Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson today appeared before the House Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General GovernmentSubcommittee to discuss the agency’s Fiscal Year 2025 operations, Fiscal Year 2026 priorities and ongoing work to protect consumers and promote competition.
In his testimony on behalf of FTC, Chairman Ferguson highlighted the value that the FTC brings to U.S. tax payers. In FY 2024, for example, the agency returned to consumers more than $333 millions, which is equivalent to almost two-thirds the annual budget of the agency.
The testimonies showed the FTC was committed to using resources efficiently, and meeting President Trump’s goal of shrinking the federal government. The FTC has been reducing its staff and cutting costs in recent months while executing the agency’s priority – protecting Americans from scams, fraudulent practices, and other unfair or misleading practices, as well as harmful collusion and consolidating. The testimony also stressed the importance of maintaining adequate staffing in order to maintain the high level of performance of the agency.
In order to fulfill its mission of protecting consumers, the FTC works to stop illegal telemarketing; fraud against older Americans and servicemembers. It also aims to stop deceptive billing practices and cancellations. The FTC’s competition division is focused on addressing the root causes of anticompetitive behavior and the greatest harms in markets, especially by dominant firms who have business practices that affect many Americans.
The Commission voted 3-0 to accept the testimony.
