Advocacy groups make last-ditch plea to Schumer for vote on antitrust bills

A coalition of advocacy groups is making a last-ditch plea to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to prioritize passing several antitrust bills targeting tech giants with just three weeks to go before the end of the year, and only two until Christmas.

The groups are sending a letter to Schumer on Friday arguing that “this historic opportunity to reinvigorate competition risks being rendered a historical footnote” without votes on bipartisan legislation before Democrats lose their control of the House next year, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Hill. 

Although the bills have bipartisan support in both chambers, House Republicans set for leadership positions in January have indicated they would not prioritize the antitrust bills, opting instead to focus on an agenda targeting content moderation measures they’ve accused of being biased against conservatives. 

The letter, led by the Omidyar-funded Tech Oversight Project, renewed advocates’ request for a vote on two proposals that advanced out of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act. 

The first aims to limit dominant tech firms from preferring their own products and services. A spokesperson for Schumer said over the summer that the majority leader was working with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), the lead Democrat on the bill, to “gather the needed votes” and plans to bring it for a vote. In the four months since, he has not called the bills to a vote or publicly detailed plans to do so.

The Open App Markets Act, led by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), aims to keep dominant app stores from imposing restrictions critics say are anticompetitive and hurt app developers. Senators are planning to hotline the bill, bypassing regular Senate procedure and moving it forward with little to no floor debate, a Blackburn spokesperson confirmed Thursday. 

The bill may not pass through the measure, but it could give supporters an indication of holdouts on the legislation by bringing it forward publicly. 

The letter to Schumer also urges him to call a vote on a three-piece package of legislation that would boost antitrust enforcers’ ability to take on powerful tech firms. The trio of bills passed in the House in September in a 242-184 vote, with 39 Republicans joining most Democrats in favor of the legislation.

Supporters of the broader antitrust reform effort lauded the successful House vote as a win in a proxy battle to show bipartisan support for the reform efforts. 

The advocates highlighted support from the White House on the proposals, as well, quoting press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre from a November briefing. 

“There’s bipartisan support for these antitrust bills and no reason why Congress can’t act before the end of the year,” Jean-Pierre said at the time. 

At the same briefing, Jean-Pierre said the White House is “committed to moving ambitious tech antitrust legislation” and is “stepping up engagement” during the lame-duck session. 

“There seems to be a disconnect between what the White House is throwing down and what Congress is picking up,” Tech Oversight Project Executive Director Sacha Haworth said in a statement. 

“We’ve long been promised a Senate vote, and with mere days left on the calendar, the time to come good is now,” she added.

The letter is also signed by Accountable Tech, the Athena Coalition, Consumer Reports, Demand Progress, Economic Security Project Action, Fight for the Future, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Public Citizen and Public Knowledge. 

The letter to Schumer is the latest in a long line of lobbying efforts on behalf of advocacy groups to secure a vote on the antitrust bills. The proposals, though, have faced fierce pushback from tech giants and industry groups that support them. 

The tech critics have argued the bills could lead to the dismantling of services consumers enjoy, such as Amazon’s Prime subscription, or mitigate tech companies’ ability to moderate content online. 

Supporters have dismissed the arguments as red herrings and said the proposals would not lead to such outcomes. Rather, supporters argue the proposals would improve services offered to customers and content moderation methods by invigorating competition in the industry.