Biden takes new action on junk fees, food prices, and corporate mergers
Christian Datoc
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President Joe Biden is taking new action on Wednesday in an attempt to lower costs for families.
The initiatives, announced in conjunction with the fifth meeting of the president’s White House Competition Council, seek to help lower food prices, address potentially monopolistic mergers, and limit consumer exposure while applying for housing.
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On food prices, the administration is partnering with two dozen state attorneys general to “crack down on price-gouging and other anti-competitive practices in food and agricultural markets.” The Department of Agriculture is also launching a “Farmer Seed Liaison” that will allegedly give farmers more say in the patenting of new seeds.
The president’s Competition Council is aiming to keep costs down in an extremely elevated housing market by partnering with private companies to expose hidden rental housing fees, which can cost renters hundreds of dollars. Those fees include “application fees that exceed the actual cost of running the background or credit check,” online bill pay “convenience fees,” and trash disposal fees. The administration is working with Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com, three of the nation’s largest apartment search sites, to “launch new website features to show prospective renters all the fees up front,” senior administration officials said.
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Biden also previously ordered the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to publish new guidance for corporate mergers, which the administration says can negatively affect workers and raise prices for consumers. That guidance, which officials said “reflects an approach of antitrust enforcement that is informed by the best, most up-to-date economic evidence available,” will also be published Wednesday.
Biden’s actions come two years after he signed an executive order standing up the Competition Council, and though inflation is beginning to ease, costs for families remain incredibly elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels.