Independent Agencies

April 19, 2023

KJ Boyle Andrea Beaty Emma Marsano

Newsletter

Anti-MonopolyConsumer ProtectionDepartment of JusticeFTCGovernment CapacityIndependent Agencies

To Reverse Decades Of Neglect, Antitrust Agencies Need Robust Budgets

The FTC and the DOJ are still dealing with a deluge of corporate mergers, and still only have capabilities to challenge a handful of those actions each year. Restoring competition in the U.S. economy will require much more than slight increases in funding — these government agencies need monumental budgets to take on entrenched monopolies that have flourished with decades of lax enforcement.

April 11, 2023

Toni Aguilar Rosenthal

Letter Confirmations CrisisFTCIndependent Agencies

Progressive Groups Urge President Biden Not To Rush To Fill Republican FTC Vacancies

Demand Progress and the Revolving Door Project sent a letter to President Biden reminding him that neither the White House nor Senate Democrats “should feel compelled to expedite the nomination and/or confirmation of Republicans to independent agencies” particularly while Democratic nominees remain languishing in the Senate due to years of Senate Republicans’ malfeasance.

April 05, 2023 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

Dylan Gyauch-Lewis Hannah Story Brown

Newsletter

Department of JusticeDepartment of TransportationFinancial RegulationGovernanceIndependent AgenciesRevolving Door

Several Flavors of Regulatory Failures

Until the Biden administration learns that they need to draw a sharp contrast with their predecessors and, generally, do a full 180, they will keep getting egg on their faces. And when the blame genuinely belongs to both the Trump and Biden administrations, warranted criticism of disastrous Republican deregulation is undermined.

March 22, 2023 | The Sling

Dylan Gyauch-Lewis

Op-Ed Department of TransportationExecutive BranchIndependent AgenciesLabor

Too Big To Rail: Railroads, Safety, and Accountability

Unfortunately, America’s rail workers are all too familiar with the consequences of how the railroad industry has been operated over the past 30 years. Precision scheduled railroading (PSR) has made the difference. PSR is a business model focused on reducing overhead costs and generating returns for shareholders. Similar to many other business models driven by financialization, it’s effectively  a scheme by giant railroad operators to cut staff and backup resources, push the remaining equipment and personnel to the breaking point, and funnel as much of the cash as possible to Wall Street. And by increasing market concentration even further, the recently approved rail merger between Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) promises to make the situation even more dire — for railroad workers, for the communities our rail lines pass through, and for the American economy.

February 09, 2023 | The Sling

Andrea Beaty KJ Boyle

Op-Ed Anti-MonopolyConsumer ProtectionDepartment of JusticeFTCIndependent Agencies

In Competition and Consumer Protection, The FTC Needs More Funding To Give Economic Power Back To Americans

Congressional Democrats managed to pass a few crucial measures during December’s lame duck session. One tiny fraction of the omnibus bill to fund the government was the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, a measure for which anti-monopoly advocates have long been pushing. And beyond the DOJ Antitrust and FTC’s edict to enforce competition, the FTC has another underfunded but crucial mission: consumer protection. 

January 18, 2023

KJ Boyle

Blog Post Climate and EnvironmentDefenseIndependent Agencies

Good News, Everyone! Space Force Has An Astronomical Budget

Congress passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill, ensuring that our government is funded for Fiscal Year 2023. You probably haven’t seen the amount given to the most stellar agency: Space Force. Thankfully, Congress listened to the space advocates and appropriated the Space Force the money we’ve all been begging for – $26.29 billion. Americans can now sleep soundly knowing the Space Force has an overflowing pocketbook to protect us from aliens and whatnot.