Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project and State Innovation Exchange released a statement following a group public comment submission, signed by 56 state legislators from 22 states, supporting the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s proposed updated merger guidelines.

“Unchecked corporate consolidation has pushed down wages, harmed workers, destroyed local businesses, and enabled the extraction of resources from local communities for too long. We applaud this diverse set of state lawmakers for backing the FTC and DOJ’s efforts to help swing the pendulum of power back toward communities and away from dominant corporations,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “State lawmakers are on the front lines of combating corporate power, and these merger guidelines, alongside robust state enforcement and new state legislation, will ensure that merger policy reflects the needs of communities and the intent of the antitrust laws.”

“From rural America to urban cores, state legislators from 22 states across the country are organizing in support of these merger guidelines and challenging corporate monopolies, “ said Ida V. Eskamani, Senior Director of Legislative Affairs at State Innovation Exchange. “State legislators know firsthand the negative impacts corporate monopolies have on the communities they serve — denying workers fair wage and benefits, increasing costs for consumers, and decimating local businesses — all while corporate executives walk away with multi-million dollar paydays. The consolidation of our economy and democracy in the hands of the elite few is a threat to us all, and disproportionately denies working families and communities of color a fair shot. We applaud these legislators for their leadership.”

As the comment says, “The proposed guidelines are a critical update that will better reflect the harms of mergers on the communities we represent. They will enable the FTC and the DOJ to better enforce the antitrust laws as they are written, building a critical bulwark between our constituents and further unchecked corporate consolidation, power, and greed.” You can read the full letter and see a list of signatories here.

Read the comment here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.