WASHINGTON – In a column for the Washington Times, Competitiveness Coalition Chair Scott Brown makes the case that our economy’s well-being hangs in the balance as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues its reckless push to over-regulate America’s innovators.
“Despite the Federal Trade Commission’s pronounced losing streak, Chair Lina Khan remains undeterred in her ideological crusade to remake America’s private sector in her progressive worldview,” wrote Brown. “If allowed to proceed unchecked, it’s not just the individual companies in her crosshairs who stand to suffer. It’s our economy as a whole, which is starting to show signs of recovery, even with the ongoing anchor of ‘Bidenomics.’”
Brown’s op-ed arrives as the FTC reels from a stinging loss in its attempt to stop the Microsoft-Activision merger and faces a series of congressional probes for its use of agency resources. The agency has come under intense scrutiny in light of allegations it colluded with European regulators and deleted materials related to a separate House Judiciary Committee probe on the commission’s contentious nationwide non-compete ban.
“Fortunately, Ms. Khan is facing a series of roadblocks from key House panels investigating the agency. Congressional Republicans, especially the House Judiciary Committee and Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, deserve credit for forcing Ms. Khan to answer tough questions under oath,” continued Brown. “As Congress irons out appropriations bills this upcoming work period, it is paramount that conservative lawmakers maintain this opposition to giving the FTC a raise.”
For more than a year, the Competitiveness Coalition has been sounding the alarms on the FTC’s egregious overreach and concerning actions. Under Khan’s leadership the “independent” agency has lost two Republican commissioners, senior staff attorneys have departed “at the fastest rate in years” and employee morale has plummeted. The Commission has also faced criticism for using unpaid consultants that lack, as the FTC watchdog said, “a comprehensive system of controls” and for counting “zombie votes” to advance policies.
For more information, please visit competitivenesscoalition.com. Members of the press can contact the coalition at press@competitivenesscoalition.com.
Targeting Amazon: ‘Bidenomics’ at work at the FTC
Scott Brown
Washington Times
Despite the Federal Trade Commission’s pronounced losing streak, Chair Lina Khan remains undeterred in her ideological quest to remake America’s private sector in her progressive worldview.
If allowed to proceed unchecked, it’s not just the individual companies in her crosshairs who stand to suffer. It’s our economy as a whole, which is starting to show signs of recovery, even with the ongoing anchor of “Bidenomics.”
Long heralded as a rising star in left-wing circles, the embattled chair of the FTC has met with one stinging defeat after another in the federal courts, which have rejected her meddling in the affairs of Meta and Microsoft, to name just two. She has come under fire for ignoring recommendations from the FTC’s designated agency ethics official to recuse herself from the Meta matter.
Under Ms. Khan, all four of the FTC’s challenges to mergers have gone down in flames.
Yet Ms. Khan is showing no sign of slowing down, even as lawmakers question her use of agency resources.
She has embarked on a media tour attempting to gloss over the agency’s blemished record. She announced a series of new merger guidelines, which have been pilloried even by a Democratic economist as “a war on business.”
Media reports indicate Ms. Khan is preparing a “far-reaching” lawsuit against Amazon, the company relied on by nearly 170 million Americans for their everyday goods.
Amazon has long been a target of Ms. Khan, dating back to her Yale Law Journal article where she complained that its prices were too low. Ms. Khan also dismissed the consumer welfare standard that has been the governing principle of antitrust for generations.
Ms. Khan and her ilk believe that “big is inherently bad” and businesses’ success is a sin. It’s the quintessential left-wing argument about “fairness” and “paying their fair share,” first brought to life by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
Fortunately, Ms. Khan is facing a series of roadblocks from key House panels investigating the agency. Congressional Republicans, especially the House Judiciary Committee and Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, deserve credit for forcing Ms. Khan to answer tough questions under oath.
Read the full piece at WashingtonTimes.com.
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