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MAP Act Coalition Letter Freedomworks
April 13, 2021 Dear Members of Congress, We, the undersigned organizations representing millions of Americans nationwide highly concerned by our country’s unsustainable fiscal trajectory, write in support of the Maximizing America’s Prosperity (MAP) Act, to be introduced by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). As we stare down a mounting national debt of over $28 trillion, the MAP Act presents a long-term solution to our ever-worsening spending patterns by implementing a Swiss-style debt brake that would prevent large budget deficits and increased national debt. Since the introduction of the MAP Act in the 116th Congress, our national debt has increased by more than 25 percent, totaling six trillion dollars higher than the $22 trillion we faced less than two years ago in July of 2019. Similarly, nearly 25 percent of all U.S. debt accumulated since the inception of our country has come since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, it is critical that legislators take a serious look at the fiscal situation we find ourselves in, with a budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2020 of $3.132 trillion and a projected share of the national debt held by the public of 102.3 percent of GDP. While markets continue to finance our debt in the current moment, the simple and unavoidable fact remains that our country is not immune from the basic economics of massive debt, that history tells us leads to inevitable crisis. Increased levels of debt even before a resulting crisis slows economic activity -- a phenomenon referred to as “debt drag” -- which especially as we seek recovery from COVID-19 lockdowns, our nation cannot afford. -
V16 FTC Reform
Consumer Protection & Competition Regulation in a High-Tech World: Discussing the Future of the Federal Trade Commission December 2013 Report 1.0 of the FTC: Technology & Reform Project Consumer Protection & Competition Regulation in a High-Tech World: Discussing the Future of the Federal Trade Commission December 2013 Report 1.0 of the FTC: Technology & Reform Project This document represents the combined input of several authors and commentators, and has been compiled to ask questions and prompt discussion about the Federal Trade Commission. It is, by design, over-inclusive, so that it may foster broad discussion. At the same time, it is also certainly not complete. This document does not necessarily represent the views of its principal authors or other contributors to the drafting process, nor the members of the FTC: Technology & Reform Project. The FTC: Technology & Reform Project was convened by the International Center for Law & Economics and TechFreedom. It is not affiliated in any way with the FTC. I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 2 A. What this Report is About ................................................................................................................. 4 B. The (Not-So-Unique) Role of Technology .......................................................................................... 4 C. Some Historical Context: Constraining & Reasserting FTC Power ................................................... -
Amazon's Antitrust Paradox
LINA M. KHAN Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox abstract. Amazon is the titan of twenty-first century commerce. In addition to being a re- tailer, it is now a marketing platform, a delivery and logistics network, a payment service, a credit lender, an auction house, a major book publisher, a producer of television and films, a fashion designer, a hardware manufacturer, and a leading host of cloud server space. Although Amazon has clocked staggering growth, it generates meager profits, choosing to price below-cost and ex- pand widely instead. Through this strategy, the company has positioned itself at the center of e- commerce and now serves as essential infrastructure for a host of other businesses that depend upon it. Elements of the firm’s structure and conduct pose anticompetitive concerns—yet it has escaped antitrust scrutiny. This Note argues that the current framework in antitrust—specifically its pegging competi- tion to “consumer welfare,” defined as short-term price effects—is unequipped to capture the ar- chitecture of market power in the modern economy. We cannot cognize the potential harms to competition posed by Amazon’s dominance if we measure competition primarily through price and output. Specifically, current doctrine underappreciates the risk of predatory pricing and how integration across distinct business lines may prove anticompetitive. These concerns are height- ened in the context of online platforms for two reasons. First, the economics of platform markets create incentives for a company to pursue growth over profits, a strategy that investors have re- warded. Under these conditions, predatory pricing becomes highly rational—even as existing doctrine treats it as irrational and therefore implausible. -
