The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on May 11 passed legislation containing an amendment from U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) that would disallow votes cast by Federal Trade Commissioners (FTC) from being counted after a commissioner has left his or her post.
“Your last day in office is the last day your vote should count,” Sen. Moran said. “It’s troubling that votes cast by commissioners on outstanding issues can be counted up to 60 days past their departure.”
The amended version of the Consumer Protection Remedies Act of 2022, S. 4145, contained Sen. Moran’s amendment, which was originally introduced as the FTC Integrity Act, S. 3311. Sen. Moran in December 2021 sponsored S. 3311 with six original cosponsors, including U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), to amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to establish procedures for the treatment of votes by departed commissioners, according to the bill’s text.
The Senate Commerce Committee last week added S. 3311 as an amendment to S. 4145 and then voted to advance the larger bill to the full chamber for consideration.
“This is a straightforward and sensible reform that supports good governance and will help protect the integrity of the commission,” said Sen. Moran.