S.Amdt. 4672

SA 4672. Mr. BAUCUS submitted, under authority of the order of the Senate of May 2, 2008, an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2881, to amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal years 2008 through 2011, to improve aviation safety and capacity, to provide stable funding for the national aviation system, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. AIRLINE MERGERS.

(a) In General.--For any covered airline merger, the waiting period described in section 7A(b)(1) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(b)(1)) for that covered airline merger shall expire on the latter of--

(1) the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act; or

(2) the date that such waiting period otherwise expires under section 7A(b)(1) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(b)(1)) (including such later date as may be set under subsection (e)(2) or (g)(2) of such section).

(b) Definition of Covered Airline Merger.--In this section, the term “covered airline merger” means any acquisition of voting securities or assets of a person in the air transport services industry--

(1) relating to which--

(A) a notice is filed pursuant to the rules under section 7A(d)(1) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(d)(1)) during the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act; or

(B) the waiting period described in section 7A(b)(1) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(b)(1)) has not expired on the date of enactment of this Act; and

(2) that the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice determines is likely to result in layoffs in, or reductions in air transport services to, rural areas.