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119-s-4147119th CongressWALLET

Fair Prices for Local Businesses Act

Sponsored By: Senator Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]

Introduced

Summary

Broadly expands liability for price discrimination under the Clayton Act. This bill would widen what the law covers and strengthen remedies by redefining covered transactions, adding new targets of liability, removing a common seller defense, and creating a damages presumption.

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  • Consumers and purchasers: Would make it easier for buyers to recover from discriminatory pricing by creating a conclusive presumption that they sustained injury and damages equal to the monetary amount or equivalent of the unlawful discrimination.
  • Sellers and retailers: Would strip the long‑disputed "meeting competition" defense and make it unlawful to induce or receive the benefit of discriminatory pricing, while imposing a knowledge requirement for persons with annual retail sales not exceeding $100 billion.
  • Scope and definitions: Would expand "in commerce" to "in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce", replace "goods" and "commodities" with "products or services", and define "purchaser" to include anyone who pays or grants anything of value in exchange for a product or service.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Knowledge requirement for many retailers

This bill would limit strict liability for many sellers. A person with annual retail sales of $100,000,000,000 or less would be liable under the covered paragraph only if they knowingly induced or knowingly received the benefit of the violation. Plaintiffs would need to prove that the seller acted with knowledge for those businesses. If enacted, this would reduce automatic liability for a very large set of sellers while keeping liability for knowing misconduct.

Broader coverage for products and services

This bill would expand the Clayton Act to cover "products or services" and activities "in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce." It would add the words "service provision" and "functional discounts" to covered transactions. The bill would also define "purchase" and "purchaser" broadly, including payments even when title or control does not pass. These amendments would apply only to transactions on or after the date of enactment.

Stronger remedies and broader liability

This bill would remove the long-standing defense that a seller simply met a competitor's price. It would make people who induce or receive benefits from discriminatory pricing potentially liable. In court, proven unlawful discrimination would be conclusively presumed to cause money damages equal to the discrimination amount, and plaintiffs could still seek extra damages for other losses. If enacted, buyers would find it easier to get money damages and sellers and intermediaries would face greater legal risk.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]

CT • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT]

    VT • D

    Sponsored 3/19/2026

  • Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]

    AZ • D

    Sponsored 3/19/2026

  • Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA]

    PA • D

    Sponsored 3/19/2026

  • Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

    CT • D

    Sponsored 3/19/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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