Takeaways From The FTC's 2023 Budget Proposal

ICYMI, the White House's 2023 budget proposal includes $490 million for the FTC, reflecting a substantial increase ($139 million) over the FTC's current budget of $351 million. To support this proposal, the FTC recently submitted a budget justification to Congress providing details about the need for the increase and how the funds would be spent. Our brief review of the FTC's submission turned up some interesting insights:

Overview of the Budget Numbers   

The White House budget framed the FTC's $139 million raise (plus an extra $88 million proposed for DOJ's Antitrust Division) as necessary to support “vigorous marketplace competition through robust enforcement of antitrust law.” However, the underlying documents show that the FTC's increase will actually be spread across both FTC missions – consumer protection and competition. (Although the increase skews slightly towards competition, consumer protection would remain the larger of the two missions.) Here are