Supply Chain – Functional Government Initiative

FGI sues FTC for failing to release records on investigation targeting meat industry

As the nation’s food supply chain comes under focus yet again, the FTC’s role remains unclear

February 20, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) announced a transparency lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for withholding records regarding their investigation into alleged price gouging by the meat industry. This is FGI’s third suit against the FTC as it continues to be weaponized against the private sector in face of persistent inflation many speculate is being fueled by government policies.In

November 2021, as meat prices skyrocketed, the Biden Administration called for an FTC investigation into the meat industry. This announcement came on the heels of public criticism following high meat prices during Fourth of July celebrations. As the political heat continued to build, senior administration officials attempted to shift blame to the meat industry for what they claimed was price gouging. FGI filed a Freedom of Information Act request in August 2022 to reveal the basis and potential special interests driving the calls for an investigation.

The FTC has been unresponsive and continues to withhold the documents, leading to FGI’s latest lawsuit. The facts surrounding the investigation appear to be yet another example of the Biden Administration using the FTC as a political shield to redirect blame onto the private sector. Along with the meat industry, the Biden Administration has ordered investigations into the oil and gas industry and the baby formula industry at similar points when fending off political blame for those respective crises. As supply chain disruptions and inflation continue to roil the economy, some wonder whether additional industries such as the egg industry will find themselves facing investigation as the administration and its special interest allies look to shift blame.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“On issue after issue, in the face of public scrutiny over whether its own policies bear any fault, the administration’s default position has been to investigate the private sector. Instead of engaging with industries in a cooperative way to address our supply chain crisis and rampant inflation, the Biden Administration appears to have weaponized the FTC against the most productive individuals and companies in America. The question now is what special interests are driving this dysfunctional strategy and which industry may be next. FGI intends to find out.”

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USDA Secretary Vilsack’s Leadership of the Supply Chain Task Force – All Hat and No Cattle

Agriculture Secretary AWOL from Task Force While Calling for Investigation of Private Sector

January 20, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Functional Government Initiative announced findings from litigation around the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) response to the ongoing supply chain crisis. Records obtained show that Secretary Vilsack’s leadership of the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force was not only lacking – it was nonexistent.

Amidst much fanfare, in June 2021, the White House announced the creation of the “Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force” to address “structural weaknesses in both domestic and international supply chains [that] threaten America’s economic and national security.” The Administration explained that the Task Force would take a “whole of government approach” to tackling these threats and assigned the secretaries of Agriculture, Transportation, and Commerce to lead the effort. USDA proudly announced Secretary Tom Vilsack’s selection as co-chair of the Task Force that would “convene stakeholders to diagnose problems and surface solutions—large and small, public or private—that could help alleviate bottlenecks and supply constraints related to the economy’s reopening….” Secretary Vilsack also touted the robust role he expected the Task Force to play.

FGI submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the records of Secretary Vilsack or anyone else he delegated to participate in the Task Force meetings. After more than five months after the request, only after FGI filed a federal lawsuit, USDA produced a “final” response of merely 19 pages, 14 pages of which copies of the public statements from the White House and USDA. While USDA has indicated these are all the records they have on the topic, none were dated after the Task Force’s creation and no records exist to evidence Secretary Vilsack or any of his deputies participating in – much less co-chairing – the Task Force.

Notably, the Task Force itself seems to have been disrupted by the absence of another of its “co-leaders,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose official calendars from his two-month paternity leave show he apparently also participated in no Task Force meetings during that time.

Interestingly, while the USDA appears to be MIA when it came to finding solutions to the supply chain crisis, another ongoing FGI investigation shows USDA was quite active in the effort to target and place political blame on meat producers for empty shelves and rising food prices. Across multiple issues, this appears to be a favorite approach of the current administration’s approach to any type of crisis – investigate the private sector while ignoring any federal policy that may be contributing to out-of-control inflation and supply chain challenges.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“The supposed ‘whole of government’ approach taken by the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack might be more aptly called a ‘hole in government’ approach. As the Administration rightly recognized in creating the Task Force, supply chain issues threaten the economic and national security of the country. Secretary Vilsack’s failure to convene a single meeting with his fellow leaders, while dedicating federal resources to investigate and blame the private sector, shows that the Task Force was little more than a cynical attempt to signal engagement on supply chain disruptions while, in fact, doing little or nothing.”

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Watchdog files suit against FTC for blocking records on baby formula shortage investigation

The agency has launched multiple investigations into “top-level” crises facing the country

October 31, 2022

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) announced transparency litigation against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for blocking records surrounding the FTC’s investigation into the baby formula shortage crisis.

In May 2022, the nation began to experience a shortage of baby formula after a major producer was shut down in February by the FDA for health violations as some of the formula from that facility had been contaminated with bacteria. However, it was soon revealed that a whistleblower tried to warn the FDA as early as October 2021 about the conditions and what could happen if they did not act. Unfortunately, the FDA had a series of missteps in response. Most notably, the whistleblower’s report was lost in the FDA’s mailroom for four months.

Instead of digging deep into what caused the crisis and what could have been done differently to stop it, the administration directed the FTC to investigate baby formula manufacturers. Between industry consolidation and price gouging, administration officials appeared intent on shifting all responsibility to the private sector. This is not the first time the administration has turned to the FTC to avoid accountability for an emerging crisis, as the public has witnessed domestic energy producers and the meat industry pegged for unstoppable inflation. FGI has an ongoing case against the FTC for withholding records pertaining to its oil and gas investigation.

Americans deserve to know what this FTC investigation into the baby formula producers is accomplishing, if anything, that can help alleviate the crisis and provide information that could stop it from happening again. Due to the urgency of the ongoing baby formula shortages, FGI has filed suit to force the FTC to release the information.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“Launching FTC investigations has been a favored tactic of this administration in the face of multiple crises. Instead of changing policy or personnel, the FTC has been called in to refocus criticism on the private sector. Americans deserve to know what this investigation is doing to get baby formula back on the shelves and how it can help prevent future shortages.”

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FGI criticizes Biden administration’s ‘perplexing’ move to invoke Defense Production Act

By Bob Martin (Keystone Today)

April 15, 2022

With gas prices the highest they have been since 2008 and inflation at the highest it’s been since 1981, the Biden administration recently announced that it will invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA).

The decision comes as the administration is trying to ease potential supply chain concerns for electric vehicle parts, according to the Functional Government Initiative website.

The move is another way for the Biden administration to move the public away from gasoline and toward electric vehicles, FGI reported. The order reportedly will move funds to private projects surrounding the extraction of minerals used for building electric car batteries. This includes lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, and manganese.