Analyst Brief June 22, 2026

H.R. 8882 — Main Street Competes Act

Current Status

Introduced

Executive Summary

The Main Street Competes Act (H.R. 8882) amends the Small Business Economic Policy Act of 1980 to explicitly include antitrust enforcement as a tool to protect small businesses from anticompetitive conduct and illegal mergers. It mandates biennial reporting from the DOJ and FTC to the SBA's Office of Advocacy detailing their antitrust enforcement actions, small business complaints, and investigations. The SBA must then analyze this data and provide legislative and administrative recommendations to Congress. This bill aims to bridge the gap between federal antitrust enforcement and small business advocacy, ensuring that market consolidation does not disproportionately harm 'Main Street' enterprises.

Bill Data

Primary Sponsor

Ms. SCHOLTEN

Bill Number

H.R. 8882

Session

119th

Co-Sponsors

Mr. SCHMIDT
View on Congress.gov ↗

Arguments For

  • The 'Main Street' Political Cover: Allows members to demonstrate tangible action against corporate monopolies and market consolidation without actually changing underlying antitrust statutes.
  • Data-Driven Policy: Forces the DOJ and FTC to quantify exactly how much of their enforcement bandwidth is dedicated to protecting small businesses, providing Congress with actionable oversight metrics.

Likely Supporters

DemocratsRepublicansNational Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)Small Business MajorityAmerican Economic Liberties ProjectMain Street Alliance

Arguments Against

  • Administrative Burden: DOJ and FTC will likely argue that tracking 'self-identified small businesses' and disaggregating enforcement data creates an unfunded administrative mandate.
  • Committee Turf Wars: By routing antitrust recommendations through the SBA and Small Business Committees, the bill risks jurisdictional friction with the powerful Judiciary Committees that traditionally oversee the DOJ and FTC.

Likely Opponents

U.S. Chamber of CommerceLarge corporate trade associations

📋 Key Provisions

  • Updates the congressional declaration of small business economic policy to explicitly include promoting competitive markets through antitrust enforcement.
  • Requires the DOJ and FTC to submit biennial reports to the SBA's Chief Counsel for Advocacy detailing antitrust complaints filed by small businesses and subsequent enforcement actions.
  • Mandates the SBA's Office of Advocacy to submit a comprehensive report to congressional Small Business Committees analyzing the DOJ/FTC data by industry category.
  • Directs the SBA to provide actionable administrative and legislative recommendations to promote competition and deter illegal mergers harming small businesses.
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Claim Analysis Page 2, Line 21

Requires the head of each specified entity to submit a report to the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy every two fiscal years.

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"and every two fiscal years"

Claim Analysis Page 4, Line 10

Mandates the Office of Advocacy report to include data analysis disaggregated by industry category.

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"disaggregated by industry category;"

Claim Analysis Page 5, Line 22

Defines 'Federal antitrust laws' to include section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act regarding unfair methods of competition.

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"include section 5 of the"