Shortly before the House adjourned for the August district work period, the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the House Appropriations Committee passed the Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. Amongst the agencies funded by this bill is the Federal Trade Commission(FTC). The bill reduces the FTC’s budget by $37 million or 8.7%. The bill also forbids the FTC from using taxpayer funds to make any changes in the pre-merger approval process.
This stops the FTC from implementing Biden-era FTC Chair Lina Khan’s proposed revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodin Act (HSR) pre-merger notification form. Businesses planning a significant merger must file this form with the FTC and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division for “pre-approval” of the merger.
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