,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dfhf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #ai1       
#bjag,mr4 ,ellison 7for himself1 ,ms4   
,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 and ,mr4         
,cicilline7 introduced the following    
bill2 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   
competition1 and for other purposes4    
#a4 ,short ,title ,this ,act may be     
cited as the #bast ,century ,competition
 ,commission ,act of #bjag4  #b4        
,findings and sense of ,congress  7a7   
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,there is substantial evidence   
showing that competition has declined   
across the ,american political economy1 
resulting in concentrated control and   
ownership across sectors4  7#b7 ,this   
structural lack of competition is       
contributing to a host of harms1        
including greater wealth inequality1    

less innovation1 less entrepreneurship1 
and less resiliency1 with outsized      
harmful effects on minority and rural   
populations4  7b7 ,sense of ,congress   
,it is the sense of ,congress that--    
7#a7 while it is clear that the monopoly
 problem in the ,united ,states is      
threatening the economy and democracy of
 the ,united ,states1 additional        
information will help reveal the full   
scope of the problem and help guide     
industry-specific policy efforts2  7#b7 
insufficient and permissive enforcement 
by the ,department of ,justice and the  
,federal ,trade ,commission necessitates
 that ,congress convene this            
information-gathering exercise as a form
 of oversight2 and  7#c7 gathering and  
producing information will aid law      
enforcement by the ,department of       
,justice1 the ,federal ,trade           
,commission1 and ,attorneys ,general of 
the ,states1 and litigation efforts by  
private parties4  #c4 ,commission       
established  7a7 ,establishment ,there  

is established the ,national ,commission
 on ,economic ,concentration            
7hereinafter referred to as the         
,commission74  7b7 ,duties  7#a7 ,study 
,the ,commission shall conduct a study  
of economic concentration to determine  
the following3 7,a7 ,the extent of      
concentration in aggregate and in       
specific markets in specific sectors4   
7,b7 ,the extent of vertical integration
 in specific sectors and the effects of 
increasing vertical integration on      
commerce within such sectors4  7,c7 ,the
 extent to which changes in             
concentration and integration correspond
 to changes in-- 7i7 profits2  7ii7     
innovation2  7iii7 productivity2  7iv7  
new business formation2  7v7            
distribution of wealth and income2  7vi7
 wages2  7vii7 employment2  7viii7      
prices2 and  7ix7 non-price terms and   
conditions that adversely affect        
suppliers or consumers1 including       
reduced--  7,i7 quality of products or  
services2  7,,ii7 variety of products or

 services2  7,,iii7 protection of       
privacy2 and  7,,iv7 ability of the     
consumer to exercise legal rights1      
including the exercise of such rights   
through mandatory arbitration           
agreements4  7,d7 ,the effects          
concentration has on racial minorities  
and rural communities1 with respect to--
 7i7 credit and banking services2  7ii7 
food2  7iii7 access to affordable       
healthcare and medicine2  7iv7 fair and 
affordable housing2  7v7 affordable     
access to internet2 and  7vi7 energy and
 utilities4  7,e7 ,with respect to      
entrepreneurs and independent           
businesses1 the obstacles to business   
formation and expansion1 including the  
effects of rising concentration on the  
capability to enter markets and compete4
  7,f7 ,the effects of rising           
concentration on workers1 including     
employees and independent contractors1  
with respect to--  7i7 labor market     
competition2  7ii7 labor mobility2      
7iii7 wage and benefit levels2  7iv7    

wage distribution2  7v7 wage volatility2
 and  7vi7 other material benefits4     
7,g7 ,the effects of rising             
concentration on suppliers1 farmers1 and
 other upstream market participants1    
with respect to--  7i7 competition in   
markets for their products and services2
  7ii7 income levels2  7iii7 income     
distribution2 and  7iv7 income          
volatility4  7,h7 ,the effects of       
concentration on the resiliency of      
industrial1 financial1 and technological
 systems4  7,i7 ,the extent of          
concentration within banking and        
financial sectors and the effects of    
such concentration on lending and new   
business formation4  7,j7 ,with respect 
to major technology platforms that are  
dominant in a market sector-- 7i7 the   
extent of concentration of control of   
communication1 commerce1 and critical   
technology2  7ii7 the extent to which   
data1 critical technology1 and other    
assets that are available only to major 
technology platforms are being used to  

