Biden proposes funding boost for federal antitrust enforcers

President Biden is proposing funding increases for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust division as part of his $5.8 trillion proposal released Monday.

Biden’s 2023 budget would increase the DOJ’s antitrust division funding by $88 million and the FTC funding by $139 million.

The White House called it a “historic” increase in a fact sheet, saying it “reflects the Administration’s commitment to vigorous marketplace competition through robust enforcement of antitrust law.”

The requests to increase the funding come as the DOJ and FTC push forward with antitrust cases against tech giants, including Google and Facebook parent company Meta.

The agencies and tech advocacy groups have long pushed for increased funding to help regulators as they make decisions about which cases they can pursue and to what degree. 

Biden’s budget proposal also aims to strengthen the nation’s supply chains, with $372 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s manufacturing programs to launch two additional manufacturing innovation institutes in 2023 and to continue to support the two institutes funded in 2022.

The proposal also would provide $13 million for “cutting edge advanced communications research and engineering” at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.