WASHINGTON—Today, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan will petition the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on her extraordinary FY2024 request for a 400% increase in funding.
“Congress must not give this rogue agency an increase in funding. The examples keep coming of how the FTC under Chair Khan has violated the agency’s legal obligations, engaged in politically motivated enforcements, suppressed any dissent within the agency and wasted taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits,” said NetChoice Vice President & General Counsel Carl Szabo.
“NetChoice calls on Congress to use the power of the purse to limit the harm done to Americans and our businesses from Khan’s reign of terror. In doing so, Congress can restore balance to the once-respected, bipartisan agency.”
Here are just a few examples of Khan’s abuse of the FTC during her tenure so far:
- Setting aside decades of legal rulings around the agency’s procedure to significantly—and likely unconstitutionally—broaden the scope of the FTC’s power.
- Stifling dissent from former Republican commissioners like Christine Wilson.
- Misleading Senators during her hearings on whether she would recuse herself in trials where her ethics would be in question.
- Increasing her power almost immediately upon entering office by getting rid of certain rules around how the agency can launch investigations.
- Used “agency deliberative privilege” to hide documents in legal discovery that would have been crucial to Meta’s defense when trying to force the company to divest from WhatsApp and Instagram.
Where is the money going that Khan has already been given?
- In 2021, the FTC received a 10% bump from the Covid-19 relief bill, equating to $30.4 million in new funding.
- Over 40 staffers have left the FTC since Chair Khan began her tenure in 2021—saving the agency around $4 million a year (est. $100k average salary).
- Under Chair Khan, the FTC has conducted the fewest merger enforcement actions since 2015. The agency has received tens of millions in extra funding, but less work has been done, and agency heads are asking for more. Where’s the money going?
You can find NetChoice’s submitted comment for the record to the Committee here. Please contact Krista Chavez at press@netchoice.org with inquiries.