undermine competition2  7iii7 the       
effects of large-scale data acquisition 
on market stability2  7iv7 the effects  
of such concentration on new business   
formation1 investment flows1 and        
distribution of revenue and profits     
among firms2  7v7 the extent to which   
network effects allow major technology  
platforms to attain and maintain market 
power2 and  7vi7 in the online          
marketplace1 the extent to which        
competitors are capable of usurping the 
dominance of major technology platforms4
  7,k7 ,the extent of common ownership  
by institutional investors and the      
effects of such common ownership4  7,l7 
,the extent of distribution of patent1  
copyright1 and trademark ownership      
across firms4  7,m7 ,the causes of      
concentration and factors that          
exacerbate the adverse effects of such  
concentration4  7,n7 ,the relationship  
among concentration1 vertical           
integration1 firm size1 and corporate   
political activities1 including lobbying

 activities and donations to campaigns  
and political campaign committees4  7,o7
 ,the economic benefits and costs of the
 increase of mergers and conglomerates4 
7,p7 ,the extent of abuse of superior   
bargaining power between buyers and     
sellers4  7#b7 ,report ,not later than  
#c years after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 the ,commission shall    
submit to ,congress a report describing 
the results of such study4  7c7         
,membership  7#a7 ,composition of the   
,commission ,the ,commission shall be   
composed of #ae members appointed as    
follows3 7,a7 ,the ,speaker of the      
,house of ,representatives1 the minority
 leader of the ,house of                
,representatives1 the ,president pro    
tempore of the ,senate1 and the minority
 leader of the ,senate shall each       
appoint #a member from among the ,house 
of ,representatives and the ,senate4    
7,b7 ,the ,attorney ,general1 the ,chair
 of the ,federal ,trade ,commission1 and
 the ,chair of the ,federal ,reserve    

,board shall each appoint #a member4    
7,c7 ,the ,council of ,economic         
,advisers shall appoint by majority     
vote-- 7i7 #a member with expertise in  
labor organization2  7ii7 #a member with
 expertise in labor policy2  7iii7 #a   
member who is an executive of a business
 with fewer than #ejj employees2  7iv7  
#a member who is an executive of a      
business with greater than #e1jjj       
employees2  7v7 #a member from a        
consumer advocacy nongovernmental       
organization2  7vi7 #a member with      
expertise in industrial organization2   
7vii7 #a member with expertise in       
finance2 and  7viii7 #a member with     
expertise in investment4  7#b7 ,terms of
 office ,a member appointed under--     
7,a7 paragraph 7#a77;,a7 may serve so   
long as such member remains a ,member of
 the ,house of ,representatives or the  
,senate1 unless removed by the relevant 
appointing authority2  7,b7 paragraph   
7#a77;,b7 may serve for the life of the 
,commission1 unless removed by the      

relevant appointing authority2 and  7,c7
 paragraph 7#a77;,c7 may serve for the  
life of the ,commission1 unless removed 
by a majority vote of the ,council of   
,economic ,advisors4  7#c7 ,chair and   
vice chair ,the chair and vice chair of 
the ,commission shall be elected by a   
majority vote of the members of the     
,commission4  7#d7 ,vacancy ,a vacancy  
in the ,commission shall not affect the 
power of the remaining members to       
execute the functions of the ,commission
 and shall be filled in the same manner 
as the original appointment is made4    
7#e7 ,compensation  7,a7 ,nongovernment 
members ,except as provided in          
subparagraph 7,c71 members of the       
,commission shall be entitled to a sum  
equivalent to the compensation paid at  
level ,v of the ,executive ,schedule    
under section #ecae of title #e1 ,united
 ,states ,code4  7,b7 ,travel and per   
diem ,while away from their homes or    
regular places of business in the       
performance of services for the         

