Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer Delivers Remarks at the First Public Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing Meeting

Thank you, Chair Khan. As the Chair mentioned, I am the Acting Associate Attorney General at the Department of Justice. As part of that role, I oversee the Antitrust Division and the Civil Division, both of which play an important role in the Strike Force’s work.

I am joined today by the heads of those divisions: Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton. You will hear more from them in a minute about specific actions their divisions are taking to combat unfair and illegal practices that cause Americans to pay higher prices.

But first I’d like to take a few moments to describe our work at a high level. Here at the Justice Department, we are addressing these practices across a broad range of industries using every legal tool at our disposal.

We are applying the antitrust laws to tackle unlawful behavior that affects the prices Americans pay on a daily basis. Our investigations have led to the abandonment of mergers that would increase the price of staples that Americans purchase at the grocery store. And we’ve sued companies that facilitate the sharing of competitively sensitive information among meat processors—behavior that raises the price of chicken, turkey, and pork.

In the transportation industry, we have successfully challenged an airline merger that would lead to higher ticket prices for travelers. Our Consumer Protection Branch and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have prosecuted individuals who have raised the prices of used cars by rolling back odometer readings and falsifying vehicle titles. And our Commercial Litigation Branch has sued companies for forcing car buyers to pay for costly and unnecessary insurance.

In health care, we have held pharmaceutical companies accountable for depriving Americans of affordable access to prescription drugs. And we’ve sued telehealth providers for misusing patient information and imposing burdensome cancellation processes that keep consumers stuck in subscriptions longer than they want.

Finally, we are combatting fraudulent schemes that raise prices on government contracts and services. Through our False Claims Act work and our Procurement Collusion Strike Force, we are holding accountable those who defraud Americans and steal from taxpayer-funded programs. Our work spans industries from defense to healthcare. And it has led to the recovery of billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for the public fisc.

This is a just a snapshot of the work DOJ is doing to address unfair and illegal conduct that affects prices. We look forward to working with you all to identify ways that we can collaborate to expand on this work.  

With that, I’ll turn it over to the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, Jonathan Kanter.