Opening Statement of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Re: Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on S 467 IS, the Antitrust Merger Review Act. Date: April 13, 1999. Source: Senate Judiciary Committee.

Statement of Senator Orrin G. Hatch
Before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights
and Competition
Senate Judiciary Committee
Hearing on S. 467, The Antitrust Merger Review Act:
Accelerating FCC Review of Mergers

I would like to begin by extending my appreciation to Senators Dewine and Kohl, the Chairman and Ranking Member of this Subcommittee, respectively, for their tremendous efforts in making today's hearing possible, and beginning a meaningful dialogue on the important issue of FCC’s review of mergers in the communications industry.

In light of the increasingly numerous mergers in the communications industry, and the ever increasing importance of telecommunications services in our society, whether it is telephone or Internet services, I am pleased that we will have an opportunity to hear today from affected parties on some of the regulatory burdens faced by this industry.

As we see more and more mergers in the communications industry wait longer and longer to obtain approval from the FCC for their mergers, we must pause to see what is causing this delay. Unnecessary and unwarranted delays in the approval process could mean delayed competition in certain markets; delayed deployment of new technologies; and delayed delivery of improved services to consumers, whether they are in my home State of Utah or anywhere else across the nation. We must determine what is causing this delay and whether it is warranted and address it properly.

I believe that the legislation introduced by Senators Dewine and Kohl, S. 467, is an important step in the right direction in addressing some of the concerns. This legislation, loosely based on the Hart-Scott-Rodino merger review process, would impose time limits on FCC’s review of certain telecommunications transaction. Namely, it affects those transactions required to be reported under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

The FCC has been increasingly ambitious in interpreting its statutory authority, under sections 214 and 310 of the Telecommunications Act, to assert jurisdiction over telecommunications mergers that happen to include transfers of licenses. The Telecommunications Act provides the FCC with the authority to review applications to transfer licenses to ensure that “the public interest, convenience and necessity” will be served. These are important functions, and the FCC’s activities and expertise in this area is important. However, the Commission’s regulatory authority is limited. It does not include review of every aspect of a merger, and certainly does not include the review of the merger for its potentially broader competitive impact within the industry.

That is a review properly performed and reserved to the antitrust enforcers at the Department of Justice and the FTC. As Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth, wrote in his recent concurrence in the AT&T-TCI matter, the FCC’s work “often duplicates that of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.”

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate, the FCC, the Department of Justice and those in industry to ensure a proper procedure for the review of communications industry mergers that results in a fair and workable system for all Americans. I look forward to working with Senators Dewine and Kohl in addressing some of these issues by imposing certain time limits in the FCC review of telecommunications mergers, as proposed in S. 467.