,commission1 members of the ,commission 
shall be allowed travel expenses1       
including per diem in lieu of           
subsistence1 in the same manner as the  
expenses authorized by section #egjc of 
title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 for    
persons in the ,government service      
employed intermittently4  7,c7          
,prohibition of compensation of federal 
officers or employees ,members of the   
,commission who are full-time officers  
or employees of the ,united ,states or  
,members of ,congress may not receive   
additional pay1 allowances1 or benefits 
in the nature of compensation by reason 
of their service on the ,commission4    
7d7 ,rules  7#a7 ,meetings ,the         
,commission shall meet at the call of   
the chair or a majority of members of   
the ,commission4  7#b7 ,quorum ,a       
majority of members of the ,commission  
shall constitute a quorum1 and actions  
by the ,commission shall be determined  
by a majority vote of the members       
present4  7#c7 ,proxy voting ,if unable 

to attend a meeting of the ,commission1 
a member of the ,commission appointed   
under subsection 7c77#a77;,c7 may       
authorize another member to act and vote
 on behalf of the absent member4  7#d7  
,attendance ,members appointed under    
subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 of subsection 
7c77#a7 shall be removed from the       
,commission and replaced by the relevant
 appointing authority if they attend    
fewer than two-thirds of the meetings of
 the ,commission4  7e7 ,administrative  
provisions  7#a7 ,hearings ,the         
,commission may for the purposes of     
carrying out this ,act hold such        
hearings1 sit and act at such times and 
places1 take such testimony1 and receive
 such evidence as the ,commission deems 
advisable4 ,the ,commission may         
administer oaths or affirmations to     
witnesses appearing before it4  7#b7    
,subpoena power ,the ,commission shall  
have power to issue subpoenas requiring 
the attendance and testimony of         
witnesses and the production of evidence

 that relates to any matter which the   
,commission is authorized to study under
 subsection 7b74  7#c7 ,access to       
,federal information ,the ,commission   
may secure directly from any executive  
department or agency of the ,united     
,states information reasonably necessary
 to enable it to carry out this ,act4   
,upon request of the chairman or vice   
chairman of the ,commission1 and        
consistent with any other law1 the head 
of an executive department or agency    
shall furnish such information to the   
,commission4  7#d7 ,agency ,when so     
authorized by the ,commission1 any      
member1 subcommittee1 or agent of the   
,commission may take any action which   
the ,commission is authorized to take by
 this section4  7#e7 ,staff  7,a7       
,appointment ,the chair of the          
,commission may1 without regard to the  
provisions of chapter #da of title #e1  
,united ,states ,code1 appoint and      
terminate such staff as are necessary to
 enable the ,commission to perform its  

duties4  7,b7 ,compensation ,the chair  
of the ,commission may fix the          
compensation of the staff without regard
 to the provisions of chapter #ea and   
subchapter ,,iii of chapter #ec of title
 #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 except that 
the rate of pay for the staff may not   
exceed the rate of basic pay payable for
 level ,v of the ,executive ,schedule   
under section #ecae of title #e1 ,united
 ,states ,code4  7,c7 ,experts and      
consultants ,the ,commission may procure
 temporary and intermittent services of 
experts and consultants under section   
#caji7;b7 of title #e1 ,united ,states  
,code1 but at rates for individuals not 
to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay 
for ,,gs-#ae of the ,general ,schedule4 
7#f7 ,facilities and support services   
,the ,administrator of ,general         
,services shall provide to the          
,commission on a reimbursable basis such
 facilities and support services as the 
,commission may request4  7#g7          
,expenditures and contracts ,the        

,commission or1 on authorization of the 
,commission1 a member of the ,commission
 may make expenditures and enter into   
contracts for the procurement of such   
supplies1 services1 and property as the 
,commission or such member considers to 
be appropriate for the purpose of       
carrying out this ,act4 ,such           
expenditures and contracts may be made  
only to the extent provided in advance  
in appropriation ,acts4  7#h7 ,mails    
,the ,commission may use the ,united    
,states mails in the same manner and    
under the same conditions as other      
departments and agencies of the ,united 
,states4  7#i7 ,gifts1 bequests1 and    
devises ,the ,commission may accept1    
use1 and dispose of gifts1 bequests1 or 
devises of services or property1 both   
real and personal1 for the purpose of   
aiding or facilitating the work of the  
,commission4 ,gifts1 bequests1 or       
devises of money and proceeds from sales
 of other property received as gifts1   
bequests1 or devises shall be deposited 

in the ,treasury and shall be available 
for disbursement upon order of the      
,commission4  7f7 ,termination ,the     
,commission shall terminate on the date 
that is #ahj days after the date on     
which the ,commission submits the report
 under subsection 7a77#b74  7g7         
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated a total
 amount of #ej1jjj1jjj for fiscal years 
#bjai through #bjba to carry out this   
,act4