Friday, February 10, 2012

House Panel Approves Price-Fixing Bill

July 31, 2009

The House Judiciary Courts and Competitive Policy Subcommittee voted Thursday to prohibit agreements that set minimum prices on goods or services, reversing a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision. On a voice vote, the subcommittee agreed to the bill and sent it to the full committee, which is not expected to take it up before fall. Courts and Competitive Policy Subcommittee Chairman Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said the Supreme Court upset 96 years of law that will make consumers pay higher prices. "This bill takes a stand for the consumer," said Johnson. Read more about the split decision in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. here.

Internet auction giant eBay, which has emerged on the front lines of the movement to restore the vertical price fixing ban, lauded the subcommittee's action. "When large manufacturers and their biggest retail partners enact price-fixing policies they burden consumers with inflated prices and rob the economy of the value provided by small business competition," eBay Vice President Tod Cohen said. But Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said there may be occasions when minimum resale price maintenance is important, such as to preserve warranties or to protect small retailers against giant discounters. He was assured by Johnson that the bill would be developed further before the full committee takes it up.

Read CongressDaily's full mark up report for H.R. 3190 here (subscription required).

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Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


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Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.