Washington, D.C. – In a letter that will be included in the House Antitrust Subcommittee’s congressional record, the American Economic Liberties Project and Public Citizen outlined recommendations to restore the country’s antitrust laws to help confront monopoly power and produce broad-based prosperity and economic freedom for all, not only the large corporations who dominate increasing number of markets.

In the letter, the organizations argue the House Antitrust Subcommittee ought to implement the recommendations made in the subcommittee’s digital markets report and eliminate the consolidation-friendly consumer welfare standard. By doing so, the subcommittee can return antitrust law to its original form, as a legal framework to protect citizens and communities from concentrated capital by disbursing private power.

As policymakers on both sides of the aisle recognize, economic concentration is now extreme. To address this crisis, Congress must retake the power to set antitrust standards and empower public and private enforcers to challenge monopolies. Additionally, Congress must disempower monopoly-friendly, confused judges by eliminating rule of reason analyses and put back in place bright-line rules clearly delineating fair and unfair conduct as well as per se standards or strong presumptions of illegality to judge that conduct.

For more information, see the full letter 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.