I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4686 

To establish the National Commission on Economic Concentration to study 

the effects of economic concentration on competition, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 19, 2017 

Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. POCAN, and Mr. CICILLINE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish the National Commission on Economic Concentration to study the effects of economic concentration 

on competition, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Competi5 tion Commission Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) There is substantial evidence showing that 

9 competition has declined across the American politVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Dec 20, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4686.IH H4686

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1 ical economy, resulting in concentrated control and 

2 ownership across sectors. 

3 (2) This structural lack of competition is con4 tributing to a host of harms, including greater 

5 wealth inequality, less innovation, less entrepreneur6 ship, and less resiliency, with outsized harmful ef7 fects on minority and rural populations. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) while it is clear that the monopoly problem 

11 in the United States is threatening the economy and 

12 democracy of the United States, additional informa13 tion will help reveal the full scope of the problem 

14 and help guide industry-specific policy efforts; 

15 (2) insufficient and permissive enforcement by 

16 the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade 

17 Commission necessitates that Congress convene this 

18 information-gathering exercise as a form of over19 sight; and 

20 (3) gathering and producing information will 

21 aid law enforcement by the Department of Justice, 

22 the Federal Trade Commission, and Attorneys Gen23 eral of the States, and litigation efforts by private 

24 parties. 


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1 SEC. 3. COMMISSION ESTABLISHED. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na3 tional Commission on Economic Concentration (herein4 after referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 (b) DUTIES.— 

6 (1) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a 

7 study of economic concentration to determine the 

8 following: 

9 (A) The extent of concentration in aggre10 gate and in specific markets in specific sectors. 

11 (B) The extent of vertical integration in 

12 specific sectors and the effects of increasing 

13 vertical integration on commerce within such 

14 sectors. 

15 (C) The extent to which changes in con16 centration and integration correspond to 

17 changes in— 

18 (i) profits; 

19 (ii) innovation; 

20 (iii) productivity; 

21 (iv) new business formation; 

22 (v) distribution of wealth and income; 

23 (vi) wages; 

24 (vii) employment; 

25 (viii) prices; and 


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1 (ix) non-price terms and conditions 

2 that adversely affect suppliers or con3 sumers, including reduced— 

4 (I) quality of products or serv5 ices; 

6 (II) variety of products or serv7 ices; 

8 (III) protection of privacy; and 

9 (IV) ability of the consumer to 

10 exercise legal rights, including the ex11 ercise of such rights through manda12 tory arbitration agreements. 

13 (D) The effects concentration has on racial 

14 minorities and rural communities, with respect 

15 to— 

16 (i) credit and banking services; 

17 (ii) food; 

18 (iii) access to affordable healthcare 

19 and medicine; 

20 (iv) fair and affordable housing; 

21 (v) affordable access to internet; and 

22 (vi) energy and utilities. 

23 (E) With respect to entrepreneurs and 

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1 fects of rising concentration on the capability to 

2 enter markets and compete. 

3 (F) The effects of rising concentration on 

4 workers, including employees and independent 

5 contractors, with respect to— 

6 (i) labor market competition; 

7 (ii) labor mobility; 

8 (iii) wage and benefit levels; 

9 (iv) wage distribution; 

10 (v) wage volatility; and 

11 (vi) other material benefits. 

12 (G) The effects of rising concentration on 

13 suppliers, farmers, and other upstream market 

14 participants, with respect to— 

15 (i) competition in markets for their 

16 products and services; 

17 (ii) income levels; 

18 (iii) income distribution; and 

19 (iv) income volatility. 

20 (H) The effects of concentration on the re21 siliency of industrial, financial, and techno22 logical systems. 

23 (I) The extent of concentration within 

24 banking and financial sectors and the effects of 


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1 such concentration on lending and new business 

2 formation. 

