Harriet Hageman on FTC Overreach and the 'Punishment' of Administrative Proceedings

Overregulation and Hidden Costs

• 📊 The 2024 version of CEI's 10,000 Commandments reveals that federal regulations impose compliance costs of at least $2.117 trillion annually.
• 💸 US households bear a hidden tax of $1,788 annually, consuming 17.7% of income and 22% of household expenses.
• 📈 The Biden-Harris Administration has imposed over $1.7 trillion in cumulative regulatory costs, exceeding all predecessors.

Administrative Law Judges vs. Article 3 Courts

• ⚖️ Agencies have created their own court systems led by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), often resulting in agency success rates exceeding 90%.
• 🎯 In contrast, the SEC wins only about 58% of its cases in Article 3 courts.
• 🏛️ The FTC, which wins over 90% of its cases before its own ALJs, saw its head, Lina Khan, lose almost every case brought in an Article 3 court.

Due Process and Constitutional Rights

• 🚫 Witnesses like Mr. Smith describe being denied constitutional rights, such as due process and the right to a trial by jury, within FTC administrative law proceedings.
• 📝 The appellate process for FTC cases involves reviewing the FTC's version of events, with the agency writing the entire record, effectively denying an independent arbiter.
• 🗣️ Mr. Smith states that the process itself felt like a punishment, with the government threatening to seize intellectual property, customers, and impose unlimited liability.

Seventh Amendment Restoration Act

• 📜 Representative Hageman has introduced the Seventh Amendment Restoration Act, aiming to allow Americans to remove cases from ALJs to an Article 3 District Court.
• ✅ This proposal is seen as a way to restore the system of checks and balances, allowing individuals to have their case heard by an independent judge.
• 💡 The act would provide a crucial safeguard, ensuring a chance of prevailing against government overreach.