Price Gouging Prevention Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6450 To prevent price gouging during emergencies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 3, 2020 Mr. NEGUSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prevent price gouging during emergencies, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Price Gouging Preven- 4 tion Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) During a national emergency, state of emer- 8 gency, or public health emergency, some merchants 9 have taken unfair advantage of consumers by greatly 10 increasing prices for essential consumer goods. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450 2 •HR 6450 IH (2) While the pricing of consumer goods and 1 other supplies is generally best left to the market- 2 place under ordinary conditions, when a declared na- 3 tional emergency or state of emergency results in ab- 4 normal disruptions of the market, the public interest 5 requires that excessive and unjustified increases in 6 the prices of essential consumer goods be prohibited. 7 (3) To protect citizens from excessive and un- 8 justified increases in the prices charged during or 9 shortly after a declared national emergency or state 10 of emergency for consumer goods and supplies that 11 are vital and necessary for the health, safety, and 12 welfare of consumers is of utmost concern and im- 13 portance. 14 SEC. 3. PREVENTION OF PRICE GOUGING DURING EMER- 15 GENCIES. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—During an emergency declaration, 17 including a renewal thereof, and for a period of 30 days 18 after such emergency period ends, it shall be unlawful, in 19 the region or State affected by the emergency declaration, 20 for any seller to sell or offer to sell any consumer good 21 for a price that is more than 10 percent greater than the 22 price charged by similarly situated sellers for those con- 23 sumer goods during the 120-day period before the date 24 of the declaration of the emergency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450 3 •HR 6450 IH (b) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In determining 1 whether a seller has violated subsection (a), there shall 2 be taken into account, with respect to the price at which 3 such seller sold or offered for sale the consumer good, fac- 4 tors that include— 5 (1) whether such increase in price was directly 6 attributable to additional costs of the consumer 7 goods, or directly attributable to additional costs for 8 labor or materials used to provide the consumer 9 goods during the emergency declaration; and 10 (2) whether such price is not more than 10 per- 11 cent greater than the total of the cost to the seller 12 plus the markup customarily applied by the seller for 13 that consumer good in the usual course of business 14 before the onset of the public health emergency. 15 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 16 (1) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COM- 17 MISSION.— 18 (A) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC- 19 TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) shall be 20 treated as a violation of a regulation under sec- 21 tion 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commis- 22 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding 23 unfair or deceptive acts or practices. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450 4 •HR 6450 IH (B) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Com- 1 mission shall enforce subsection (a) in the same 2 manner, by the same means, and with the same 3 jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 4 applicable terms and provisions of the Federal 5 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) 6 were incorporated into and made a part of this 7 section. Any person who violates such sub- 8 section shall be subject to the penalties and en- 9 titled to the privileges and immunities provided 10 in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 11 (2) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this 12 section shall be construed in any way to limit the 13 authority of the Commission under any other provi- 14 sion. 15 (3) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN- 16 ERAL.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the attorney general 18 of a State, or another official or agency des- 19 ignated by a State, has reason to believe that 20 any person has violated or is violating sub- 21 section (a), the attorney general, official, or 22 agency of the State, in addition to any author- 23 ity it may have to bring an action in State 24 court under its consumer protection law, may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450 5 •HR 6450 IH bring a civil action in any appropriate United 1 States district court or in any other court of 2 competent jurisdiction, including a State court, 3 to— 4 (i) enjoin further such violation by 5 such person; 6 (ii) enforce compliance with subsection 7 (a); 8 (iii) obtain civil penalties; and 9 (iv) obtain damages, restitution, or 10 other compensation on behalf of residents 11 of the State. 12 (B) NOTICE.—Before filing an action 13 under subparagraph (A), the attorney general, 14 official, or agency of the State involved shall 15 provide to the Commission a written notice of 16 such action and a copy of the complaint for 17 such action. If the attorney general, official, or 18 agency determines that it is not feasible to pro- 19 vide the notice described in this subsection be- 20 fore the filing of the action, the attorney gen- 21 eral, official, or agency shall provide written no- 22 tice of the action and a copy of the complaint 23 to the Commission immediately upon the filing 24 of the action. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450 6 •HR 6450 IH (C) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—On re- 1 ceiving notice under subparagraph (B) of an ac- 2 tion under this section, the Commission shall 3 have the right— 4 (i) to intervene in the action; 5 (ii) upon so intervening, to be heard 6 on all matters arising therein; and 7 (iii) to file petitions for appeal. 8 (D) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE 9 FEDERAL ACTION IS PENDING.—If the Commis- 10 sion has instituted a civil action for violation of 11 this section, no State attorney general, or offi- 12 cial or agency of a State, may bring an action 13 under this paragraph during the pendency of 14 that action against any defendant named in the 15 complaint of the Commission for any violation 16 of this section alleged in the complaint. 17 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 18 following definitions apply: 19 (1) CONSUMER GOOD.—The term ‘‘consumer 20 good’’ means a good offered in commerce, includ- 21 ing— 22 (A) food, water, ice, flashlights, radios, 23 batteries, candles, blankets, soaps, diapers, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450 7 •HR 6450 IH toiletries, gasoline, generators, temporary shel- 1 ters, plywood, nails, hammers; 2 (B) prescription and nonprescription medi- 3 cations, bandages, gauze, isopropyl alcohol, any 4 personal protective equipment for protection 5 from or prevention of a contagious disease, 6 antibacterial materials; or 7 (C) goods vital and necessary for the 8 health, safety, welfare of consumers deemed 9 necessary by public health officials during a de- 10 clared public health emergency. 11 (2) EMERGENCY DECLARATION.—The term 12 ‘‘emergency declaration’’ means— 13 (A) a public health emergency declared 14 pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 15 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); and 16 (B) a declaration of emergency declared 17 pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 18 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 19 U.S.C. 5121 note). 20 (3) SELLER.—The term ‘‘seller’’ means any 21 person selling or offering for sale any consumer 22 good, as defined in such section. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450