The Federal Trade Commission appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government to discuss its FY 2024 budget request and the agency’s ongoing work to ensure open, competitive, and fair markets on behalf of consumers, workers, and honest businesses.

In Commission testimony delivered by Chair Lina M. Khan, the FTC described how the agency is utilizing its current funding to address pressing issues across the country, from data practices that can expose Americans’ most sensitive and personal information, to corporate mergers affecting critical sectors of the economy, the integrity of supply chains, and the prices consumers pay for drugs.

The testimony notes that the FTC is charged with tackling unfair or deceptive practices and rooting out unfair methods of competition that can crush entrepreneurs and stifle innovation. The Commission remains committed to ensuring that the funding it receives from Congress is used effectively and that the agency is addressing root causes and dealing with the most significant harms across markets, particularly by dominant firms whose business practices affect large numbers of Americans.

For FY 2024, the Commission is requesting a budget of $590 million, which would enable the FTC to fund an additional 310 full time employees to address in part the increased demand on agency staff and resources. Demands on the Commission continue to grow as the agency reviews corporate mergers, conducts more complex and expensive litigation, receives millions of consumer complaints, works to stay abreast of transformative technological and market changes, and responds to burgeoning requests for research and investigation of various economic sectors.

The Commission vote to approve the testimony was 3-0.