Progressives pressure Schumer to call a vote on tech antitrust bills

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is being urged to act fast on two competition bills that would better equip antitrust enforcers to take on major tech firms.

In a letter sent to Schumer on Friday, more than a dozen Congressional Progressives Caucus leaders urged him to schedule a vote on two bills.

The legislation needs to be voted on by Congress. We urge you to schedule the vote on these bills in the near future.

The American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICO) and Open Markets Act were introduced on the heels of a congressional investigation into possible anticompetitive behavior by Amazon, Apple, and other companies. AICO would prohibit dominant platforms from favoring their own products or services over those of their competitors on their own platforms. The Open Markets Act would prevent Apple and other companies that operate app stores from setting rules that are too costly for developers.

In May, it was reported that Schumer wanted to hold a vote on AICO this summer if there were 60 senators who would approve it. Last week, The Washington Post reported that at least a dozen senators were undecided on how to vote. The measures would fail on the floor without the support of the democrats and republicans.

The bill they argue has overwhelming support from both progressive and conservative voters has not been stopped by that.

A group of people demanded that Schumer not be involved in any antitrust legislation for large tech companies. He had a conflict of interest as his daughters worked at Meta and Amazon.

The importance of passing her bill was emphasized in a nearly hour long floor speech this week. The dominant tech platforms have abused their power for a long time. Will America remain a place where entrepreneurs lead our economy or will we become a country where a few monopolists dictate who gets a chance to succeed?

There is no clear idea of the future of the bills. Competition bills can only be put up for a floor vote when there is a pressing legislative priority. If antitrust reform isn't passed before August, it's unlikely the bills will be approved this year.

Schumer was non-committal in the press conference. I'm in favor of these bills. Schumer said he wanted to bring them to the floor. If we have 60 votes, we have to look at it.