2003 Iraq War: Intelligence Or Political Failure?
2003 IRAQ WAR: INTELLIGENCE OR POLITICAL FAILURE? A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Dione Brunson, B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. April, 2011 DISCLAIMER THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ACADEMIC RESEARCH PAPER ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICIES OR POSITIONS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OR THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. ALL INFORMATION AND SOURCES FOR THIS PAPER WERE DRAWN FROM OPEN SOURCE MATERIALS. ii 2003 IRAQ WAR: INTELLIGENCE OR POLITICAL FAILURE? Dione Brunson, B.A. MALS Mentor: Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The bold U.S. decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was anchored in intelligence justifications that would later challenge U.S. credibility. Policymakers exhibited unusual bureaucratic and public dependencies on intelligence analysis, so much so that efforts were made to create supporting information. To better understand the amplification of intelligence, the use of data to justify invading Iraq will be explored alongside events leading up to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. This paper will examine the use of intelligence to invade Iraq as well as broader implications for politicization. It will not examine the justness or ethics of going to war with Iraq but, conclude with the implications of abusing intelligence. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you God for continued wisdom. Thank you Dr. Nurnberger for your patience. iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Mom and Dad for their continued support. -
Drowning in Data 15 3
BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DOES WITH AMERICANS’ DATA Rachel Levinson-Waldman Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law about the brennan center for justice The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. We work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all. The Center’s work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism. A singular institution — part think tank, part public interest law firm, part advocacy group, part communications hub — the Brennan Center seeks meaningful, measurable change in the systems by which our nation is governed. about the brennan center’s liberty and national security program The Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program works to advance effective national security policies that respect Constitutional values and the rule of law, using innovative policy recommendations, litigation, and public advocacy. The program focuses on government transparency and accountability; domestic counterterrorism policies and their effects on privacy and First Amendment freedoms; detainee policy, including the detention, interrogation, and trial of terrorist suspects; and the need to safeguard our system of checks and balances. about the author Rachel Levinson-Waldman serves as Counsel to the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, which seeks to advance effective national security policies that respect constitutional values and the rule of law. -
Intelligence Legalism and the National Security Agency's Civil Liberties
112 Harvard National Security Journal / Vol. 6 ARTICLE Intelligence Legalism and the National Security Agency’s Civil Liberties Gap __________________________ Margo Schlanger* * Henry M. Butzel Professor of Law, University of Michigan. I have greatly benefited from conversations with John DeLong, Mort Halperin, Alex Joel, David Kris, Marty Lederman, Nancy Libin, Rick Perlstein, Becky Richards, and several officials who prefer not to be named, all of whom generously spent time with me, discussing the issues in this article, and many of whom also helped again after reading the piece in draft. I would also like to extend thanks to Sam Bagenstos, Rick Lempert, Daphna Renan, Alex Rossmiller, Adrian Vermeule, Steve Vladeck, Marcy Wheeler, Shirin Sinnar and other participants in the 7th Annual National Security Law Workshop, participants at the University of Iowa law faculty workshop, and my colleagues at the University of Michigan Legal Theory Workshop and governance group lunch, who offered me extremely helpful feedback. Jennifer Gitter and Lauren Dayton provided able research assistance. All errors are, of course, my responsibility. Copyright © 2015 by the Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College and Margo Schlanger. 2015 / Intelligence Legalism and the NSA’s Civil Liberties Gaps 113 Abstract Since June 2013, we have seen unprecedented security breaches and disclosures relating to American electronic surveillance. The nearly daily drip, and occasional gush, of once-secret policy and operational information makes it possible to analyze and understand National Security Agency activities, including the organizations and processes inside and outside the NSA that are supposed to safeguard American’s civil liberties as the agency goes about its intelligence gathering business. -
Protecting More Than the Front Page: Codifying a Reporter╎s Privilege for Digital and Citizen Journalists
Notre Dame Law Review Volume 89 | Issue 3 Article 10 2-2014 Protecting More than the Front Page: Codifying a Reporter’s Privilege for Digital and Citizen Journalists Kathryn A. Rosenbaum Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndlr Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, and the First Amendment Commons Recommended Citation 89 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1427 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by NDLScholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Notre Dame Law Review by an authorized administrator of NDLScholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. \\jciprod01\productn\N\NDL\89-3\NDL310.txt unknown Seq: 1 11-FEB-14 9:04 PROTECTING MORE THAN THE FRONT PAGE: CODIFYING A REPORTER’S PRIVILEGE FOR DIGITAL AND CITIZEN JOURNALISTS Kathryn A. Rosenbaum* “‘The reporters who work for the Times in Washington have told me many of their sources are petrified even to return calls,’ Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The New York Times, said . on CBS’s Face The Nation broadcast. ‘It has a real practical effect that is important.’”1 INTRODUCTION The stifling of investigative journalism stems in part from a torrent of stories in 2013 regarding the government’s intrusive tracking of journalists’ and individuals’ cell phone records and e-mails without their knowledge.2 The federal government also tracked two months of call records of more than twenty Associated Press phone lines.3 In a leak probe regarding a news story about North Korea, the government surreptitiously obtained informa- tion about Fox News Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen.4 Offi- cials monitored his “security badge access records to track the reporter’s comings and goings at the State Department[,] . -
A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities Asset Management and Insurance
