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Representative Gus Bilirakis said at a hearing
before a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that
the FTC had a history of "overreach," without elaborating, and
urged that "guard rails" be put into the legislation.
Representatives Neal Dunn and Greg Pence also urged "guard
rails" be added to the bill but did not say what they were
although there was discussion at the hearing regarding a statute
of limitations for wrongdoing.
The bill can pass the House of Representatives without
Republican support but will need some Republicans in the Senate,
which requires 60 votes to end debate and move to a vote.
The hearing was called in the wake of a Supreme Court decision
last week that made it more difficult for the FTC to win back
lost funds by ruling that the agency was misusing a measure
meant to stop bad behavior, not recover money.
Representative Tony Cardenas, along with other Democrats, have
introduced a bill to restore that ability.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also opposed the bill as it
stands.
Acting FTC Chair Rebecca Slaughter argued in the hearing that
the agency had 24 federal court cases based on the 13(b)
authority that was the subject of the Supreme Court ruling. The
cases could return $2.4 billion to affected consumers, she said.
Among the active cases are an FTC fight with Nerium
International, an alleged pyramid scheme later known as Neora,
and Lending Club, which advertised "no hidden fees" and then
allegedly charged hidden fees. It also includes four antitrust
cases, including one in which jailed "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli
is accused of breaking antitrust law to push up the price of a
life-saving drug, the FTC said.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Matthew
Lewis)
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