Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and seven other Democratic Sens called on the Federal Communications Commission to issue a public notice and seek public comment on the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint in light of the Proposed Final Judgment and a Stipulation and Order (Consent Decree) recently filed by the Department of Justice. “We remain concerned about the lack of transparency in the FCC’s merger review process and the lack of certainty on whether this merger will protect competition and consumers," the Senators wrote.

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced new legislation to crack down on monopolies that violate antitrust law. The Monopolization Deterrence Act would give the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission the authority to seek civil penalties for monopolization offenses under the antitrust laws, a power they currently do not have. The bill was introduced with Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and co-sponsored by Sens Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA). Specifically, the Monopolization Deterrence Act would:

Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim on potential political interference in the T-Mobile and Sprint merger investigations. Recent reports indicate that senior White House officials may be attempting to insert their views into the Antitrust Division’s investigation into the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Mark Warner (D-VA) reintroduced the Honest Ads Act to help prevent foreign interference in future elections and improve the transparency of online political advertisements. Sen Graham carries on the bipartisan legacy of the bill from the late Sen John McCain (R-AZ).  The Honest Ads Act ensures that political ads sold online are covered by the same rules as ads sold on TV, radio, and satellite. The Act:

Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), co-chairs of the Senate Broadband Caucus, reintroduced the Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act. While the federal government measures the economic impact of many industries, it does not produce current, reliable statistics on the economic impact of broadband on the US economy.

Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced bipartisan legislation to improve the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband coverage maps. The Improving Broadband Mapping Accuracy Act directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking to consider using consumer-reported data and state and local data from government entities to improve broadband mapping accuracy while also considering ways that both fixed and mobile coverage data can be challenged.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) reintroduced two pieces of legislation to modernize antitrust enforcement and promote competition. 1) The Merger Enforcement Improvement Act would update existing law to reflect the current economy and provide agencies with better information post-merger to ensure that merger enforcement is meeting its goals.

To accommodate a 21st-century workforce, we need to make sure we have 21st-century infrastructure. No serious infrastructure plan is complete without addressing broadband expansion. There is strong bipartisan support for including broadband funding in any infrastructure package, and that's good news. As we expand access to broadband, we must also do more to protect people's data online.

Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) led a bipartisan group of thirty-nine Sens in a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission to ensure its commitment to affordable and reliable broadband for consumers in hardest to reach communities across rural America. “A lack of resources to meet our [shared national broadband] goals is undermining investment and consumer access to affordable broadband across much of rural America. For this reason, we write to encourage the FCC to take the much-needed step of addressing the High-Cost Universal Service Fund budget shortfall,” the senators wrote.

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, 14 U.S. senators express extreme concern will plans to roll back network neutrality rules.

Net neutrality is particularly important to women, as it affords women-owned businesses and startups an even playing field when competing with more established brands and content. Between 2007 and 2016, while the total number of firms increased by 9 percent, the number of women-owned firms increased by 45 percent - meaning that over this period the number of women-owned firms grew at a rate fully five times the national average.1 This growth mirrors the emergence of the Internet as a platform for economic growth. The online sales platform, Etsy, is another example of how women thrive under a free and open Internet. Under the current net neutrality regime, Etsy has empowered sellers in every state across the country, 87 percent of whom are women. An open Internet is also vital to providing a platform for elevating voices that are underrepresented or marginalized in traditional media, an experience many women in media know well. When turned away by traditional media outlets, many female creators have found a home and an audience for their stories on the open Internet. The vast array of online media platforms enabled by net neutrality give creators permission-less access to viewers, providing autonomy for women of every color and creed to tell rich, compelling stories in their own voices. In addition, an open Internet has allowed women to organize and create positive change in their communities.