In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, a Biden-nominated Democrat who has been a prime target of the GOP due to her aggressive enforcement agenda, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH., said the FTC had failed to comply with a March 9 request for information and set a second deadline of April 10 for the agency to respond.

Complying with records preservation requests remains a top concern for agency officials as the House Republican majority increases scrutiny of federal government operations. In January, the National Archives widened its digital records retention guidance for agencies to include other forms of electronic messaging such as text messages.

“Historically, the FTC is among the most responsive agencies when it comes to answering congress’s questions and providing information, so it certainly raises serious concerns when they are being this obstructionist,” Russell Dye, spokesperson for Chairman Jordan told FedScoop.

The spokesperson also confirmed that subpoenas are currently being seriously considered to obtain the documents that Jordan and House Republicans have requested in the letter to the FTC that FedScoop exclusively obtained. 

Six House Republicans led by Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-TX., wrote to Chair Khan on March 9 saying that the “Biden FTC’s pursuit of a partisan agenda that expands agency power and discards decades of experience to the detriment of the American people. We urge the FTC to revert to a principled approach that puts consumers above partisan agendas and write to request information and documents relevant to Congress’s oversight.”

Moran is in support of Jordan’s more aggressive steps to obtain documents from the FTC and says the FTC needs to be held accountable for its approach to mergers.

“The FTC’s current approach to mergers and acquisitions has stifled innovation and left consumers at a disadvantage,” Moran told FedScoop in a statement. “I appreciate my colleagues, Chairman Jim Jordan and Congressman Thomas Massie, for building on our previous efforts to demand transparency for the American people and continuing to press Chairwoman Lina Khan on this important issue.”

Responding to the missive, Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI, who is the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee on Antitrust, said the letter was another example of GOP lawmakers seeking to hamper pro-competition work by the FTC.

He added: “I urge my colleagues to consider proactive legislative proposals that would level the playing field for smaller competitors, like the American Innovation and Choice Online Act we voted out of Committee last Congress.”

In September, FedScoop exclusively reported that Jordan and House Republicans on the Judiciary committee would probe allegations that the FTC may have relied on “unpaid and unaccountable” consultants to perform core functions, and requested the agency stop the destruction or alteration of any electronic information relevant to the inquiry.

The inquiry marks one of the first instances in which lawmakers have called on a federal agency and its leadership to preserve all digital records. Last July, a House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol said the Secret Service may have violated the Federal Records Act by failing to properly preserve text messages.

The Republican lawmaker’s questions focused on whether the FTC may have improperly used consultants and experts to drive a Democratic agenda. 

The letter from House Republicans followed a report from the FTC’s Inspector General in September 2022 that highlighted the use of consultants and unpaid experts by the regulator.

The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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In a letter sent Thursday to FTC Chair Lina Khan and the agency’s other commissioners, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH., said the committee will probe allegations that the FTC may have relied on “unpaid and unaccountable” consultants to perform core functions, and requested the agency stop the destruction or alteration of any electronic information relevant to the inquiry.

“Based on a recent report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Office of Inspector General (OIG), the FTC seems to be flouting federal law to rely on unpaid and unaccountable consultants … [I]nternal documents show that these officials are likely performing work that should be done by FTC staff,” he said in the missive, which was exclusively obtained by FedScoop.

The senior lawmaker emphasized that the House committee will scrutinize the OIG’s audit and the use of non-FTC employees to perform agency functions.

Federal regulations, including from the Office of Management and Budget permit the use of consultants by federal agencies but impose restrictions on the type of work such contractors may undertake.

“You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry. This instruction includes all electronic messages sent using your official and personal accounts or devices, including records created using text messages, phone-based message applications, or encryption software,” Jordan wrote in the letter.

The inquiry marks one of the first instances since a recent Secret Service text message deletion scandal related to the Jan.6th Capitol attack in which the GOP has called on a federal agency and its leadership to preserve all digital records.

The Republican lawmaker’s questions focus on on whether the FTC may have improperly used consultants and experts to drive a Democratic agenda. Jordan has requested that the agency respond to the missive with requested information by Sept. 8.

The letter from House Republicans follows a report from the FTC’s Inspector General earlier this month that highlighted the use of consultants and unpaid experts by the regulator.

The watchdog at the time found the agency had no clear process for recruiting or integrating unpaid consultants and experts and recommended the agency adopt policies within 60 days for when it will make use of unpaid workers.

“The agency has leveraged unpaid consultants and experts during previous administrations; however, current FTC leadership has expanded their use,” the FTC OIG said in its audit. The report does not say whether the FTC had violated federal laws, but points out that the agency’s handbook and Office of Management and Budget regulations prevent government departments from using consultants to replace full-time employees.

Rep. Jordan’s strongly worded request for the FTC to preserve all electronic records, including from cell phones and personal devices comes amid intense scrutiny on federal government agencies regarding digital record archiving in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, FedScoop reported on concerns raised by former senior agency officials over the collection and preservation of such records following the deletion of text messages relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by the Secret Service.

The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill Wednesday that would place a permanent moratorium on Internet access taxes and other discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.

The committee’s 30-4 vote in favor of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act sends the bill to the full house for consideration.

The bill builds upon the Internet Tax Freedom Act signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1998 and set to expire Nov. 1. While PITFA would eliminate certain discriminatory taxes it would not prohibit online retailers from charging sales tax on purchases made online.

“The Internet is a meritocracy. It does not care how you look or where you come from,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said. “It offers opportunity to anyone willing to invest time and effort. It is the greatest gateway to knowledge and engine for self-improvement that has ever existed.”

Goodlatte said Internet innovation should not be stymied by a tax. PITFA would “ensure that Americans can access the scientific, educational and economic opportunities the Internet offers, tax free, in order to better their lives, improve society and grow the economy,” he said.

If the Internet Tax Freedom Act were to expire, state and local governments would have the authority to impose a tax on households that access the Internet. A 2013 report from the U.S. Census Bureau said in 2011, more than 71 percent of Americans reported accessing the Internet from home — an increase of almost 60 percent from the late 1990s when ITFA first passed.

Under the first law, seven states had an exemption due to Internet taxes already in place before the bill passed in 1998. However, if the current version of PITFA, which has more than 200 co-sponsors, were to pass, those would be repealed.

Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is one of four lawmakers who oppose the bill, calling it a violation of states’ rights.

“Do we tell states you cannot levy taxes on electricity generation or transmission?” Nadler said. ”Those are state decisions. I thought members of this body, especially those on the other side of the aisle, supported states’ rights.”

But most, including the Internet Tax Freedom Act Coalition, were pleased with the bill passing committee.

“Today’s markup was the first step of many to ensure consumers, students, and small businesses are not burdened with new taxes on Internet access that could be as high as double the national sales tax rate,” the group said in a statement. “We applaud their efforts and hope the Senate will follow suit in moving a companion bill prior to the August recess.”

The Senate version of the bill, the Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act, was referred to committee after it was introduced in August 2013 by Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. That bill, though, has not yet been taken up in committee.

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