Last week, Representative David Cicilline (D-RI-1), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, called for a ban on mergers during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) announced plans to introduce the Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act (the “Proposed Act”). The Proposed Act would effectively halt mergers and acquisitions activity for a wide range of companies and investment funds until the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) “determined that small businesses, workers, and consumers are no longer under severe financial distress.” Entities covered by the Proposed Act include (i) companies with over $100 million in revenues, (ii) financial institutions with over $100 million in market capitalization, (iii) private equity companies, hedge funds, or companies that are majority-owned by a private equity company or hedge fund, and (iv) companies with an exclusive patent that impacts the crisis (such as for personal protective equipment). The Proposed Act would also prevent mergers and acquisitions that involve “transactions that must otherwise be reported to the FTC under current law.” Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR”), transactions valued at more than $376 million without an exemption must submit an HSR filing, and transactions valued in excess of $94 million but less than $376 million are reportable depending on the size of the acquiring and acquired entities.