After Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senators announce they plan to send a letter to the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission calling on the agencies to examine concerns about the proposed merger

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) today released the following statements following the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger. The Senators questioned Comcast and Time Warner executives as well as industry experts on the proposed merger’s impact on prices, programming and service for consumers as well as how it would affect access to the Internet. Klobuchar is chair and Lee is ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights. After the hearing, Klobuchar and Lee said that they plan to send a letter to the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission calling on the agencies to examine concerns regarding the proposed merger. 

“Consumers deserve fair prices and high quality service for their TV and Internet access, and that’s why we need to ensure competition in the cable and broadband markets,” Klobuchar said. Today’s hearing was an opportunity to look at how this merger would impact prices and service, change Comcast’s control over what people are able to watch, and how it would affect people’s access to the Internet, as well as a number of other issues. Senator Lee and I plan to follow up with the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission regarding these concerns, and I will continue to work to ensure we’re doing everything we can to protect consumers and boost competition.”

“The proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable raises significant issues in important markets for consumers,” said Senator Lee.  “I have for some time heard concerns that the benefits of robust competition, whether experienced in terms of pricing or quality of service, are not currently enjoyed in the markets for cable and high-speed internet.  I intend to continue to follow up with Senator Klobuchar on this transaction, and to continue to monitor the competitive state of these markets.  By protecting competition, we create conditions in which the market can benefit consumers and promote economic development.”

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