Nevadans go party on anti-trust

The U.S. House has approved H.R.2745, a measure that allegedly seeks to reconcile separate anti-trust enforcement activities of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, but which consumer advocates say would injure a regulatory process that protects the public. The action came on a nearly party line vote.

Within the Nevada delegation, it was a party line vote—Republican Reps. Mark Amodei, Cresent Hardy and Joe Heck voted for the bill and Democrat Dina Titus voted against.

The White House issued a statement calling the measure unnecessary: “While the process the FTC uses to challenge mergers differs from DOJ’s, there is no evidence that it affects outcomes or prejudices parties. The FTC and DOJ share joint guidelines that set forth a common analytical framework for reviewing mergers.”

Consumers Union and the American Academy of Family Physicians oppose the measure.