Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Leibowitz, Boucher Outline Agendas

Recently appointed FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz wants to work with Congress on reauthorization legislation this year that he believes will make his agency more effective. He told a Center for Democracy and Technology gala Tuesday night that the quality of the FTC's work is being strained as the quantity increases. The agency currently has 1,100 employees -- several hundred less than it needs, he said. Former Senate Commerce Chairman Daniel Inouye and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., introduced a bill in the 110th Congress that would have given the FTC a budget boost over seven years as well as independent regulatory authority and the ability to start civil actions in district courts. The bill would have also repealed an exemption that precludes FTC action against common carriers for anticompetitive practices.

Leibowitz, who shared CDT's stage with House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said one of his top priorities for the agency in the coming months is curbing predatory financial practices, which he believes will only worsen during the recession. He also wants to stop brand pharmaceutical companies from paying off generic drugmakers to delay the availability of their low-cost versions to consumers. Another concern, which he shares with Boucher, is making sure Internet advertising firms respect consumer privacy. Thus far, self-regulatory efforts by industry in this arena are not working, Leibowitz said. Boucher noted that consumer confidence will benefit electronic commerce. He plans to introduce a Web privacy bill with Communications Subcommittee ranking member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.

On broadband, Boucher said the United States does "not have an enviable position in the world today" and the $7.2 billion in the economic stimulus package helped move the ball forward. However, the stimulus bill "is not our national broadband policy," he said, noting that the legislation directs the FCC to develop such a roadmap. During his remarks, Boucher also predicted that legislation he introduced last month with Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., to create a federal reporter's privilege would pass the House and Senate this Congress. An identical bill passed the House by a wide margin in the 110th Congress.