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MA Senator Warren files bill to prohibit price gouging

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(Boston/Washington, D.C.) – Thursday, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act of 2022, which would prohibit the practice of price gouging during all abnormal market disruptions – including the current pandemic – by authorizing the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to enforce a federal ban against unconscionably excessive price increases, regardless of a seller’s position in a supply chain. The legislation also looks to strengthen and expand requirements for public companies to disclose their pricing strategies in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and grants new funding to the FTC.

The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.). In the U.S. House of Representatives, this legislation is cosponsored by Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Val Demings (D-Fla.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.).

“Prices are rising, and consumers are paying more, while giant corporations are using inflation as a cover to expand their profits,” said Senator Warren. “This bill would crack down on corporate price gouging by setting tougher rules of the road and enhancing enforcement, and I’m going to fight to get this done.”

“We can lower costs for families across Wisconsin if we take on big corporations who are using a crisis to jack up prices for consumers,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin. “During COVID, Big Oil and those at the top of the food chain have used inflation to boost record profits while working families have paid the price. This legislation will shine a light on price hikes and help prevent big corporations from exploiting a period of inflation to gouge consumers with higher costs.”

“Price gouging harms consumers and is fueling the inflation hitting Americans’ pocketbooks. Corporate profit margins reached a 70-year high in 2021. Just this year, Big Pharma has increased the prices of 742 drugs. And prices at the pump remain high despite the cost of oil coming down. That’s corporate greed. During World War II, war profiteers were held accountable. The same rule should apply here. Our bill empowers the FTC to hold these price gouging companies accountable when they take advantage of American consumers, especially during times of global uncertainty,” said Rep. Schakowsky.

The Price Gouging Prevention Act aims to:

-Prohibit price gouging at the federal level. The proposed bill would allow the FTC and state attorneys general to enforce a new standard against sellers charging an unconscionably excessive price during periods of exceptional market shock. The bill clarifies that price gouging is illegal wherever it occurs in a supply chain or distribution network.

-Create an affirmative defense for small businesses acting in good faith. Local businesses often must raise prices during crisis events because they have little negotiating power with their price-gouging suppliers. This affirmative defense protects small businesses earning less than $100 million from frivolous litigation if they show legitimate cost increases.

-Target dominant companies that have exploited the pandemic to boost profits. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption of price gouging against firms that exercise unfair leverage and companies that brag about increasing prices during periods of inflation.

-Require public companies to clearly disclose costs and pricing strategies. During periods of exceptional market shock, the bill requires public companies to transparently disclose and explain changes in their cost of goods sold, gross margins, and pricing strategies in their quarterly SEC filings.

-Provide additional funding to the FTC. The bill appropriates $1 billion in funding to the FTC to carry out its work.

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33 Comments

33 Comments

  1. MortisMaximus

    May 13, 2022 at 7:31 pm

    Yeah Pocahontas blame business for the problems your party has brought about. You are either complicit or you are part of the real solution. I say A. POCAHONTAS IS COMPLICIT

  2. david

    May 13, 2022 at 11:38 pm

    A stupid and fraudulent political stunt from the ultimate fraud … 150% White Woman; Liz Warren – American Indian Squaw of the Cherokee Nation; just a distraction from the obvious and real causes of the crushing inflation

  3. Lucille

    May 14, 2022 at 11:32 am

    Gotta love when impotent whiners complain about someone more successful than themselves.

  4. MortisMaximus

    May 14, 2022 at 12:46 pm

    Good work KAREN, your deep wisdom makes me feel like the degenerate Liz Warren sees when she peers into you soulless eyes. If your calling what pocahontas does success, your as much a creep as she. Just the facts please we’re not interested in rolling around in pig shit with you people. Liz Warren now worth 67 million and still not concerned with you KAREN.🤡

    • Lucille

      May 14, 2022 at 8:21 pm

      You’re so bitter it’s quite hilarious 😂

      • MortisMaximus

        May 15, 2022 at 11:22 pm

        Bitter; I’m disgusted with liberal progressive morons and hippocritical conservatives who do nothing but pander to the lowest common denominator. You people can’t see what is happening to America because of all the toxic fluoride calcifying your Pineal Gland, thus removing your connection to your creator. Rolling in your pig shit pile may be pleasurable to your kind but I require a lot more. To hell with your childish comments, try taking some classes at your local middle school. Please go away and stop commenting on my comments. Love always Morty!