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities A Financial System That T OF EN TH M E T T R R A E A Financial System P A E S D U R E That Creates Economic Opportunities Y H T Asset Management and Insurance 1789 Asset Management and Insurance TREASURY OCTOBER 2017 2018-03031 (Rev. 1) • Department of the Treasury • Departmental Offices • www.treasury.gov 2018-03031 EO ASSET MGT COVER vSILVER.indd 1 11/2/17 12:27 PM T OF T OF EN TH EN TH M E M E T T T T R R R R A E A E P P A A E E S S D D U U R R E E Y Y H H T T 1789 1789 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities Asset Management and Insurance Report to President Donald J. Trump Executive Order 13772 on Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System Steven T. Mnuchin Secretary Craig S. Phillips Counselor to the Secretary T OF EN TH M E T T R R A E P A E S D U R E Y H T 1789 Staff Acknowledgments Secretary Mnuchin and Counselor Phillips would like to thank Treasury staff members for their contributions to this report. The staff’s work on the report was led by Jared Sawyer and Dan Dorman, and included contributions from Joseph Dickson, Rebekah Goshorn, Sharon Haeger, Alex Hart, Gerry Hughes, W. Moses Kim, Daniel McCarty, Bimal Patel, Bill Pelton, Frank Ragusa, Jessica Renier, Bruce Saul, Steven Seitz, Brian Smith, James Sonne, Mark Uyeda, and Darren Vieira. -
Ftc Stakeholder Perspectives: Reform Proposals to Improve Fairness, Innovation, and Consumer Welfare
S. HRG. 115–541 FTC STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES: REFORM PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE FAIRNESS, INNOVATION, AND CONSUMER WELFARE HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION, PRODUCT SAFETY, INSURANCE, AND DATA SECURITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( Available online: http://www.govinfo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 35–459 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019 VerDate Nov 24 2008 07:37 Mar 18, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\GPO\DOCS\35459.TXT JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington TED CRUZ, Texas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota DEB FISCHER, Nebraska RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JERRY MORAN, Kansas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts DEAN HELLER, Nevada CORY BOOKER, New Jersey JAMES INHOFE, Oklahoma TOM UDALL, New Mexico MIKE LEE, Utah GARY PETERS, Michigan RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois CORY GARDNER, Colorado MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire TODD YOUNG, Indiana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada NICK ROSSI, Staff Director ADRIAN ARNAKIS, Deputy Staff Director JASON VAN BEEK, General Counsel KIM LIPSKY, Democratic Staff Director -
Amazon's Surveillance Infrastructure and Revitalizing a Fair Marketplace
JULY 2021 Eyes Everywhere: Amazon's Surveillance Infrastructure and Revitalizing a Fair Marketplace Daniel A. Hanley 1 1 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................ 2 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 3 II. Competitor Surveillance ......................................................................... 4 A. Amazon Marketplace ...................................................................... 4 B. Amazon Web Services ...................................................................... 5 C. Fulfillment by Amazon ..................................................................... 6 III. Consumer Surveillance ...................................................................... 7 A. Amazon Marketplace ...................................................................... 7 B. Amazon Alexa .................................................................................. 8 C. Amazon Ring .................................................................................... 9 D. Amazon's Other Consumer Surveillance Ambitions ..................... 10 IV. Harms .............................................................................................. 11 A. Copying Competitor Products ...................................................... 11 B. Self-Preferencing ............................................................................ 13 C. Arbitrary and Exclusionary Rules .................................................. -
An Open Letter to the House: No Farm Bill in The
November 13, 2012 An Open Letter to the House: No Farm Bill in the Lame Duck! Dear Representative, Our organizations urge you to oppose consideration of a five-year Farm Bill in a lame duck session of Congress and to ensure that any extension of current law does not include renewal of direct payments. While our organizations have varying goals for farm and food policy, we are united in our conviction that this Congress cannot and should not address a Farm Bill that could cost taxpayers nearly $1 trillion over the next ten years in a lame duck session. A five-year bill will have sweeping fiscal, social, and environmental impacts and should be the result of careful and transparent deliberation. In our view, this Congress simply does not have the time to undertake such legislation this year. We urge you to honor your commitment to ensure that any farm and food legislation, including any extension, be subject to open rules so that legislators will have the opportunity to offer perfecting amendments. Sincerely, Andrew Moylan Ryan Alexander R Street Institute Taxpayers for Common Sense Phil Kerpen Grover Norquist American Commitment Americans for Tax Reform James Valvo Tim Lee Americans for Prosperity Center for Individual Freedom Chris Chocola Mattie Duppler Club for Growth Cost of Government Center Tom Schatz Matt Kibbe Council for Citizens Against FreedomWorks Government Waste Tim Chapman Duane Parde Heritage Action for America National Taxpayers Union David Williams Taxpayers Protection Alliance . -
What Does Lina Khan's Appointment As FTC Chair Mean for Your Business?
Litigation & Arbitration Group Client Alert What Does Lina Khan’s Appointment as FTC Chair Mean for Your Business? June 25, 2021 Contact Fiona Schaeffer Andrew Wellin Eric Hyla Lena K. Bruce Partner Special Counsel Associate Associate +1 212.530.5243 +1 212.530.5432 +1 212.530.5243 +1 212.530.5028 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] On June 15, 2021, within hours of her Senate confirmation as a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner, 32-year-old Lina Khan was appointed by President Biden to serve as the youngest FTC Chair in history. Khan has established herself as a progressive antitrust activist and a leader of the “New Brandeis Movement”1 that advocates for a revival of more aggressive U.S. antitrust policies and enforcement from the earlier part of the 20th century. Khan’s most widely-recognized and influential work, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” published in the Yale Law Journal in 2017 (while she was a Yale law student), argues that the current US antitrust paradigm (heavily influenced by the Chicago School) is too narrowly focused on consumer welfare and “is unequipped to capture the architecture of market power in the modern economy.”2 Because the consumer welfare standard focuses on short-term price and output effects, it is ill-equipped to address the purported harms to competition that big tech platforms raise. In her article, Khan maintains that platform markets, such as Amazon, have evaded antitrust liability because they focus on long-term growth over short-term profits – in short, they can make predatory, below-cost pricing a rational and profitable strategy, and can control the infrastructure on which their rivals depend without raising prices or reducing output in the short-term.