[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1788 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1788
To prohibit the use of algorithmic systems by food producers to
artificially inflate the price or reduce the supply of their foods.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 3, 2025
Mr. Frost introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the use of algorithmic systems by food producers to
artificially inflate the price or reduce the supply of their foods.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Grocery Pricing Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Chair.--The term ``Chair'' means the Chair of the
Commission.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(3) Consciously parallel pricing coordination.--The term
``consciously parallel pricing coordination'' means a tacit
agreement between 2 or more food producers to raise, lower,
change, maintain, or manipulate pricing for the purchase or
sale of reasonably interchangeable food products.
(4) Coordinating function.--The term ``coordinating
function'' means--
(A) collecting historical or contemporaneous food
product prices or supply levels from 2 or more food
producers;
(B) analyzing or processing of the information
described in subparagraph (A) using a system, software,
or process that uses computation, including by using
that information to train an algorithm; and
(C) recommending food prices, supply or output, or
other commercial term to a food producer.
(5) Coordinator.--The term ``coordinator'' means any person
that operates a software or data analytics service that
performs a coordinating function for any food producer,
including a food producer performing a coordinating function
for their own benefit.
(6) Food.--The term ``food'' has the meaning given the term
in the 321st section of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 321).
(7) Food producer.--The term ``food producer'' means any
individual, corporation, or entity engaged in the
manufacturing, processing, or production of food products for
commercial distribution.
(8) Person.--The term ``person'' has the meaning given the
term in the 1st section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12).
(9) Pre-dispute arbitration agreement.--The term ``pre-
dispute arbitration agreement'' means an agreement between 2 or
more parties to arbitrate a dispute between the parties that is
made before any dispute has arisen.
(10) Pre-dispute joint action waiver.--The term ``pre-
dispute joint action waiver'' means an agreement between 2 or
more parties, which may be part of a pre-dispute arbitration
agreement, that--
(A) would prohibit or waive the right of a party to
participate in a joint, class, or collective action in
a judicial, arbitral, administrative, or other forum
relating to a dispute between parties; and
(B) is made before any dispute has arisen.
(11) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States.
SEC. 3. UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.
(a) In General.--
(1) Contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade.--It is
unlawful for a food producer, in or affecting commerce, or any
agent or subcontractor thereof, to subscribe to, contract with,
or otherwise exchange anything of value or use in return for
the services of a coordinator, and such action shall be deemed
to be a per se violation of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et
seq.).
(2) Facilitation.--It is unlawful for a coordinator, in or
affecting commerce, to facilitate an agreement among food
producers to not compete with respect to food prices, supply or
output, or other commercial term, including by performing a
coordinating function.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Federal trade commission.--The Commission shall
enforce this Act in the same manner, by the same means,
and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as
though all applicable terms of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated
into and made a part of this Act.
(B) Attorney general.--The Attorney General shall
enforce this Act in the same manner, by the same means,
and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as
though all applicable terms of the Sherman Act (15
U.S.C. 1 et seq.), Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.),
and Antitrust Civil Process Act (15 U.S.C. 1311 et
seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this
Act.
(C) State attorneys general.--Any attorney general
of a State shall enforce this Act in the same manner,
by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction,
powers, and duties as though all applicable terms of
the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) and the Clayton
Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.) were incorporated into and
made a part of this Act.
(2) Unfair methods of competition.--A violation of this Act
shall also constitute an unfair method of competition under
section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).
(3) Independent litigation authority.--If the Commission
has reason to believe that a person violated this Act, the
Commission may commence a civil action, in its own name by any
of its attorneys designated by it for such purpose, to recover
a civil penalty and seek other appropriate relief in any
district court of the United States.
(4) Standards of pleading.--In a civil action under this
subsection, a complaint--
(A) plausibly pleads a violation of section 1 or
3(a) of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1, 3(a)) if the
complaint contains factual allegations, including
allegations of consciously parallel pricing
coordination, demonstrating that the existence of a
contract, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or
commerce is among the realm of plausible possibilities;
and
(B) need not allege facts tending to exclude the
possibility of independent action.
(b) Civil Actions by Injured Persons.--
(1) Civil action authorized.--Any person who is aggrieved
by a violation of this Act may bring a civil action in an
appropriate district court of the United States, without
respect to the amount in controversy, to recover an amount
described in paragraph (2).
(2) Award amount.--
(A) In general.--The court shall award to the
plaintiff threefold the damages sustained by the
plaintiff and the reasonable cost of litigation,
including a reasonable attorney fee.
(B) Interest on damages.--Pursuant to a motion by
the plaintiff promptly made, the court may award simple
interest on actual damages sustained by the plaintiff
for the period beginning on the date of service of the
pleading of the plaintiff setting forth a claim under
this Act and ending on the date of judgment, or for any
shorter period therein.
(3) Invalidity of pre-dispute arbitration agreements and
pre-dispute joint action waivers.--At the election of the
plaintiff in an action authorized under paragraph (1), a pre-
dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint action
waiver relating to a violation of this Act shall be invalid or
unenforceable.
SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL ANTITRUST LAWS.
Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be
construed to modify, impair, or supersede the operation of any of the
antitrust laws
SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.
Nothing in this Act may be construed to preempt any State, Tribal,
city, or local law, regulation, or ordinance that supplements this Act.
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such a
provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be
unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this Act, and the
application of such provisions to any person or circumstance shall not
be affected thereby.
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