Biden to form ‘strike force’ to go after price-gouging

President Biden is expected to announce on Tuesday the formation of a “strike force” to hold companies accountable for price gouging.

The announcement comes days before the State of the Union address, where Biden is expected to make an economic pitch to Congress and voters ahead of the crucial 2024 election.

The strike force, co-chaired by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), will thwart the Biden administration’s efforts to curb anticompetitive and unfair practices and lower prices in key areas such as food and prescriptions. It is intended to be adjusted. Medicines and transportation.

National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard told reporters: “Despite falling prices for essential items like a gallon of milk or a dozen eggs, some companies are passing those savings on to consumers.” I haven’t,” he said. “Instead, some companies charge additional fees, hide costs, and in some cases violate the law.”

Republicans reject the theory that corporate profiteering is causing inflation, saying the inflation rate exceeded 9% in the summer of 2022 and has steadily fallen to around 3% in recent months, pointing to government spending as the real culprit. It is claimed that The United States is one of many countries experiencing high inflation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brainard called on Republicans in Congress to “join this effort, not stand in the way.”

The strike force builds on the work of the Competition Council, which Biden established through a July 2021 executive order to promote economic competition and crack down on “junk fees.”

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Cantor called the strike force “an important next step and a new chapter in the fight against unfair and anticompetitive pricing.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will also issue a final rule that lowers credit card late fees from $32 to $8 for the largest issuers with more than 1 million open accounts, according to the CFPB Director. Rohit Chopra told reporters.

Opponents of the late fee rule, first proposed last February, say the rule would limit access to credit, increase costs for cardholders, and reduce incentives for cardholders to pay on time. He claims to do so.

Chopra estimated that the rule would save Americans $10 billion a year, or an average of $220 per person.

“We have seen the era of junk fees really creep into so many sectors of the economy and across government. We’re just trying to make sure that the burden is taken care of,” Chopra said.