3 (J) With respect to major technology plat4 forms that are dominant in a market sector— 

5 (i) the extent of concentration of con6 trol of communication, commerce, and crit7 ical technology; 

8 (ii) the extent to which data, critical 

9 technology, and other assets that are avail10 able only to major technology platforms 

11 are being used to undermine competition; 

12 (iii) the effects of large-scale data ac13 quisition on market stability; 

14 (iv) the effects of such concentration 

15 on new business formation, investment 

16 flows, and distribution of revenue and prof17 its among firms; 

18 (v) the extent to which network effects 

19 allow major technology platforms to attain 

20 and maintain market power; and 

21 (vi) in the online marketplace, the ex22 tent to which competitors are capable of 

23 usurping the dominance of major tech24 nology platforms. 


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1 (K) The extent of common ownership by 

2 institutional investors and the effects of such 

3 common ownership. 

4 (L) The extent of distribution of patent, 

5 copyright, and trademark ownership across 

6 firms. 

7 (M) The causes of concentration and fac8 tors that exacerbate the adverse effects of such 

9 concentration. 

10 (N) The relationship among concentration, 

11 vertical integration, firm size, and corporate po12 litical activities, including lobbying activities 

13 and donations to campaigns and political cam14 paign committees. 

15 (O) The economic benefits and costs of the 

16 increase of mergers and conglomerates. 

17 (P) The extent of abuse of superior bar18 gaining power between buyers and sellers. 

19 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

21 shall submit to Congress a report describing the re22 sults of such study. 

23 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (1) COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION.—The 

2 Commission shall be composed of 15 members ap3 pointed as follows: 

4 (A) The Speaker of the House of Rep5 resentatives, the minority leader of the House 

6 of Representatives, the President pro tempore 

7 of the Senate, and the minority leader of the 

8 Senate shall each appoint 1 member from 

9 among the House of Representatives and the 

10 Senate. 

11 (B) The Attorney General, the Chair of the 

12 Federal Trade Commission, and the Chair of 

13 the Federal Reserve Board shall each appoint 1 

14 member. 

15 (C) The Council of Economic Advisers 

16 shall appoint by majority vote— 

17 (i) 1 member with expertise in labor 

18 organization; 

19 (ii) 1 member with expertise in labor 

20 policy; 

21 (iii) 1 member who is an executive of 

22 a business with fewer than 500 employees; 

23 (iv) 1 member who is an executive of 

24 a business with greater than 5,000 employ25 ees; 


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1 (v) 1 member from a consumer advo2 cacy nongovernmental organization; 

3 (vi) 1 member with expertise in indus4 trial organization; 

5 (vii) 1 member with expertise in fi6 nance; and 

7 (viii) 1 member with expertise in in8 vestment. 

9 (2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—A member appointed 

10 under— 

11 (A) paragraph (1)(A) may serve so long as 

12 such member remains a Member of the House 

13 of Representatives or the Senate, unless re14 moved by the relevant appointing authority; 

15 (B) paragraph (1)(B) may serve for the 

16 life of the Commission, unless removed by the 

17 relevant appointing authority; and 

18 (C) paragraph (1)(C) may serve for the life 

19 of the Commission, unless removed by a major20 ity vote of the Council of Economic Advisors. 

21 (3) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The chair and 

22 vice chair of the Commission shall be elected by a 

23 majority vote of the members of the Commission. 

24 (4) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the Commission 

25 shall not affect the power of the remaining members 


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1 to execute the functions of the Commission and shall 

2 be filled in the same manner as the original appoint3 ment is made. 

4 (5) COMPENSATION.— 

5 (A) NONGOVERNMENT MEMBERS.—Except 

6 as provided in subparagraph (C), members of 

7 the Commission shall be entitled to a sum 

8 equivalent to the compensation paid at level V 

9 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

10 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (B) TRAVEL AND PER DIEM.—While away 

12 from their homes or regular places of business 

13 in the performance of services for the Commis14 sion, members of the Commission shall be al15 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

16 of subsistence, in the same manner as the ex17 penses authorized by section 5703 of title 5, 

18 United States Code, for persons in the Govern19 ment service employed intermittently. 

20 (C) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF

21 FEDERAL OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES.—Members 

22 of the Commission who are full-time officers or 

23 employees of the United States or Members of 

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1 ances, or benefits in the nature of compensation 

2 by reason of their service on the Commission. 

