As the 118th Congress rolls into its second month, Rep. Ken Buck said he's continuing to take on Big Tech and doing his best to reduce federal spending.
Buck in recent years has launched antitrust work targeting Big Tech, which he said poses a threat to people's First Amendment rights. Buck said he really began to understand the threats posed by Big Tech during a field hearing in Boulder. He said he's still in discussions with other lawmakers in the Senate to determine priorities on specific bills.
Last year, the U.S. House passed a three-tiered package of bills Buck hailed as "a major first step towards restoring competition and protecting American small businesses from the monopolistic conduct of Big Tech." Congress passed the bills in December as part of the omnibus bill.
The first bill updates filing fees for mergers, reducing fees for small and midsized firms while increasing them on large companies. The second allows antitrust actions by state attorneys general, to prevent "home-court advantages" for Big Tech companies. The third uses the merger notification process to require parties to disclose subsidies they've received from countries posing strategic or economic risks to the U.S.
Buck said he will work on reducing federal spending this year. He said he hopes to see Congress passing smaller appropriations bills instead of an omnibus bill as they work to find ways to cut federal spending.
Buck also plans to work on law enforcement-related bills, with his own background as a prosecutor, and the Farm Bill, which guides agricultural and food programs. Buck represents the 4th Congressional District, which encompasses much of eastern Colorado including parts of Weld County — hubs for agriculture in the state.
Buck expects his colleagues to be more cognizant of how to get to 218 votes needed to pass legislation given their small majority, but he's optimistic they'll move forward with a lot of different legislation.
Still, with other branches of government under Democratic control, Buck acknowledged it will be a tough session.
"Honestly, I think everything's going to be a challenge this session," he said. "I don't know how to avoid that. We're in the majority in the House, but it's a very small majority. And I'm concerned (with) a minority in the Senate and the White House is controlled by a Democrat.
"So I think what we do has to be thoughtful and considered by how we can get things passed in the Senate and signed by the president."
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