Fifteen attorneys basic referred to as on congressional leaders to help a nationwide ban on worth gouging, in a letter despatched Wednesday.
The letter — addressed to Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Chief Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) — expressed concern concerning the lack of federal laws stopping corporations from growing costs on important corporations throughout emergencies.
Greater than 40 states ban worth gouging, based on the letter, however a nationwide ban, they argued, would give the federal authorities the ability to handle worth gouging points “that cannot be stopped by a single state,” and to handle points that must do with nationwide provide chains.”
“Individual states face heightened challenges when protecting consumers from price gouging when so many product supply chains are nationwide. A federal price gouging prohibition would provide critical partnership to state enforcement and protect consumers and small businesses alike,” learn the letter, led by New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James’s workplace.
James and her fellow attorneys basic famous that worth gouging was particularly prevalent on the onset of the Ukraine conflict and in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, each of which have been points that affected the nationwide provide chain.
“Businesses should never be able to hike prices during an emergency just to increase their profits,” James wrote in a press launch.
“When companies take advantage of major disruptions and raise prices of food and supplies that New Yorkers rely on, my office holds them accountable, getting people their money back and protecting their wallets,” she continued. “Our federal government should have the same power to protect Americans when disaster strikes and stop price gouging at the national level that threatens both hardworking families and small businesses.”
Forward of Hurricane Milton’s landfall on Florida’s western coast this month, federal companies warned corporations in opposition to worth gouging and instructed customers to be on alert for potential scams. FTC Chair Lina Khan stated her company noticed worth gouging efforts earlier than landfall “for essentials that are necessary for people to get out of harm’s way,” together with for lodges, groceries and fuel.
