21.   The deal should close in September, he said, after the final vote tally and after the Federal Reserve finishes reviewing the merger.

22.   The Defense Department now plays a central role in the process, reviewing mergers and making formal recommendations to the antitrust agencies.

23.   The Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department antitrust lawyers are sure to review the merger of the Texas- and California-based telephone companies, analysts said.

24.   The FTC is the U.S. government agency responsible for reviewing the merger.

25.   The Justice Department also reviews some mergers.

26.   The Justice Department, in reviewing bank mergers in the past has traditionally focused on the impact on small business of mergers between banks within a metropolitan area.

27.   The merger is being reviewed by two federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

28.   The latter has traditionally been the view adopted by the FTC in reviewing retail mergers.

29.   The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, which review such mergers, had no comment Sunday on the proposal.

30.   The merger is being reviewed by those committees, but formal approval has to come from the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission.