UH Law Professor Darren Bush Responds to Klobuchar Antitrust Bill, Calls for More Reform
- As fallout continues from the Department of Justice’s recent settlement with Live Nation, a deal widely criticized for failing to curb the company’s dominance in the live-entertainment market, University of Houston Law Center’s Professor Darren Bush is weighing in on a new congressional effort to tighten federal oversight of corporate mergers and antitrust settlements. He offered both praise and a warning that more work is needed.
Bush, who specializes in federal antitrust policy, was listed by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office as one of the experts supporting the newly filed Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act in the official press release on Tuesday. The proposed legislation seeks to strengthen and modernize the Tunney Act, the 1974 law requiring judicial review of antitrust settlement.
“The bill more clearly delineates the powers of the courts versus the powers of the executive branch. Over time, some courts, particularly those in the D.C. Circuit, have ignored the will of Congress and sought to rubber stamp every consent decree.” Bush said. “Senator Klobuchar’s bill helps correct that drift, but true reform is needed…making it even clearer that, once a case is filed in federal court, it is the judiciary’s responsibility to ensure that the outcome serves the public.”
Under Klobuchar’s proposal, federal enforcers would have to disclose previous settlement offers, explain how settlements address antitrust concerns and reveal side agreements not spelled out on consent decrees. The bill also expands court review authority to the Federal Trade Commission and allows State Attorneys General to intervene in Tunney Act hearings as a matter of right.
Bush, who has written extensively on the erosion of judicial authority under the Tunney Act, said he welcomes Congress’ attention to the law that his late co-author John J. Flynn helped design more than 50 years ago.
He noted, in a LinkedIn post, that Flynn was instrumental in shaping the original statute and that the 2004 amendment cited their joint scholarship. “So today is a good day,” Bush wrote.
In a published opinion piece in the “The Sling, he called the proposal a strong start but one with gaps that still needed to be addressed. Bush’s full commentary is available here: Why Voters Should Support Senator Klobuchar’s ‘‘Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act’’ - The Sling
