The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice virtually cohosted the first public meeting of the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing to discuss its enforcement actions taken to lower prices for U.S. consumers.
In March 2024, at the sixth meeting of the White House Competition Council, President Joe Biden announced the launch of the Strike Force to strengthen interagency efforts to root out and stop illegal corporate behavior that hikes prices on U.S. families through anticompetitive, unfair, deceptive or fraudulent business practices.
In a news release, the FTC and DOJ shared a brief of the meeting.
FTC Chair Lina M. Khan, DOJ Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, along with other agencies on the Strike Force, convened to highlight the following Strike Force enforcement actions, according to the release:
- Khan highlighted the FTC’s recent work to stop corporate lawbreaking that raises prices for U.S. consumers, including uncovering evidence of corporate conduct that may raise the price of gas, working to lower the cost of many asthma inhalers to just $35 out-of-pocket and making it easier for consumers to cancel online subscriptions they don’t want. Khan said that she will ask the commission to launch an inquiry into grocery prices to probe the tactics that big grocery chains use to hike prices and extract profits from everyday U.S. consumers at the checkout counter.
- Mizer described DOJ’s efforts to tackle unlawful behavior that affects the prices U.S. consumers pay for their groceries, transportation and health care. Kanter highlighted the concrete actions Antitrust Division staff are undertaking to enforce the law and lower prices in higher education, housing, transportation, food, agriculture, live music, health care and other vital industries. Boynton highlighted the Civil Division’s work to combat fraudulent pricing schemes involving government agencies and financial institutions, as well as schemes designed to defraud consumers through unfair and deceptive marketing or billing practices.
- USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small highlighted the all-of-USDA approach to tackling food and agricultural pricing challenges for farmers and consumers alike, including an ongoing investigative study on retail concentration and market practices as well as landmark efforts to modernize the Packers and Stockyards Act rulebook and build a competition partnership with state attorneys general.
- Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm spoke on HHS’s work to make health care affordable, transparent and fair for everyone. Increasing competition and transparency, lowering prescription drug prices and expanding access to health care are key ways to make sure the health care system is working for all U.S. consumers, the release said.
- Acting Department of Transportation General Counsel Subash Iyer spoke about DOT’s work to protect airline passengers from unfair practices that can make it more expensive to fly, including by proposing a ban on family seating junk fees and investigating Delta’s refund, reimbursement and customer service problems during the recent IT meltdown.
- Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler spoke about the SEC’s work to address unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive business practices. The SEC is the cop on the beat for the securities markets. The agency’s rulemaking projects promote transparency, access and fair dealing in the markets. And through market oversight, including examining registrants and reviewing tens of thousands of filings each year, the SEC guards against fraud and deceptive practices and promotes competition, the release said.
- Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel spoke about the FCC’s work to tackle unfair and deceptive pricing tactics in the communications sector, including by implementing new rules that aim to slash the exorbitant rates that incarcerated people and their families pay to stay connected.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra spoke about the CFPB’s work on junk fees, highlighting a report on school lunch fees, and a recently launched inquiry into junk fees in mortgage closing costs. The CFPB continues its work on all aspects of the credit card market, including looking into bait-and-switch rewards tactics, curbing excessive fees, and ensuring competition, all against the backdrop of interest rate margins hitting an all-time high. Additionally, the agency announced further scrutiny of the role of private equity investors in price gouging.
