Preventing Pandemic Profiting Act
Latest action · Mar 12, 2020 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 12, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Preventing Pandemic Profiting Act
This bill creates a new criminal offense for price gouging during a state of emergency.
Specifically, in a location that has received a state of emergency declaration, the bill prohibits the sale of certain goods or services—those vital and necessary for consumer health, safety, and welfare—at an unconscionably excessive price (e.g., a price higher than the average price during the 30-day period before the emergency declaration was made).
A violator is subject to fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 12, 2020.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Original | Mar 12, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 12, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 12, 2020Introduced in House
- Mar 12, 2020Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 166, no. 48, March 12, 2020, page H1671.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit price gouging during a state of emergency declaration, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Preventing Pandemic Profiting Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 12, 2020Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
