Democrats Consider Bills To Take On Price-Fixing

Citing skyrocketing prices for fuel and consumer goods while corporate profits soar, House Democrats on Wednesday held a hearing on corporate price hikes they say exacerbate the inflation crisis.

Members of the House Democratic Policy Committee heard testimony on the impact that the consolidation of industries, such as the energy sector, controlled by a handful of companies, was having on Pennsylvania consumers.

They also highlighted a trio of bills aimed at preventing monopolistic practices.

“The act of price gouging is an unpatriotic act and it needs to be called out,” Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, a Democrat from Luzerne County, said.

The hearing followed a series of Republican Policy Committee hearings on inflation that focused on regulatory changes that would lower consumer prices and drive investment and economic growth in Pennsylvania.

The Stop Price Fixing Act, sponsored by Rep. Nick Pisciottano, a Democrat from Allegheny County, would enhance the authority of the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office to investigate and prosecute price-fixing. It would create protections against retaliation and incentives for whistleblowers who report anti-competitive activity. 

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