        • Lucille

          May 16, 2022 at 12:04 pm

          You spent all that time crying over my comment, time for you to quit leeching off the government and get a life.

          • MortisMaximus

            May 16, 2022 at 12:55 pm

            Good job Patty, I mean Karen.

          • MortisMaximus

            May 16, 2022 at 1:55 pm

            Leeching off the Government, I could only dream! What equities are you investing in Patty? Been long XOM just collecting dividends, re-investing into more shares and am watching the stock reach new highs as you pay record prices for transportation. Don’t get me wrong though I am suffering like everyone in the current economic atmosphere. BRK/b stock split several years ago and made it super affordable at about $65 dollars a share it was previously about $4000 a share. Go check it now!
            Busy struggling here though, please advise.

  5. Ken Masson

    May 16, 2022 at 10:37 am

    The hate and ignorance from the uneducated in the Fall River region is mind-blowing. So many supporting white supremacist and fascist not even realizing what they’re doing because they’re not smart enough. One party supports the ultra rich and corporations with huge tax cuts that creates large deficits while the other party supports the working class and cuts the deficits.

    The right has become extremist, fascist and hateful. There’s no longer a Republican party it’s become Trumpublican party.

    Wake up America. Authoritarians want to take away your freedoms and it’s not the left. They want to overthrow an election with fascist lies of cheating when the only people found cheating were Republicans. They want to take away a woman’s freedom to control their health. It’s amazing the bullshit people believe.

    We need better civics and economic education in school. We also need skilled workers any way we can get them to make our economy stronger because we don’t have enough. Let’s stop shooting ourselves in the foot with hate.

    I also believe that this site should require full names. Too many cowards are posting hate behind fake names.

  6. MortisMaximus

    May 16, 2022 at 12:56 pm

    Good job Patty, I mean Karen.

    • Lucille

      May 16, 2022 at 5:43 pm

      You’re getting your inflatable dolls mixed up again…

  7. MortisMaximus

    May 16, 2022 at 1:42 pm

    Ken Massonic; I would be willing to debate you in front of a live studio audience to the fact that you will not read this article. You are completely brainwashed my friend. Every point you make is a complete cut and paste of the disinfo. regime playbook. Party of the Rich? Can you name 1 poor national Democrat or Republican? Even your Savior Bernie Sanders is rich. Pelosi is filthy rich. Schumer; rich. McConnel; rich and fully invested in CHINA! AOC; getting richer by the second. You get the point (I HOPE). The poor are doomed worldwide because America is being dissolved according to the plans of people who know nothing of us but are driven by Satan to hate us. You allow America’s “political elite” to win because you refuse to see truth and instead are confused because of Cognitive Dissonance. I get it though and I have empathy for you because I know how Humanity is being led astray.

    https://www.revolver.news/2022/05/biden-minster-of-truth-nina-jankowicz-and-the-secret-nato-funded-cabal-to-subvert-western-democracies-using-disinformation-as-cover/

  8. Ken Masson

    May 17, 2022 at 10:14 am

    Wow all of conspiracy theorists are here. And then we get the biggest lier of them all Alex Jones with his totally unprovable conspiracy bullshit and the totally improvable stolen election?

    It’s amazing what stupid people believe! Stupid and they have no morals. Or should I say suckers! Thank God all you idiots are the minority. Unfortunately you’re all dangerous minority because when the fascist minority don’t get their way they want to start fights and wars. That’s all the ignorant knows, violence. So when’s the next insurrection? Talking about a clown show!

    PS, all you ignorant keyboard warriors hiding behind user names are chickenshits. If you believe in your convictions use your real name. Let all your friends and family know you’re a ignoramuses. You all are definitely not conservatives. I know good conservatives and they aren’t idiots believing in unproven conspiracies.

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