As she prepares to lead the U.S. Senate’s subcommittee on antitrust law and reportedly introduce an expanded version of her past bill targeting corporate monopolies, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, told New York antitrust lawyers this week that the nation’s business economy “may emerge with even less competition” and “more of a problem” due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing more than 100,000 smaller businesses to close.

“We all know there’s a risk that we are going to emerge from the pandemic with an even more consolidated economy, more concentrated, less competitive. That’s because 100,000 American small businesses have already closed for good, with thousands more at risk, increasing market concentration in many industries,” Klobuchar told dozens of antitrust attorneys gathered virtually for her keynote address to the New York State Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section. Klobuchar’s almost 20-minute, prerecorded talk on Monday evening was part of the antitrust group’s “Virtual Reception” closing out its portion of this year’s two-week NYSBA annual meeting.