On October 10, President Carter signed the Federal Magistrate Act of 1979, an expansion of the jurisdiction of American magistrates in regards to civil and criminal cases. Carter noted Thurmond as one of the members of Congress who had shown leadership on the measure, without whose efforts it would have never passed. Senate sources reported in October that Ted Kennedy had asked Majority Leader Robert Byrd to bring the Illinois Brick bill to the floor, the controversial antitrust measure attracting the opposition of Thurmond, who joined Orrin Hatch in threatening a filibuster of the bill. In their stance against the bill, Thurmond and Hatch argued the bill's enactment would result in businesses being exposed to endless litigation as well as the possibility of duplicative awards of damages to direct and indirect purchasers.