Is antitrust enforcement sufficiently forward-looking and flexible to deal with changing marketplace realities?.Can antitrust enforcement occur without undue burden on businesses?.Does federal antitrust enforcement make a real difference to consumers, taxpayers and the general public - including the business community?.In a speech earlier this year, (6) I suggested that antitrust enforcement - like any federal program - to prove its worth, needs to demonstrate to the public and the Congress that it can satisfactorily answer three basic questions: In so doing, I think it would be helpful to apply the three-part framework that I have used in assessing the Commission's antitrust enforcement program as a whole. Today I would like to review the impact of the statute's premerger notification provisions, how they have been applied, and what might lie ahead for the future. In fiscal year 1979, the first full year of reporting under the premerger rules, (4) only 861 transactions were filed. In fiscal year 1996, a total of 3,087 reportable transactions were filed with the Commission and the Department of Justice ("the antitrust agencies"). There has been tremendous growth in merger activity since the statute was enacted. HSR has become essential for antitrust to keep pace with our dynamic economy. Premerger notification under HSR has dramatically changed the way the antitrust agencies conduct merger enforcement, and both consumers and the business community have benefited. At the time of its enactment, it was described as one of the most far-reaching changes in antitrust enforcement since the passage of the Clayton Act in 1914. (2) "Celebrate" may not be the word of choice for everyone, but friend or foe, the statute has affected all of us profoundly. One month ago, on September 30, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 ("HSR Act" or "HSR").
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