WASHINGTON–Exemptions from federal antitrust laws, such as the one enjoyed by the insurance industry, should be reviewed and, if continued, should be kept as narrow as possible, leaders of the Antitrust Modernization Commission told lawmakers here last week.

At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Task Force, AMC chair Deborah Garza told lawmakers that federal antitrust laws "have served our nation for over 100 years," and that they are a model for other countries. The AMC was charged with compiling a report on the potential for modernization of antitrust laws, and that report was submitted to Congress and the Bush Administration last month. In general, Ms. Garza said, "the report is an endorsement of free market principles."

While the conversation in the hearing did not touch specifically on the McCarran-Ferguson Act or the limited antitrust exemption it provides for the insurance industry, Ms. Garza noted in testimony submitted along with co-chair Jonathan Yarowsky that Congress is currently considering a potential repeal of several exemptions or immunities from antitrust laws, and the McCarran-Ferguson exemption is among those.