[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8184 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8184
To strengthen the prohibition on price discrimination under the Clayton
Act, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 2, 2026
Ms. Perez (for herself and Mr. Riley of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To strengthen the prohibition on price discrimination under the Clayton
Act, 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 ``Fair Prices for Local Businesses
Act''.
SEC. 2. CLAYTON ACT AMENDMENTS.
(a) In General.--The Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) in section 2 (15 U.S.C. 13)--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``in commerce'' each place
it appears and inserting ``in commerce or in
any activity affecting commerce'';
(ii) by striking ``commodities'' each place
it appears and inserting ``products or
services'';
(iii) by inserting ``service provision,''
after ``sale,'';
(iv) by striking ``goods, wares, or
merchandise'' and inserting ``products or
services'';
(v) by striking ``goods'' each place it
appears and inserting ``products or services'';
and
(vi) by inserting ``functional discounts
or'' after ``due allowance for'';
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) by inserting ``including a person
charged with inducing or receiving such
discrimination,'' after ``person charged with a
violation of this section,''; and
(ii) by striking ``: Provided, however,
That nothing herein contained shall prevent a
seller rebutting the prima-facie case thus made
by showing that his lower price or the
furnishing of services or facilities to any
purchaser or purchasers was made in good faith
to meet an equally low price of a competitor,
or the services or facilities furnished by a
competitor'';
(C) in subsection (c)--
(i) by striking ``in commerce'' and
inserting ``in commerce or in any activity
affecting commerce''; and
(ii) by striking ``goods, wares, or
merchandise'' and inserting ``products or
services'';
(D) in subsection (d)--
(i) by striking ``in commerce'' and
inserting ``in commerce or in any activity
affecting commerce''; and
(ii) by striking ``products or
commodities'' each place it appears and
inserting ``products or services'';
(E) in subsection (e)--
(i) by inserting ``engaged in commerce or
in any activity affecting commerce'' after
``any person''; and
(ii) by striking ``commodity'' each place
it appears and inserting ``product or
service'';
(F) by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:
``(f)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any
person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce, in
the course of such commerce or in the course of any activity affecting
commerce, to induce or receive the benefit of any violation of this
section.
``(2) In the case of a person with annual retail sales that do not
exceed $100,000,000,000, paragraph (1) shall only apply if the person
knowingly induced or received the benefit of the violation of this
section.''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) For purposes of this section--
``(1) the term `purchase' means to pay or grant anything of
value in exchange for a product or service; and
``(2) the term `purchaser' means a person who pays or
grants anything of value in exchange for a product or service,
whether or not--
``(A) title passes to the payor or grantor; and
``(B) the payor or grantor exercises dominion or
control over the product or service.''; and
(2) in section 4 (15 U.S.C. 15)--
(A) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and (c)''
after ``Except as provided in subsection (b)'';
(B) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection
(d); and
(C) by inserting after subsection (b) the
following:
``(c) In an action brought with respect to a violation of any
subsection of section 2, the plaintiff, upon a showing of proof that
the plaintiff has been unlawfully discriminated against by the
defendant--
``(1) shall conclusively be presumed to have sustained
injury and damages equal to the monetary amount or equivalent
of the unlawful discrimination; and
``(2) may establish damages in addition to the damages
described in paragraph (1), if any, that the plaintiff
sustained as a result of the discrimination.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply to
transactions occurring on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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