Date: 1982-12-01
Speaker: RALPH M. HALL (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise today in support of the LukenLee amendment to H.R. 6995. the Federal Trade Commission authorization bill. The LukenLee amendment will restrain the proposed expansion of FTC authority to Stateregulated professions. such as engineers. lawyers. physicians. dentists. optometrists. and veterinarians. In an effort to protect the American public from possibly collusive and anticompetitive professional practices. the FTC is attempting to force additional Federal oversight into the business activities of Statelicensed professions. We. in this Congress. have spent a great deal of time and effort to reduce the regulatory role of the Federal Government in just about all phases of the economy. business and the private sector and to ease the costly. timeconsuming. intrusive and unnecessary Federal regulation burden for taxpayers. It is with particular concern to learn that this Federal agency Is seeking tu expand its regulatory jurisdiction to Stateregulated and licensed professions. While I certainly agree that the medical. legal. and technical professions. must be carefully monitored in order to protect the consumer and insure the highest quality of professional service at fair and reasonable costs. I do not believe that an expanded Federal role is either appropriate or necessary. The FTC. in this controversial proposal. has ignored the well developed and extensive body of Federal and State laws which regulate and govern these professions. The U.S. Department of Justice under the Sherman and Clayton Acts has the direct responsibility to enforce antitrust actions. and State laws permit the awarding of treble damages in private suits for unfair and deceptive business practices. If the FTC is permitted to extend their regulatory domain to the legal profession in Texas. for example. it would mean that a Federal agency has the ability not only to repeal State law. but to regulate one of the equal branches of State governmentthe judiciary. This would be the result of our approval of the Broyhill substitutea situation none of us would want to take place in our State. The Governorelect Mark White. attorney general for the State of Texas. summed up this problem in Senate testimony earlier this year: I am distressed by this development because it indicates either a terrible mistake on the paiL uf the Commission regarding its powers. or the most massive disruption of the traditional balance between the Federal and State governments since the principles of Federalism were included in the U.S. Constitution. And the FTCs threaterc action upsets this balance and creates a constitutional problem which we suggest Congress never intended to raise. Congress therefore must act to clarify its legislative intent regarding the FTCs authority to expand its regulatory domain beyond business and private enterprise to Include the public functions of the State. The time has come. Mr. Chairman. to set down firm guidelines fur this Federal agency. I urge my colleagues to vote against the Broyhill substitute which represents an expansion of FTC power and to vote for the LukenLee amendment and institute a moratorium on FTC actions until we in Congress can determine what role. if any. this agency should have over Stateregulated professions.