[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                         HON. MICHAEL G. OXLEY

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 1996

  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, as the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Commerce, Trade, and Hazardous Materials, I am pleased to introduce, 
along with my distinguished ranking minority member, the gentleman from 
New York, Mr. Manton, the Federal Trade Commission Reauthorization Act 
of 1996. This bill simply reauthorizes the agency for fiscal years 1997 
and 1998 at a current services level.
  At the moment, we see no need for major changes to the FTC's 
authorizing statutes. The Commerce Committee completed the first major 
reauthorization of the agency in the 103d Congress, the first 
reauthorization of the agency since 1980. In that legislation, we made 
major changes to the Federal Trade Commission Act and the operations of 
the FTC, so as to improve its ability to meet its mission of protecting 
consumers from deceptive trade practices and unfair methods of 
competition. The changes we made earlier are only just being 
implemented and need to be evaluated before going forward with more 
legislative changes.
  The FTC is a regulatory agency which fulfills its mission with a 
minimal burden on the taxpayer. More than half of its annual budget is 
raised in fees from the corporations that it regulates. Under the 
leadership of FTC Chairman Pitofsky, the agency has begun a program of 
evaluating old rules and regulations and discarding those which are no 
longer needed. It is looking at old rules--such as the Made in America 
rule--and considering whether they need to be updated to reflect our 
modern global economy. This is the kind of forward thinking that is 
important for modern regulators to engage in, and I am pleased to see 
that the FTC has undertaken many of these initiatives of its own 
accord.
  Certainly the FTC is not perfect. Particularly during the 1970's and 
1980's, numerous decisions made by the FTC reflected the extreme 
viewpoints of a handful of commission members and staff, and detracted 
from the majority of the good work done by the agency. Today, however, 
such incidents are far fewer in number and less severe in nature. As 
part of the reauthorization process, the Commerce Subcommittee will 
look closely at the continuing operations of the FTC, and carefully 
evaluate their effectiveness. By looking at issues like enforcement 
versus rulemaking, modernization of rules, and other issues, we can 
fulfill our oversight obligations within the context of this 
reauthorization.
  I hope that all of my colleagues will join Mr. Manton and me in 
supporting this bipartisan legislation when we bring it to the floor.

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