Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has emphasized the need to protect small businesses and entrepreneurs in the hopes of promoting fair competition.
Has the agency met its promise? After 25 years, the FTC redefined its mission statement, deleting “without unduly burdening legitimate business activity.” This lack of concern for American business is not limited to large enterprises—rather, the Commission has proposed new rules that significantly impact the way small businesses function – from dictating specific fees and contract terms, to mandating additional paperwork requirements – costing millions in time and legal expenses. Chair Khan is also considering undoing the franchise business model that has benefitted millions of customers and entrepreneurs nationwide. The FTC also continues to extract large settlement awards from small businesses using its injunction power despite admonishment from the Supreme Court.
Please join CEI for a Capitol Hill lunch briefing featuring keynote remarks from Rep. Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), Chair of the House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight. Panelists include PLF Attorney Caleb Kruckenberg, NADA Senior Vice President Paul D. Metrey, LifeVantage General Counsel Alissa Neufeld, Littler Shareholder James A. Paretti, Jr., and CEI Research Fellow Alex Reinauer, in conversation with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Partner Svetlana S. Gans.
When: Tuesday, July 25th, 2023 between 12:00 pm and 1:30 pm.
Where: 2360 Rayburn House Office Building – the House Small Business Committee main room.
Chick-fil-A lunch will be provided to guests.
For the purposes of congressional ethics rules, this is a widely attended event.
Representative Beth Van Duyne represents Texas’s 24th Congressional District which includes portions of Dallas and Tarrant counties. In the 118th Congress Rep. Van Duyne serves on the House Small Business Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. She serves as Chair of the Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight where she concentrates on policies to encourage workforce development, labor participation, and reviews administration actions directly related to the health and well-being of American small businesses.
Rep. Van Duyne is founder of the Congressional Mayors Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Franchise Caucus, and a member of the Republican Study Committee. Prior to being elected to Congress, she was Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Mayor of Irving, an Irving City Council Member, and a businesswoman.
Caleb Kruckenberg is an attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation. He represents people across the country who want to improve their lives through innovation and hard work but are stymied by the government. Before coming to PLF, Kruckenberg worked as a prosecutor, a public defender, a lobbyist for a national advocacy organization and an impact litigator fighting the administrative state. He graduated cum laude from Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia.
Paul D. Metrey is the senior vice president of regulatory affairs for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). Prior to joining NADA in 2001, he served as an attorney with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an active-duty Army JAG officer, and chief in the International Law Branch of the National Guard Bureau’s Legal Support Office. He obtained a Juris Doctorate degree from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Tech.
Alissa Neufeld is the general counsel and corporate secretary for LifeVantage Corporation, a nutraceutical dietary supplement and skin care company. Prior to joining LifeVantage, she served as the chief compliance officer, deputy general counsel, and assistant corporate secretary for Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., associate general counsel at 1-800 Contacts, Inc., business and finance associate at Ballard Spahr LLP, and law clerk for Ninth Circuit Judge Rawlinson. She received a J.D. from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and a B.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University.
James A. Paretti, Jr. is an employment and labor relations attorney at Littler. He has over two decades of experience working with federal legislators and policymakers, including former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Chairmen of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and senior level administration officials. He received his J.D. from New York University and his B.A. from Harvard University.
Alex Reinauer is a Research Fellow with the Center for Technology and Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, focusing on tech policy and antitrust. His writing has been published in The Hill and Real Clear Policy. He received his B.A. in political science from McNeese State University.Reinauer holds a J.D. from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where he served as managing editor for the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal.
Svetlana S. Gans is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher where she helps clients navigate complex consumer protection and competition related regulatory proceedings before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and other enforcement bodies, and provides strategic advice on related public policy issues. Previously, she served as vice president and associate general counsel at NCTA and chief of staff to Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen at the FTC. She received her J.D. from the University of Denver and her Bachelor’s degree from Boston University.
