House Antitrust Panel Taking Aim At Big Government Instead Of Big Tech

The new Republican leadership of the House of Representatives' top antitrust committee is seeking to eliminate big government, rather than targeting big tech, as the group's predecessors, Democrats, did.

The House Judiciary Committee overhauled its antitrust task force, and Republicans elected new leadership and shifted their focus to regulation, federal agencies' regulatory powers and antitrust issues.

The business operations of major US technology companies were a key area of ​​scrutiny for the Democratic-led group before Republicans took control this year.

Unelected bureaucrats who set rules that supersede laws passed by Congress are a major target of Rep. Thomas Massey, R-Kentucky, the newly appointed chairman of the Subcommittee on Government, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust.

Mr Massey said at the group's first meeting on Friday that federal agencies had usurped the legislative powers of Congress. It lists the culprits, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Federal Trade Commission and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"In recent years, the administrative state has passed regulations that have the force of law more than 20 times more often than elected representatives of the United States have passed laws as required by the Constitution," Mr. Massey said.

Democratic lawmakers criticized the subcommittee's new approach, saying the panel should focus on regulations related to cleanup efforts after the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in Ohio last month.

Representative. Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline said Friday that the reshuffled commission's priorities represent congressional oversight that will lead to deregulation that puts Americans at risk.

Cicillin headed the Democratic-controlled antitrust group and announced plans to leave Congress this year.

"Deregulation led to last month's derailment in eastern Palestine and the recent Norfolk Southern derailment in Springfield, Ohio," Mr. Sicilin said during the trial. "More deregulation will lead to more tragedies in the future."

Representative. New York Democrat Gerald Nadler noted that the change in approach by Republican lawmakers is a return to old ideas from previous sessions of Congress. The top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee said Republican lawmakers are pushing health and safety legislation aimed at protecting corporate profits from people.

Massey said he doesn't want zero regulation. Reasonable minds can disagree on various policy decisions, he said, but they should agree that Congress should write legislation, not pressure federal agencies to make regulations.

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