Letter to Congress Regarding 2026 FTC Appropriations
- Ashley Baker
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 8
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) writes in support of the FY2026 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill’s provisions related to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We applaud the committee for allocating $37 million below the FY2025 enacted appropriations level for this agency.
July 24, 2025
The Honorable Tom Cole
Chairman
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
H-307 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Ranking Member
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
1036 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
RE: FISCAL YEAR 2026 APPROPRIATION FOR THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Dear Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro:
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) writes in support of the FY2026 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill’s provisions related to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We applaud the committee for allocating $37 million below the FY2025 enacted appropriations level for this agency.
Founded in 2002, the Committee for Justice is a non-profit legal and policy organization that educates the public and policymakers about the rule of law and promotes constitutionally limited government. Consistent with this mission, CFJ files amicus curiae briefs in key cases, supports constitutionalist nominees to the federal judiciary, and educates theAmerican public and policymakers about the benefits of individual liberty and the proper roles of our federal courts and administrative agencies.
In light of the Federal Trade Commission's track record since 2021, the appropriation of $388.7 million this bill provides the agency for FY2026, lowering its budget by 8.7% from its FY2025 level, is well-founded. The FTC received a 9-figure increase in appropriation in FY2023, which rewarded a dramatically activist agency. The reduction in funding for the next fiscal year rightly sends a signal from lawmakers that the FTC has gone and remains out of bounds.
Too much detritus from former FTC Chair Lina Khan’s tenure remains in place. The Biden administration’s FTC officials were motivated by, and repeatedly articulated, a philosophical rejection of all merger activity and a willingness to use government power reflexively against legitimate market activity with little, if any, consideration given to the economic evidence, relevant case law, or limits of statutory authority. The agency squandered taxpayer money pursuing unjustifiable or suspect antitrust litigation, employing novel theories and flimsy or outlandish evidence—leading to a long train of agency losses. It is the role of Congress to intervene and demand reform.
In addition, CFJ commends several of the committee’s administrative provisions. Specifically, Section 512 discontinues the FTC’s overseas adventures. The agency could no longer collude with the European Union, Chinese, or UK antitrust agencies to block mergers. Section 513 prohibits the FTC from continuing to apply its questionable expansion of conduct it labels “unfair methods of competition.” Section 514 importantly ensures that the FTC cannot block early termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino filings and prohibits the agency from use of extremely burdensome changes in pre-merger notification rules, forms, or instructions. Section 515 denies any use of the prior approval of merger orders statement. Section 516 blocks application of the FTC’s policy statement regarding the scope of unfair methods of competition under the Federal Trade Commission Act’s Section 5, which has become a hammer in the commission’s hands. Section 517 begins to restore procedural norms of the FTC. It prohibits the commission from meeting or voting on the filing of a complaint unless each commissioner attests to having had the opportunity to “review all relevant materials at least 10 business days” before such a meeting.
The combination of a reduction in the FTC’s funding level for FY2025 and these appropriately targeted prohibitions on expenditure of the agency’s monies, limiting the agency’s ability to carry out several of its more extreme policy initiatives, will help to return some normalcy in the space of mergers and acquisitions, fairness in commission procedure, and competition matters. We are pleased to voice support for these provisions, and we urge committee members to support the measure.
Sincerely,
Ashley Baker Curt Levey
Executive Director President
The Committee for Justice The Committee for Justice
James Edwards
Senior Advisor for Federal Affairs
The Committee for Justice