3 (d) RULES.— 

4 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

5 the call of the chair or a majority of members of the 

6 Commission. 

7 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of members of the 

8 Commission shall constitute a quorum, and actions 

9 by the Commission shall be determined by a major10 ity vote of the members present. 

11 (3) PROXY VOTING.—If unable to attend a 

12 meeting of the Commission, a member of the Com13 mission appointed under subsection (c)(1)(C) may 

14 authorize another member to act and vote on behalf 

15 of the absent member. 

16 (4) ATTENDANCE.—Members appointed under 

17 subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (c)(1) shall 

18 be removed from the Commission and replaced by 

19 the relevant appointing authority if they attend 

20 fewer than two-thirds of the meetings of the Com21 mission. 

22 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

23 (1) HEARINGS.—The Commission may for the 

24 purposes of carrying out this Act hold such hearings, 

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1 mony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

2 deems advisable. The Commission may administer 

3 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before 

4 it. 

5 (2) SUBPOENA POWER.—The Commission shall 

6 have power to issue subpoenas requiring the attend7 ance and testimony of witnesses and the production 

8 of evidence that relates to any matter which the 

9 Commission is authorized to study under subsection 

10 (b). 

11 (3) ACCESS TO FEDERAL INFORMATION.—The 

12 Commission may secure directly from any executive 

13 department or agency of the United States informa14 tion reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out 

15 this Act. Upon request of the chairman or vice 

16 chairman of the Commission, and consistent with 

17 any other law, the head of an executive department 

18 or agency shall furnish such information to the 

19 Commission. 

20 (4) AGENCY.—When so authorized by the Com21 mission, any member, subcommittee, or agent of the 

22 Commission may take any action which the Commis23 sion is authorized to take by this section. 

24 (5) STAFF.— 


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1 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The chair of the 

2 Commission may, without regard to the provi3 sions of chapter 41 of title 5, United States 

4 Code, appoint and terminate such staff as are 

5 necessary to enable the Commission to perform 

6 its duties. 

7 (B) COMPENSATION.—The chair of the 

8 Commission may fix the compensation of the 

9 staff without regard to the provisions of chapter 

10 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 

11 United States Code, except that the rate of pay 

12 for the staff may not exceed the rate of basic 

13 pay payable for level V of the Executive Sched14 ule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

15 Code. 

16 (C) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The 

17 Commission may procure temporary and inter18 mittent services of experts and consultants 

19 under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

20 Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed 

21 the maximum rate of basic pay for GS–15 of 

22 the General Schedule. 

23 (6) FACILITIES AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—The 

24 Administrator of General Services shall provide to 

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1 ties and support services as the Commission may re2 quest. 

3 (7) EXPENDITURES AND CONTRACTS.—The 

4 Commission or, on authorization of the Commission, 

5 a member of the Commission may make expendi6 tures and enter into contracts for the procurement 

7 of such supplies, services, and property as the Com8 mission or such member considers to be appropriate 

9 for the purpose of carrying out this Act. Such ex10 penditures and contracts may be made only to the 

11 extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. 

12 (8) MAILS.—The Commission may use the 

13 United States mails in the same manner and under 

14 the same conditions as other departments and agen15 cies of the United States. 

16 (9) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The 

17 Commission may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, 

18 bequests, or devises of services or property, both real 

19 and personal, for the purpose of aiding or facili20 tating the work of the Commission. Gifts, bequests, 

21 or devises of money and proceeds from sales of other 

22 property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall 

23 be deposited in the Treasury and shall be available 

24 for disbursement upon order of the Commission. 


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1 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

2 on the date that is 180 days after the date on which the 

3 Commission submits the report under subsection (a)(2). 

4 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated a total amount of 

6 $50,000,000 for fiscal years 2019 through 2021 to carry 

7 out this Act. 

Æ 


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