Dear Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Wicker:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to make consumers who are victims of scams and fraud whole, and we oppose S. 4145, the “Consumer Protection Remedies Act of 2022,” which would reduce transparency and due process at the Commission.
This legislation would grant entirely new and sweeping enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission, which would be concerning at any time, but especially troubling at a time when the agency’s leadership has recently demonstrated disdain and indifference for due process to advance policy goals that harm the economy.[1]
When Congress passed the Magnuson-Moss Act, which amended the Commission’s authority in prosecuting unfair and deceptive practices, it did so with overwhelmingly bipartisan engagement and support. Further proposals to change the FTC’s enforcement authority should also be bipartisan in nature and not rushed through the Committee process.
The business community has repeatedly offered to work with the Chair and Ranking Member to achieve a consensus solution. Yet, the legislation being considered today had no meaningful bipartisan or stakeholder involvement.
We call on the Committee to commit to an open, transparent, and bipartisan process including hearings before voting to approve the greatest Congressional expansion of FTC authority in decades.
Sincerely,
Neil L. Bradley
Executive Vice President, Chief Policy Officer,
and Head of Strategic Advocacy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
cc: Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
[1] https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Marxism%20and%20Critical%20Legal%20Studies%20Walk%20into%20the%20FTC%20Deconstructing%20the%20Worldview%20of%20the%20Neo-Brandeisians.pdf
