[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3695 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3695

To protect consumers from overbooking by rental car companies, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2023

 Mr. Robert Garcia of California (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Trone, 
Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Budzinski, and Mr. Johnson of Georgia) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To protect consumers from overbooking by rental car companies, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 ``Vehicle Rental Order Obligation 
Mandate Act'' or the ``VROOM Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION FROM OVERBOOKING BY RENTAL CAR COMPANIES.

    (a) Protection From Overbooking.--A rental car company that fails 
to honor a reservation of a consumer shall offer the consumer, and 
allow the consumer to choose from between, each of the following:
            (1) If such a vehicle is available, fulfillment of the 
        reservation, at no additional cost to the consumer, through a 
        covered rental vehicle of a class that is more expensive to 
        rent than the vehicle initially reserved.
            (2) If such a vehicle is available, both--
                    (A) fulfillment of the reservation through a 
                covered rental vehicle of a class that is less 
                expensive to rent than the vehicle initially reserved; 
                and
                    (B) an amount equal to the difference in price 
                between--
                            (i) the reservation as initially reserved; 
                        and
                            (ii) the reservation as fulfilled pursuant 
                        to subparagraph (A), as determined by using the 
                        lesser of--
                                    (I) the lowest available price of 
                                such reservation as fulfilled had such 
                                reservation as fulfilled been made on 
                                the date on which the initial 
                                reservation described in clause (i) was 
                                made; or
                                    (II) the lowest available price of 
                                such reservation as fulfilled had such 
                                reservation as fulfilled been made on 
                                the date of fulfillment.
            (3) An amount equal to 200 percent of the total rental 
        price of the reservation of the consumer, except that in no 
        case may the amount exceed $500 per day of the reservation.
    (b) Regulations.--The Commission may promulgate, under section 553 
of title 5, United States Code, regulations to implement this section.
    (c) Enforcement by Commission.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of 
        this section or a regulation promulgated under this section 
        shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section 
        18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
        57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
            (2) Powers of commission.--The Commission shall enforce 
        this section and the regulations promulgated under this section 
        in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 
        jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms 
        and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
        41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. 
        Any person who violates this section or a regulation 
        promulgated under this section shall be subject to the 
        penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 
        provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.
            (3) Effect on other laws.--Nothing in this Act may be 
        construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any 
        other provision of law.
    (d) Actions by States.--
            (1) In general.--In any case in which the attorney general 
        of a State, or an official or agency of a State, has reason to 
        believe that an interest of the residents of such State has 
        been or is threatened or adversely affected by an act or 
        practice in violation of this section or a regulation 
        promulgated under this section, the State, as parens patriae, 
        may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 
        State in an appropriate district court of the United States 
        to--
                    (A) enjoin such act or practice;
                    (B) enforce compliance with such section or 
                regulation;
                    (C) obtain damages, restitution, or other 
                compensation on behalf of residents of the State; or
                    (D) obtain such other legal and equitable relief as 
                the court may consider to be appropriate.
            (2) Notice.--Before filing an action under this subsection, 
        the attorney general, official, or agency of the State involved 
        shall provide to the Commission a written notice of such action 
        and a copy of the complaint for such action. If the attorney 
        general, official, or agency determines that it is not feasible 
        to provide the notice described in this paragraph before the 
        filing of the action, the attorney general, official, or agency 
        shall provide written notice of the action and a copy of the 
        complaint to the Commission immediately upon the filing of the 
        action.
            (3) Authority of commission.--
                    (A) In general.--On receiving notice under 
                paragraph (2) of an action under this subsection, the 
                Commission shall have the right--
                            (i) to intervene in the action;
                            (ii) upon so intervening, to be heard on 
                        all matters arising therein; and
                            (iii) to file petitions for appeal.
                    (B) Limitation on state action while federal action 
                is pending.--If the Commission or the Attorney General 
                of the United States has instituted a civil action for 
                violation of this section or a regulation promulgated 
                under this section (referred to in this subparagraph as 
                the ``Federal action''), no State attorney general, 
                official, or agency may bring an action under this 
                subsection during the pendency of the Federal action 
                against any defendant named in the complaint in the 
                Federal action for any violation of such section or 
                regulation alleged in such complaint.
            (4) Rule of construction.--For purposes of bringing a civil 
        action under this subsection, nothing in this Act shall be 
        construed to prevent an attorney general, official, or agency 
        of a State from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney 
        general, official, or agency by the laws of such State to 
        conduct investigations, administer oaths and affirmations, or 
        compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of 
        documentary and other evidence.
    (e) Private Right of Action.--A person injured by an act or 
practice in violation of this section or a regulation promulgated under 
this section may bring in an appropriate district court of the United 
States--
            (1) an action to enjoin the violation;
            (2) an action to recover damages for actual monetary loss 
        from the violation, or to receive up to $1500 in damages for 
        each such violation, whichever is greater; or
            (3) both such actions.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Trade Commission.
            (2) Covered rental vehicle.--The term ``covered rental 
        vehicle'' means a motor vehicle that--
                    (A) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 
                pounds or less;
                    (B) is rented to a consumer for a term of less than 
                4 months;
                    (C) is rented without a driver provided as part of 
                the rental; and
                    (D) is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 35 or more 
                motor vehicles that are used for rental purposes by a 
                rental company.
            (3) Fails to honor a reservation.--The term ``fails to 
        honor a reservation'' means, with respect to a rental car 
        company, that the company does not provide a consumer, who has 
        a confirmed reservation for a covered rental vehicle (without 
        regard to whether the reservation was paid for in advance), a 
        vehicle of the class reserved by the consumer at the time for 
        fulfillment associated with the reservation.
            (4) Motor vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' means a 
        vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured 
        primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways, but 
        does not include a vehicle operated only on a rail line.
            (5) Rental car company.--The term ``rental car company'' 
        means a person who--
                    (A) is engaged in the business of renting covered 
                rental vehicles; and
                    (B) uses for rental purposes a motor vehicle fleet 
                of 35 or more covered rental vehicles, on average, 
                during the calendar year.
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