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Show . 1 j Fights Bureaucracy r 1 . : I . . - ' .4 h: l I ! . WASHINGTON, D. C Deter- mined to build "a first line of de-', de-', fense against the tyranny of bureaucracy," Representative Carroll Car-roll Reece (R., Tenn.) is currently waging a stout fight for his bill (H.R. 2390) to protect businessmen's business-men's basic civil rights by amending amend-ing the Federal Trade Commission Commis-sion Act. Public hearings on the Bill have just been completed before be-fore a subcommittee of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign For-eign Commerce. "The Reece Bill provides democratic demo-cratic safeguards, particularly for the small businessman, against the broad bureaucratic powers of the Federal Trade Commission Com-mission acting as complainant, prosecutor, - judge and jury," Rep. Reece points out. How far-reaching far-reaching FTC powers are is demonstrated dem-onstrated by the fact that FTC decisions often involve not only millions of dollars and the destruction de-struction of valuable trademarks; but in the case of smaller firms, sometimes the very existence of a company. The Reece legislation would eliminate arbitrary action by giving giv-ing the courts more power over FTC decisions, would prevent overlapping authority by eliminating elimi-nating the conflict between FTC and the Federal Food and Drug Administration in the labelling of food, drugs and cosmetics. This conflict, says Rep. Reece, is handicapping hand-icapping the efficient enforcement enforce-ment of the pure food and drug laws and is depriving consumers i of the maximum protection to which they are entitled. 1 The Reece Bill would make the j businessman's right to appeal to the courts against FTC rulings ! "a real democratic right based on justice instead of the futile, rubber-stamp affair it is now," ac-! ac-! cording to the Tennessee con-: con-: gressman. By requiring the FTC to base its decisions on the weight or "preponderance" of the evidence evi-dence in any given case, .the bill makes it possible for a businessman business-man to appeal an FTC ruling to the courts and get his case decided de-cided in the light of all the evi- KEP. CARROLL REECE dence in other vords, on it3 merits. "As the law stands now," Rep. Reece points out, "the courts must uphold an FTC decision if there is any evidence at all to support that decision. In short, the courts must ignore conflicting' evidence, and they have admitted they cannot modify such an FTC decision even though they find it unjust." Thus, when a businessman is now brought to trial before the FTC, his lawyer must "literally'.' break every Commission witness in order to win his case. Since this means long, expensive proceedings, pro-ceedings, it makes it almost impossible im-possible for a small businessman to defend himself adequately. Yet an FTC decision against him may go a long way toward putting him out of business. The Reece Bill has already received re-ceived the support of representative representa-tive business groups. But, Rep. Reece points out, it is of vital concern to all that Congress acts favorably on this legislation which safeguards one of our most precious prec-ious democratic rights unobstructed unob-structed access to the courts. |