Congress demands antitrust agencies report on small-business protection

What it does

This bill requires the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to report every two years on how their antitrust enforcement affects small businesses—specifically tracking complaints from small businesses, investigations launched in response, and enforcement actions that deter anticompetitive conduct. The Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy then synthesizes these reports and recommends administrative or legislative actions to strengthen competition and protect small-business growth.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a reporting and data-collection mandate designed to illuminate how federal antitrust agencies' enforcement decisions affect small-business competition. It does not change substantive antitrust law or create new private rights; it creates visibility into existing enforcement.

What the text implies

• The bill does not mandate enforcement action—only reporting. Agencies could comply by documenting that they took no action on small-business complaints, creating a transparency record without forcing policy change.
• Disaggregation by industry category may reveal enforcement disparities, potentially exposing political or resource-allocation patterns in antitrust work.
• The Chief Counsel for Advocacy's recommendations carry no binding force; Congress may ignore them, making the bill's practical impact dependent on legislative follow-up.
• Defining 'small business' by reference to the Small Business Act's definition may exclude many competitive-harm victims who fall outside SBA size thresholds, limiting the scope of reported data.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill creates transparency and accountability mechanisms for antitrust enforcement without restricting citizens' rights or remedies. It mandates data collection and reporting on how federal agencies protect small businesses from anticompetitive harm, enabling Congress and the public to assess whether enforcement is adequate. No private parties are shielded from liability, and no public protections are weakened.

Named in the bill

Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Small Business Economic Policy Act of 1980, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, Small Business Act

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• May 19, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 19, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Small Business and Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Small Business”
• May 20, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• May 20, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 23 - 0”
• Jun 23, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4149-4150)”
• Jun 23, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Williams (TX) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $45,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Hillary Scholten, the sponsor, reported $769,940 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Main Street Competition Coalition — $45,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.