In a letter to GOP leaders, the Coalition urges the reversal of Khan’s war on innovation & returning the FTC to its core mission of ensuring free and fair competition.
WASHINGTON – Just one day after Vice President JD Vance delivered remarks on the administration’s priorities related to AI and innovation, the Competitiveness Coalition announced today it sent a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson urging their respective caucuses to support President Trump’s mission to Make America Competitive Again.
The final copy of the letter is copied below and available here.
“Every government agency, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is grappling with the disastrous policies left behind by the Biden-Harris administration. In order to move the country towards President Trump’s vision for a new Golden Age, lawmakers must return the FTC to its core mission of ensuring free and fair competition.”
The Coalition highlights the far-reaching implications of the previous administration’s misguided antitrust policies and emphasizes how these policies undermine our competitive edge in the global tech race.
“As evidenced by the rapid rise of Chinese AI startup Deepseek, Khan’s crusade against domestic tech firms has jeopardized our competitiveness on the international stage. Not only has the Biden administration’s misguided agenda undermined our efforts to continue to be the world tech leader, but also, to outpace Beijing in the U.S.-China tech race – particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence and chips. It also has threatened our national security, ceding critical ground to our geopolitical rivals. We find ourselves in a race against time to achieve technological advancements and scientific breakthroughs.”
Signatories of the Competitiveness Coalition letter can be seen below.
Since its incubation in April 2022, the Competitiveness Coalition has been educating the public and advocating for policies that put consumers first while fostering innovation and attracting new investment.
For more information, please visit competitivenesscoalition.com. Members of the press can contact the coalition at press@competitivenesscoalition.com.
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Dear Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune,
On behalf of the Competitiveness Coalition, we write today to urge you and your colleagues to support President Trump’s mission to bolster American competitiveness and Make America Competitive Again.
Every government agency, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is grappling with the disastrous policies left behind by the Biden-Harris administration. In order to move the country towards President Trump’s vision for a new Golden Age, lawmakers must return the FTC to its core mission of ensuring free and fair competition.
Under the leadership of former FTC Chair Lina Khan, the agency devolved into a highly partisan, power hungry and rogue entity with a bizarre focus on crushing America’s leading innovators. As evidenced by the rapid rise of Chinese AI startup Deepseek, Khan’s crusade against domestic tech firms has jeopardized our competitiveness on the international stage. Not only has the Biden administration’s misguided agenda undermined our efforts to continue to be the world tech leader, but also, to outpace Beijing in the U.S.-China tech race – particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence and chips. It also has threatened our national security, ceding critical ground to our geopolitical rivals. We find ourselves in a race against time to achieve technological advancements and scientific breakthroughs. The past four years have set us back, and we must now move with exceptional speed.
The impact of the Biden administration’s war on innovation has impacted every corner of the country and nearly every industry. It halted countless mergers from airlines to grocery stores to robot vacuums and beyond, resulting in layoffs and irreparable harm to small businesses. Opportunities to promote competition in the marketplace and lower costs for consumers who continue to grapple with the cost of living crisis created by the Biden administration’s poor economic policies were blocked under the guise of “hipster antitrust”.
Now, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson is saddled with the aftermath of the Biden administration’s misguided actions while working to get the FTC back to its core mission of protecting consumers and promoting competition. Congress stands at a pivotal moment, one in which passing and prioritizing policies that promote a free and fair competition can help Make America Competitive Again. China is nipping at our heels but America has the opportunity to rise to the occasion and work to win the global tech race.
It is time that our elected leaders champion efforts focused on Making America Competitive Again. We applaud President Trump for revoking the Biden-era AI executive order, and encourage Congress to build on this work and pass legislation that supports the president’s vision for a strong economy and U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence. Broadly popular provisions like the research and development tax deduction, streamlining energy project permitting, and neutral cost recovery for structures could all spur more domestic innovation without picking winners and losers. Policymakers in both chambers must discard the flawed and delusional anti-tech views of the past Administration and ensure America does not fall behind in what has become our generation’s greatest and most precarious race. The future of our nation and global competitiveness hang in the balance.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out. We would be happy to provide information to you or your staff and look forward to working to Make America Competitive Again.
Sincerely,
Scott Brown, Chair, Competitiveness Coalition
Ashley Baker, Executive Director, The Committee for Justice
Casey Given, President, Young Voices
Charles Sauer, Founder and President, Market Institute
Curt Levey, President, Committee for Justice
Daniel J. Erspamer, CEO, The Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Jessica Melugin, Director, Center for Technology and Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, SBE Council
Patrick M. Brenner, President, Southwest Public Policy Institute
Pete Sepp, President, National Taxpayers Union
Dan Savickas, VP of Policy & Government Affairs, Taxpayers Protection Alliance