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United States · Bill · HR

H.R. 3169 (96th)

Small and Independent Business Protection Act of 1979

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

21 March 1979

Last action

21 March 1979 · Introduced

Status

Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

Rep. Seiberling, John F. [D-OH-14], Rep. Bedell, Berkley W. [D-IA-6], Rep. Bonior, David E. [D-MI-10], Rep. Dixon, Julian C. [D-CA-32], Rep. Drinan, Robert F. [D-MA-4], Rep. Edgar, Robert W. [D-PA-7], Rep. Edwards, Don [D-CA-10], Rep. Flood, Daniel J. [D-PA-11], Rep. Mikva, Abner J. [D-IL-10], Rep. Stokes, Louis [D-OH-11], Rep. Vento, Bruce F. [D-MN-4], Rep. Weaver, James H. [D-OR-4], Rep. Weiss, Ted [D-NY-17], Rep. Mitchell, Parren J. [D-MD-7], Rep. Carr, Bob [D-MI-8], Rep. Sabo, Martin Olav [D-MN-5], Rep. Oberstar, James L. [D-MN-8], Rep. Mineta, Norman Y. [D-CA-15], Rep. Brodhead, William [D-MI-17], Rep. Guyer, Tennyson [R-OH-4], Rep. Williams, Pat [D-MT-At Large], Rep. Corman, James C. [D-CA-21], Rep. Erdahl, Arlen [R-MN-1], Rep. Wilson, Charles [D-TX-2], Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-NY-18], Rep. Wolpe, Howard E. [D-MI-3], Rep. Pease, Donald J. [D-OH-13], Rep. Stark, Fortney Pete [D-CA-13], Rep. Goodling, William F. [R-PA-19]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

2 September 2025

Official sourceView documentsShare

Summary

Small and Independent Business Protection Act of 1979 - Prohibits mergers, consolidations, and direct or indirect stock acquisitions sufficient to effectuate a transfer of control between legal entities if: (1) each entity has assets or sales exceeding $350,000,000; or (2) one entity has assets or sales exceeding $350,000,000 and the other entity has 20 percent or more of the sales during the calendar year immediately preceding the acquisition in any line of commerce with annual sales exceeding $100,000,000 in any section of the country. Establishes the following affirmative defenses in actions based on such prohibited transactions: (1) the transaction will have the preponderant effect of substantially enhancing competition; (2) the transaction will result in substantial efficiencies, including economies of scale in manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or research and development; or (3) within one year preceding or succeeding the transaction, the parties shall have divested one or more viable business units with assets and revenues equal to or greater than the assets and revenues of the smaller party to the transaction. Precludes the use of any such affirmative defense, if: (1) one of the parties to the transaction has within the preceding year been a party to another prohibited transaction or (2) each of the entities involved in the transaction has assets or sales exceeding $2,000,000,000. Authorizes the Attorney General of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission to enforce this Act. Directs the Attorney General and the Commission to establish procedures to enable parties to obtain a binding determination that a proposed transaction falls within the terms of any of the affirmative defenses. Empowers the courts to grant injunctive relief to private parties under the terms and conditions prescribed by the Clayton Act.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 21 March 1979

    Introduced

    Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 21 March 1979

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 21 March 1979

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

1 official file

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Sources

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