“It’s past time that the Majority Leader bring up our bipartisan antitrust bill cracking down on Big Tech’s anticompetitive behavior,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) explained to The Post. “We need a date certain for a vote, and I call on Sen. Schumer to name one — if not before August recess, then this fall.”
The renewed heat arrives as the Senate gears up for its last two legislative weeks before an August recess, after which many members will be consumed with midterm campaigns.
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“The Senate has spent weeks on either purely partisan legislating or inconsequential nominees,” Grassley griped.
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Grassley wants Schumer to hold votes for a bill he’s pushing alongside Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) that backers say would reduce the power of tech giants like Amazon and Meta to stifle market competition. Axios reported in May that Schumer was planning an “early summer” vote for the bill, yet that season has since come and gone.
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While Schumer has bided his time, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google combined have spent more than $35 million in only the first half of this year on lobbying attempts, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The companies have also flooded Beltway airwaves with commercials opposing antitrust bills and bought up ad space in influential newsletters like Politico Playbook.
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“Sen. Klobuchar and I have worked meticulously to prepare our legislation for a floor vote,” Grassley announced. “All the while, armies of lobbyists for the tech giants continue to mislead about our bill.”
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The Internet Innovation and Choice Act — or so-called “non-discrimination bill” — would stop platforms from “self-preferencing” their content. For example, Amazon would no longer be able to promote its own goods over third-party sellers on its e-commerce platform.
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Schumer has called a vote on a bill funding chipmakers and pushed to legalize marijuana, but he’s demurred on the antitrust bill. He has announced that he’s not ready to bring it up for the vote until the sponsors can prove they have 60 votes to pass it.
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Klobuchar and Grassley repeatedly promised that they have the necessary votes for the bill — yet when the Washington Post requested all 100 senators’ offices how they would vote earlier this month, the vast majority did not give a yes or no answer.
The telling of one senior GOP Senate aide leaves Grassley and Klobuchar with a “chicken and egg” problem.
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