Pink Tax Repeal Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2048 To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are substan- tially similar if such products or services are priced differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are performed or offered. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 3, 2019 Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MOORE, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MENG, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. TITUS, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. ESHOO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. BEYER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. LEE of Cali- fornia, Mr. RYAN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. ROYBAL- ALLARD, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. DEAN, Mrs. TORRES of Cali- fornia, Mr. RUSH, Mr. POCAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. FRANKEL, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are substantially similar if such products or services are priced differently based on the gender of the individ- uals for whose use the products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are performed or offered. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2048.IH H2048 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2048 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pink Tax Repeal Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GENDER-BASED PRICING OF CON- 5 SUMER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. 6 (a) PROHIBITED PRACTICES.— 7 (1) CONSUMER PRODUCTS.—It shall be unlaw- 8 ful for any person to sell or offer for sale in inter- 9 state commerce any two consumer products from the 10 same manufacturer that are substantially similar if 11 such products are priced differently based on the 12 gender of the individuals for whose use the products 13 are intended or marketed. 14 (2) SERVICES.—It shall be unlawful for any 15 person to sell or offer for sale any services that are 16 substantially similar if such services are priced dif- 17 ferently based on the gender of the individuals for 18 which the services are performed, offered, or mar- 19 keted. 20 (b) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.— 21 A violation of subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation 22 of a rule prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Fed- 23 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2048.IH H2048 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2048 IH fining an unfair or deceptive act or practice in or affecting 1 interstate commerce. 2 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 3 (1) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.—The Fed- 4 eral Trade Commission shall enforce this section in 5 the same manner, by the same means, and with the 6 same jurisdiction as though all applicable terms and 7 provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act 8 were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. 9 (2) STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.— 10 (A) CIVIL ACTION.—In any case in which 11 the attorney general of a State has reason to 12 believe that an interest of the residents of that 13 State has been or is adversely affected by a vio- 14 lation of subsection (a), the attorney general 15 may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on 16 behalf of the residents of the State in an appro- 17 priate district court of the United States— 18 (i) to enjoin further violation of this 19 Act by the defendant; 20 (ii) to compel compliance with this 21 Act; or 22 (iii) obtain damages, restitution, or 23 other compensation on behalf of residents 24 of the State. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2048.IH H2048 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2048 IH (B) NOTICE TO THE FTC.— 1 (i) NOTICE.—Except as provided in 2 clause (iii), the attorney general of a State 3 shall notify the Commission in writing of 4 any civil action under paragraph (2), prior 5 to initiating such civil action. 6 (ii) CONTENTS.—The notice required 7 by clause (i) shall include a copy of the 8 complaint to be filed to initiate such civil 9 action. 10 (iii) EXCEPTION.—If it is not feasible 11 for the attorney general of a State to pro- 12 vide the notice required by clause (i), the 13 State shall provide notice immediately 14 upon instituting a civil action under sub- 15 paragraph (A). 16 (C) INTERVENTION BY THE FTC.—Upon 17 receiving notice required by subparagraph (B) 18 with respect to a civil action, the Commission 19 may— 20 (i) intervene in such action; and 21 (ii) upon intervening, be heard on all 22 matters arising in such civil action and file 23 petitions for appeal of a decision in such 24 action. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2048.IH H2048 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2048 IH (D) PREEMPTIVE ACTION BY THE FTC.— 1 If the Commission institutes a civil action for 2 violation of this Act, no attorney general of a 3 State may bring a civil action under this para- 4 graph against any defendant named in the com- 5 plaint of the Commission for violation of this 6 Act that is alleged in such complaint. 7 (d) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 8 (1) SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR PRODUCTS.—For 9 purposes of this Act, two consumer products are 10 substantially similar if there are no substantial dif- 11 ferences in the materials used in the product, the in- 12 tended uses of the product, and the functional de- 13 sign and features of the product. A difference in 14 coloring among any consumer products shall not be 15 construed as a substantial difference for purposes of 16 this paragraph. 17 (2) SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR SERVICES.—For 18 purposes of this Act, two services are substantially 19 similar if there is no substantial difference in the 20 amount of time to provide the services, the difficulty 21 in providing the services, or the cost of providing the 22 services. 23 (e) DEFINITION OF CONSUMER PRODUCT.—The 24 term ‘‘consumer product’’ has the meaning given such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2048.IH H2048 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2048 IH term in section 3 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 1 U.S.C. 2052) and includes a device or cosmetics, as such 2 terms are defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, 3 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). Such term in- 4 cludes a child restraint system, as such term is defined 5 in section 571.213 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula- 6 tions. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2048.IH H2048 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS