In Letter to Key Congressional Appropriators, Competitiveness Coalition Urges Legislators to Reject FTC’s Budget Hike

WASHINGTON – Today Chair Scott Brown and 14 groups and thought leaders in the Competitiveness Coalition sent a letter to Republican and Democratic leaders on the Senate and House appropriations committees expressing strong opposition to the request from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for $590 million for FY 2024. Click HERE to read the letter. 

The signers outline how under Chair Lina Khan, the Commission has extended its reach into areas well outside its jurisdiction in pursuit of a reckless ideological agenda with damaging ramifications to America’s economic leadership and national security. The FTC’s request represents a 37 percent increase from FY 2023 levels.

“By overstepping its bounds, the FTC has added layers of uncertainty to an economy reeling from government spending, record-high inflation, and instability at our financial institutions. Its actions have sent a chill through private sector growth and innovators everywhere,” wrote Chair Brown. 

Brown and the 14 signers make the case for why the powerful committees, led by Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Senate and Reps. Kay Granger (R-TX) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) in the House, should refuse the commission’s request. 

“In light of the controversy shrouding their leadership and decision making, the FTC’s ask for a $160 million increase should be rejected in a bipartisan manner by your committee members,” stated Brown.  

The FTC has been shrouded in controversy raising further questions about the need for more staff and resources. In addition to losing the majority of its lawsuits, the Commission has faced scrutiny for using unpaid consultants that lack, as the FTC watchdog said, “a comprehensive system of controls” and for counting “zombie votes” to advance policies. 

A full list of the 15 signers include: 

  • Scott Brown, Chair, Competitiveness Coalition
  • Brent Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans For Prosperity
  • Daniel J. Mitchell, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
  • Jessica Melugin, Director Center for Technology and Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute
  • Yaël Ossowski, Deputy Director, Consumer Choice Center
  • Annette Meeks, Founder & CEO, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
  • Mario H. Lopez, President, Hispanic Leadership Fund
  • Dr. Bob McClure, President & CEO, The James Madison Institute
  • Paul Steidler, Senior Fellow, Lexington Institute
  • Charles Sauer, President, Market Institute 
  • Pete Sepp, President, National Taxpayers Union
  • Wayne Brough, Policy Director, Technology and Innovation, R Street Institute
  • Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
  • Patrick Hedger, Executive Director, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
  • Casey Given, President, Young Voices

The letter arrives as the coalition marks its one-year anniversary. In 2022, the Competitiveness Coalition launched with 15 groups, including small business, consumer, and taxpayer advocates, to highlight misguided congressional attempts to overregulate and harm America’s job-creating tech sector. Its membership has now grown to 21 with Freedom Foundation of Minnesota officially joining the coalition this week. 

For more information, please visit competitivenesscoalition.com. Members of the press can contact the coalition at press@competitivenesscoalition.com

April 20, 2023

Dear Chair Murray, Vice Chair Collins, Chairwoman Granger, and Ranking Member DeLauro,

On behalf of the Competitiveness Coalition, we write to express our strong opposition to the request from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a $590 million budget request for FY 2024, which represents a 37 percent increase from FY 2023. 

Under Chair Lina Khan, the Commission has extended its reach into areas well outside its jurisdiction in pursuit of a reckless agenda with damaging ramifications to our economic and national security. By overstepping its bounds, the FTC has added layers of uncertainty to an economy reeling from government spending, record-high inflation, and instability at our financial institutions. Its actions have sent a chill through private sector growth and innovators everywhere. The Commission’s history of bipartisanship has been replaced by a progressive ‘hipster antitrust’ agenda. Long-standing guidelines and guardrails have been torn up and replaced by an arbitrary and capricious storm of enforcement activity.

Rather than focus its efforts to level the playing field for America’s innovators, the Commission has been arbitrarily targeting private sector companies. In a sign of Chair Khan hoping to make U.S. policies reflect those of Europe, Khan has established a formal partnership with EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager to “continue work on cooperation in ensuring and promoting fair competition in the digital economy.” As many in Congress have become more concerned about the “weaponization” of the government, the Commission sent letters to Twitter asking the company to turn over “internal communications related to owner Elon Musk,” and “identify all journalists” who were granted access to company records. Earlier this year, the FTC further extended its reach into how private companies regularly conduct business by proposing a nationwide ban on non-compete agreements. In November 2022 on a party-line vote the agency issued a new policy statement that expanded its power by stating it will target “unfair methods of competition.” 

The majority of lawsuits brought forward by the FTC have been rejected by the courts, raising further questions about the need for more staff and resources. 

The high-profile resignation of FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson left the “independent” agency without any Republican representation. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed outlining her decision to resign, Wilson shared that her main concern of Chair Khan’s leadership is her “willful disregard of congressionally imposed limits on agency jurisdiction, her defiance of legal precedent, and her abuse of power to achieve desired outcomes.”

The Commission has also faced scrutiny for using unpaid consultants that lack, as the FTC watchdog said, “a comprehensive system of controls” and for counting “zombie votes” to advance policies. 

Formerly atop the list of “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government,” employee morale at the FTC has plummeted under Chair Khan. According to a November 2021 survey of agency staff, only 53.1% of employees said senior leaders “maintain high standards of honesty and integrity,” down from 87% in 2020. Senior staff attorneys on the commission have resigned at “a pace not seen in the last two decades.” According to a recent Bloomberg Law report, 71 senior staff attorneys at the FTC left the agency between 2021 and 2022.

Given our record-high national debt, your respective caucuses and committees will face a multitude of challenging decisions regarding appropriate allocation of financial resources during the appropriation season. In light of the controversy shrouding their leadership and decision making, the FTC’s ask for a $160 million increase should be rejected in a bipartisan manner by your committee members. 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,
Scott Brown, Chair, Competitiveness Coalition
Brent Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans For Prosperity
Daniel J. Mitchell, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jessica Melugin, Director Center for Technology and Innovation, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Yaël Ossowski, Deputy Director, Consumer Choice Center
Annette Meeks, Founder & CEO, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Mario H. Lopez, President, Hispanic Leadership Fund
Dr. Bob McClure, President & CEO, The James Madison Institute
Paul Steidler, Senior Fellow, Lexington Institute
Charles Sauer, President, Market Institute 
Pete Sepp, President, National Taxpayers Union
Wayne Brough, Policy Director, Technology and Innovation, R Street Institute
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Patrick Hedger, Executive Director, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Casey Given, President, Young Voices