The Senate Judiciary Committee has oversight of the US Department of Justice, and also is responsible for monitoring antitrust, criminal justice, anti-terrorism and Constitutional rights. In addition, the Committee reviews all judicial appointments. As a member of this panel, I have worked to strengthen crime prevention programs, protect consumers from anti-competitive behavior and bolster efforts to prevent terrorism.

• The Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, which I serve as chairman, oversees the enforcement of antitrust law, and helps to create and reform laws that directly affect consumers and assures that our economy remains vigorously competitive. From examining corporate mergers in a myriad of industries, from the internet, media, satellite radio, cable and satellite television, oil and gas, health care and aviation, to strengthening laws to prevent obstacles to competition and the formation of monopolies, this Subcommittee has worked to ensure that consumers benefit from a competitive marketplace offering consumers maximum choice and keeping prices low and quality of goods and services high.

  I also launched several important legislative initiatives to strengthen antitrust law. I introduced legislation to restore the rule banning price fixing between manufacturers and retailers, a rule abolished by a 5-4 Supreme Court decision in 2007; legislation to make illegal brand name drug manufacturers from paying generic drug makers to keep their competing products off the market; and legislation to end the immunity freight railroads have from antitrust law, an immunity which allows monopolistic railroads to increases prices for the transportation of numerous vital goods, from coal to power plants or grain shipped by farmers.

  I am very concerned with the high prices consumers pay at the gas pump and eliminating anti-competitive practices which cause high gas prices. Every year since 2000, I have introduced my NOPEC bill, legislation to make nations that participate in the OPEC oil cartel to fix the price of crude oil answerable under U.S. antitrust law. This legislation has passed both chambers of Congress in 2007 by overwhelming margins. I have also sponsored legislation to increase the scrutiny given to mergers in the oil and gas industry.

  I am also concerned with media consolidation and the effects that mergers in the media industry may have on public debate. Although it is the Federal Communications Commission that enforces the rules and regulations of media and broadcast, it is the enforcement of antitrust law that will serve as the last line of defense against excessive media concentration. The diversity of information available to the American people will continue to be a priority of work on the Antitrust Subcommittee.

  Another issue that this subcommittee has focused its attention on is the current use of Hospital Group Purchasing Organizations in healthcare facilities. I am concerned that these group purchasing organizations – while formed for a laudable purpose -- have the potential to reduce market competition and inhibit the ability for physicians to make the decisions that can give patients the best possible treatment. As a result of medical devices being purchased through a very few large organizations, competitive manufacturers may be unable to sell their products, the drive for competitive prices and technological advances may be impaired, and patients may be denied access to the best medical devices. My Subcommittee initiated a multi-year investigation of this issue, which resulted in the formation of an industry watchdog organization and the creation of codes of conduct by the nation’s largest GPOs that address specific ethical problems. I will continue to monitor the activities of group purchasing organizations to ensure that all Americans have access to the best medical devices at the lowest prices.

• The Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Corrections, and Victims' Rights, of which I am a member, creates and regulates the laws that aid in crime and drug prevention. The Subcommittee also performs the task of overseeing numerous federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

  By creating crime prevention programs that focus on America's youth, it is the hope of the subcommittee to target troubled children at an early stage and provide the necessary guidance to eliminate future problems. I helped to create the "Title V Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grant Program," which supplies funds to communities to establish advisory boards that focus on juvenile crimes and delinquencies. The program also focuses on such juvenile related issues as gangs, guns, school truancy and violence, and drug enforcement and prevention. Title V has been lauded as a successful crime prevention program.

  As federal support for state and local law enforcement has declined in recent years, crime rates have risen. This is not a coincidence. Programs such as the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant and the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) Programs provide critical funding for state and local law enforcement efforts to reduce crime and keep our communities safe. In addition to supporting adequate funding for these programs through my position on the Appropriations Committee, I have worked on this subcommittee to establish and maintain the integrity and effectiveness of these critical funding programs.

  I have also worked on this subcommittee to establish programs that educate the public on the negative effects of such illegal drugs as Heroin and Ecstasy. The subcommittee has also established funding for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which combines the efforts of local law enforcement with state and federal agencies to identify and assess regional drug threats and areas with high drug activities.

• Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security Subcommittee helps ensure our intelligence and law enforcement officials have the tools they need to keep this country safe. That includes enhancing the investigative tools that are available for monitoring and disrupting potential terrorist activities.

  Following the events of September 11, the committee has passed numerous measures to increase cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and law enforcement agencies at the federal level. I am aware that with increased security and new information gathering techniques, there is a general public concern that there will be a loss in civil liberties. Many feel that personal privacy will be infringed upon. As a member of the this subcommittee, I will work hard with my colleagues to monitor these activities, in order to ensure that civil liberties are protected while keeping America safe.