Congressional lawmakers want to help the news media stay afloat as it faces extreme financial pressure from the rise of Facebook , Google and their online advertising duopoly.

The collapse of the news industry at the hands of those digital behemoths was the topic of Tuesdays hearing before the House Judiciary Committees antitrust subcommittee. And for a rare moment, lawmakers from both parties seriously questioned committee witnesses about a pressing concern in American life and largely agreed on the needed solutions.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the subcommittee chairman, presided over the hearing. His panel is beginning a broad re-examination of the nations antitrust laws and how they can address the market power of the most highly capitalized corporations in the country. This investigation has bipartisan support from the Judiciary Committee chair, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and the committees ranking member, Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.).

Tuesdays hearing was built around bipartisan legislation offered by Cicilline and Collins . Their bill would allow news publishers to band together in order to negotiate with digital platforms like Facebook and Google that are monopolizing the online advertising market. Current antitrust laws forbid news publishers from working together in that way.