Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Schakowsky reintroduces bill to restore FTC’s ability to obtain restitution in court, (Aug 4, 2026)

By Lynn Stanton, TR Daily

The Consumer Protection and Recovery Act was passed by the House in 2021 but died in the Senate.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s commerce, manufacturing, and trade subcommittee, has reintroduced a bill that would restore the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to seek monetary relief for consumers from the federal courts before using the agency’s administrative process.

In 2021, the Supreme Court in AMG Capital Management LLC et al. v. Federal Trade Commission reversed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco), which had upheld a decision by a federal district court requiring payday lending companies to pay $1.27 billion in restitution and disgorgement, which the FTC was to use for direct reimbursement, other equitable relief, and a deposit to the U.S. Treasury as disgorgement of ill-gotten gains. By the time the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, differences had emerged among various circuits as to the scope of section 13(b) of the FTC Act, which was the basis for prior circuit court approvals of district courts’ grants of monetary relief for restitution.

The Consumer Protection and Recovery Act “[e]xplicitly provides the FTC with the authority to obtain both injunctive and monetary relief for violations of the laws it enforces, including monetary redress for consumers harmed by illegal conduct” and “[c]larifies that the FTC may pursue a range of equitable remedies, including restitution for losses, contract reformation and rescission, monetary refunds, the return of property, and requiring bad actors to return their ill-gotten gains,” according to a press release from Rep. Schakowsky’s office.

“For decades, the FTC relied on Section 13(b) to return billions of dollars to consumers cheated by scammers, fraudsters, and other bad actors until the Supreme Court stripped that authority away in 2021,” Rep. Schakowsky said, adding that “protecting consumers should never be a partisan issue. If you’re cheated, you deserve to get your money back. Congress should restore the FTC’s ability to put consumers first, hold bad actors accountable, and return money to victims of fraud. The American people deserve an FTC that stands up for consumers and ensures that those who break the law are held accountable.”

Rep. Schakowsky has offered the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act in at least two previous congresses. It passed the House in 2021 but the Senate did not take it up. This time, her co-sponsors include Reps. Yvette Clarke (D., N.Y.) and Rob Menendez (D., N.J.).

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews