Liberals are trying to trick Republicans into supporting the “American Innovation and Choice Online Act” legislation sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). That legislation would massively expand the Federal Trade Commission’s power over the economy and businesses.
Republicans should understand that the FTC is run by radical ideologues hellbent on using government power to push a woke social agenda. Instead of voting to give the runaway agency even more power, Republicans should hold oversight hearings to determine how far the FTC has strayed from its statutory authority. Consider how FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan gave a keynote address last week at an event co-hosted by the “Economic Security Project” and the “Law and the Political Economy Project,” far-left organizations that claim the “free market is dead” and work to “understand the relationship between market supremacy and racial, gender, and economic injustice.” Khan lamented that the government does not do enough to shape “economic outcomes” and attacked the free market as a “product of metaphysical forces.” She proposed a “paradigm shift” that would allow antitrust to direct specific economic outcomes via government and legal “intervention.”
Khan’s relationship with these socialist organizations predates last week’s remarks. But while her consistent advocacy for Soviet-style central planning is bad enough, FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter’s vision for a governmentwide woke crusade may be even worse. Slaughter recently called for an “equity-focused lens in antitrust enforcement” and advocated the use of antitrust law to “make our nation and economy more equitable.” Instead of protecting consumers, Khan and Slaughter want to use antitrust law to browbeat companies into pushing woke social goals. If the Left believes a company is not doing enough to address income inequality or “climate justice,” the antitrust threat will loom like the sword of Damocles.
Khan and Slaughter can only manifest their vision if Klobuchar’s bill becomes law. AICOA bans U.S. companies over a government-determined size from engaging in a wide range of routine business activities.
The bill gives antitrust agencies unprecedented authority to determine if companies are in compliance with AICOA’s vague diktats. If an unelected bureaucrat determines a violation of AICOA, the government can impose a massive fine of up to 10% of the offending company’s revenue.
Instead of voting to expand the FTC’s power, Republicans should hold oversight hearings to determine how the FTC has strayed from its original mission. Khan’s abrasive leadership style has degraded staff morale and led to an agencywide brain drain. Under Khan, the dissatisfaction rate among FTC employees has grown fivefold due to the toxic work environment she has created. Republicans should pay heed.
Liberals are pushing hard to give the FTC powerful new tools to advance woke social goals with the full force of the federal government. Instead of giving them more power, Republicans should rein them in.
Tom Hebert is federal affairs manager for Americans for Tax Reform and executive director of the Open Competition Center.
