In its 2024 budget proposal, the Federal Trade Commission has requested an overall increase of $160 million to increase staffing levels, cover the increased costs of operations and provide employee pay increases.
In a 2024 budget request, the FTC said it’s been pressed by mergers in the healthcare industry and others, reports Healthcare IT News.
“Substantial merger activity and signs of market concentration and related competition concerns have dramatically increased the pressure on staffing resources in recent years,” the commission said.
“The merger workload – including resource-intensive and fast-paced merger litigation against major corporations – diverts resources from the Commission’s efforts to reinvigorate and refocus its commitment to identifying and challenging anticompetitive conduct in complex and increasingly pervasive technology markets for which the Bureau has designated significant resources.”
The $70.1 million increase would support the commission’s bureaus of competition and consumer protection. Read more.
