Dept. of Justice (DoJ) and FTC formally unveiled their revised an...

Dept. of Justice (DoJ) and FTC formally unveiled their revised antitrust review process Tues., saying new procedures would reduce length of reviews and “thereby allow both agencies to enforce antitrust laws more effectively.” DoJ and FTC said they delayed introduction of their memorandum of understanding after congressional request for more information earlier this year. Having apparently satisfied that request, they now have allocated primary responsibility for media and entertainment mergers to Justice. Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Hatch (Utah) said it was “sensible arrangement that will result in more efficiency and certainty in the antitrust review of many important transactions… I have long been concerned about past allocation of investigations to each agency, which resulted in substantial delays and wasted enforcement resources.” However, Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) said information submitted on issue was unconvincing and accused DoJ and FTC of trickery in moving proposal forward. Hollings, who also is chmn. of Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Subcommittee, said proposed changes in antitrust review process violated appropriations law. Without specifying what steps he might take, Hollings pledged action: “For some reason, this Administration doesn’t like government. Under the law, they're supposed to submit their restructuring proposal to Congress… We were in the middle of discussions on how to proceed, and they just moved forward on their own. It’s a tricky way to forego consultation. We have our tricks, too.” FTC Comr. Mozelle Thompson told us in an interview that he was “profoundly disappointed” with decision by FTC Chmn. Timothy Muris and Attorney Gen. John Ashcroft to proceed with antitrust agreement. He agreed with Hollings’ rejection of claim by Muris and Ashcroft that discussions with Congress had been sufficient: “Unfortunately, that dialog has not taken place.” Thompson said Justice and FTC leaders had “downplayed the deliberative process that the FTC brings” to complex matters such as AOL-Time Warner merger. He said it was ill-advised to give Justice sole oversight of matters involving creative content, software and product distribution, particularly without proper consultation with Congress: “I'm disappointed that they didn’t even avail themselves of the opportunity to gain a bipartisan agreement that would benefit all consumers.”