Washington, D.C. — Today, the Center for American Progress hosted a conversation with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan and Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) about the importance of improving competition and restoring choice for consumers. Chair Khan spoke about the efforts that the FTC is taking to bring dignity and freedom to consumers by halting companies’ anticompetitive practices across a number of industries, from combating price-fixing in rental housing to eliminating junk fees for concert tickets and delivery services. Khan said she envisions the following:
A world where you always have another choice and the freedom to choose it, where you aren’t constantly afraid you are being ripped off and you aren’t waking up every morning gearing up for battle. This is the world that the FTC and the Biden-Harris administration is fighting to make possible. We aren’t asking for anything extraordinary. We are asking for the most ordinary thing on earth: Our time, our dignity, and our peace of mind.
Sen. Luján spoke about the devastating impacts a lack of transparency from corporations has had on his family. He shared that his late father, an ironworker, was not made aware of the risk of asbestos exposure on the job and died from lung cancer as a result. He said the lack of transparency his father and so many others face strips away the freedom of choice and has detrimental health and economic outcomes. Sen. Luján called on companies to “just be honest. Share with the American people what the concerns are, what can happen to them,” adding, “We can’t make [a choice] if we don’t know what is going on.”
Today’s conversation with Chair Khan and Sen. Luján is available to watch on CAP’s website here.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].