showing complaint counts, inquiries, investigations, and enforcement actions related to small businesses; the SBA must summarize and send findings and recommendations to Congressional small business committees.