One Agency Act

Summary

Consolidates federal civil antitrust enforcement by moving the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust functions, cases, employees, assets, and funding into the Department of Justice and giving the Attorney General primary authority over antitrust enforcement. The law sets a transition period with rules for transferring investigations and resources, limits the FTC’s ability to open new independent Section 5 investigations during transition, requires numerous statutory edits to replace FTC references with the Attorney General, and sets an effective date tied to the start of the first fiscal year beginning at least 90 days after enactment.

Key Points

• Consolidates federal civil antitrust enforcement by moving FTC antitrust functions into the DOJ.
• Transfers pending FTC antitrust cases, investigative files, antitrust employees, assets, and related funding to the Department of Justice during a defined transition period.
• Limits the FTC’s independent ability to initiate new Section 5 investigations during the transition except with Attorney General approval for ongoing matters.
• Grants the Attorney General authority to reorganize and operate federal antitrust enforcement and to issue rules for the transition.
• Preserves ongoing investigations, litigations, confidentiality protections, and evidence during transfer.
• Requires widespread technical and conforming edits across statutes to substitute the Attorney General for prior FTC references.
• Sets the act to take effect at the start of the first fiscal year beginning at least 90 days after enactment (unless specified otherwise).
• Does not create new programs or broad new spending; primarily reorganizes existing enforcement functions and funding.
• Creates potential for changes in enforcement priorities by centralizing authority within DOJ.
• Includes procedural safeguards and a possible Attorney General extension to reduce disruption during the transition.

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