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Amidst the surprises and uncertainty of election season, at least one policy issue may have received some national clarity: voters do not want Congress to enact aggressive anti-innovation bills that would lead to even higher prices for consumers. Legislation focused at breaking up domestic technology due to size, and similarly misguided other anti-innovation proposals should take their last gasp in the waning days of this Congress so that the next Congress can tackle issues that actually matter to people.
Before election day, polling consistently showed that voters generally opposed legislation to restrict the competitiveness of U.S. tech companies. Instead, voters wanted policymakers to focus on important issues like inflation, the cost of living, national security, jobs, and health care. By election day, anti-tech efforts had faded into the background – no candidates focused on the topic, in Texas or elsewhere. Although some advocates are still pushing for anti-innovation votes in Congress’s lame duck session, given the lack of voter support, such a move would represent an unwelcome “December surprise” for the American public.
Moreover, on the merits, these bills deserve to fade away. The bills would prevent larger companies from competing in certain markets and from offering free services like shipping and mapping. As a result, one study finds that the bills would cost the U.S. economy up to $319 billion, with most costs passed on to consumers. Another study estimates that, by depriving retailers of integrated tools, the bills would cost smaller businesses roughly $500 billion in sales. The last thing voters want is even more inflation.
Similarly, the bills could derail the growth of Texas’s economy, resulting in fewer jobs and investment. Many of the bills would prevent larger companies from investing in smaller ones, depriving those smaller companies of the capital and technical expertise that they need to survive and grow. Texas is thriving from this sort of investment. According to Forbes, Texas is among the most entrepreneurial states in the nation. Texas’s technology sector benefits the state’s economy to the tune of $142.8 billion annually and Texas is on track to increase its tech workforce by roughly 17% by the end of the decade.
Perhaps most troubling, the bills could damage U.S. security interests to the benefit of our authoritarian rivals, particularly China. For instance, one proposal would require U.S. companies to share sensitive data with foreign competitors. Experts in homeland security and defense have raised concerns that the bills could undermine efforts to combat cyber threats and to develop the next generation of innovative U.S. technologies. Congress should work with our tech sector, not against it, to counter the many and serious threats from abroad.
Finally, Texans should beware any proposals that would empower federal regulators at the expense of private companies. These anti-innovation bills would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the power to decide whether a company can innovate, lower prices, or offer free shipping and other services. The Congressional Research Service agrees that the bill would give the FTC and Department of Justice enormous discretion. Federal policies already have contributed to record inflation – do we want to give federal regulators even more control over the economy?
Instead of moving forward with flawed anti-innovation bills, Congress should move to reduce the cost of living, protect national security, and focus on the other issues of concern to voters.
Asheesh Agarwal is a native of Houston and a former official with the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. He is an adviser to the American Edge Project.