Hill Dems try to tamp down backlash to Harris’ grocery price gouging pitch
Some lawmakers tell voters and officials from the food industry that her proposal will never be approved by Congress.
Some Democratic lawmakers, under pressure to defend Kamala Harris’ grocery price gouging scheme, are sending a subtle message to their anxious allies. Don’t worry about details. This plan will never pass Congress.
Harris’ proposal, which was part of her big economic speech, has been a focus for Donald Trump and other Republicans who have claimed that she is pushing “communist prices controls.” Some left-of center economists and food industry officials are also concerned, warning such policies could hurt more than help.
Harris’ plan to stop price gouging is vague in many areas, but a key part of it calls on Congress to pass the nation’s first federal ban against price gouging, particularly in the grocery and food sectors. This is similar in most ways with the legislation that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has reintroduced. Earlier this year.
|
Six Democratic legislators and five Democratic aides, who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly about the issue, said that such a bill would have no chance to pass Congress any time soon, even if Democrats won the White House and Congress in November. They said that Democrats in Congress privately told critics this part of Harris’ plan was not feasible.
They’ve said it’s more of a marketing tactic — to show she understands that food prices are an economic burden for most Americans, and to redirect the anger of voters about inflation towards corporations in a manner that progressives have cheered.
One of the Democratic legislators, who requested anonymity in order to discuss the proposal candidly, said: “It is clear to me that these are very general and lofty goals.”
Michigan Governor: “I believe people are reading far too much into the statements that have been made.” Gretchen Whitmer was a possible presidential candidate in 2028 during an interview with NBC News Meet the Press on August 18. Whitmer said that the proposal was meant to tackle the issue with “broad strokes.”
Harris will also need the support of Congress for another important part of her plan, namely giving more funding to FTC and other agencies who enforce antitrust laws. This could also face stiff GOP opposition.
Many Democrats are still skeptical or uncertain of how Harris will implement her plan if she is elected. Many are still trying to get details but have decided to wait until after the DNC.
“I still do not know how it would work,” said another Democratic legislator.
After four years of largely following the lead set by Joe Biden and Biden’s aides, Harris is under pressure to give more details about her policy priorities. Her plan to combat food prices has raised concerns from business leaders about who is guiding her policies. Some of the pieces of her plan, such as increasing competition in meat, come straight out the Biden playbook, under the former top economic advisor Brian Deese, who now advises Harris’ campaign. The broad language of price gouging that has sparked so much criticism is indicative of a more liberal agenda.
This backlash has dampened Harris’ allies initial push to portray the proposal as an innovative, bold idea. Her advisers have tried to dampen the criticism by downplaying the overall impact of the proposal on the market and highlighting that it is merely aimed at a small group of “bad actors” rather than generating the type of sweeping change suggested in the initial launch of the plan.
Brian Nelson, an economic adviser to Harris, told reporters in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention that the plan was simply meant to align federal standards with the so-called guardrails against price gouging that are already in place in 37 states, many of which are Republican-led. Allies of Harris note that in some states, Republican officials are the enforcers.
These restrictions, however, would only be in place during an emergency, such as the Covid pandemic. They would largely empower agencies to go after pricing practices that are far from the norm.
Nelson stated that “she’s going work with Congress to make sure it is targeted at bad actors and bad activities.” It’s not intended to set price levels, or any other kind of pricing. “That is not how the current state laws on price gouging work.”
Nelson was asked about the issue at a Bloomberg News roundtable, but he could not give any examples of companies who are price gouging.
He said Harris was simply trying to lay out her own principles, and that only one of them was an “invitation” to pass legislation.
He said that “one of the principles” is to ensure that federal laws are aligned with state laws.
A Democrat who was familiar with the campaign’s internal discussions said that the plan’s initial release had been distorted. She blamed in part a Washington Post op/ed which harshly criticized it and gave the impression that the proposal sought to set sweeping prices controls. Democrats noted that Harris’s language on price gouging was not as strong as what her campaign had released earlier in the week.
Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, said: “Voters want a president that will lower prices and fight greedy corporations as well as the conman who knows how to cheat working people of their hard-earned cash.” While Donald Trump plans to raise taxes on middle class families by $4,000 she has a plan that is bipartisan and will fight for every day at the White House.
Some Harris’s allies are unhappy with the reaction to her plan.
Even some Republicans on Capitol Hill are in favor of cracking down on price gouging, and boosting competition in the meat industry that is highly consolidated — dominated by a few companies. Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley led an effort with little success for decades, largely because of opposition from other members in his party.
The next president, whether it’s Trump or Harris, will have limited policy options for lowering food prices. This is because the cost of food is largely determined externally by energy prices, global conflicts, and complex supply chains. Republicans have continued to attack Democrats over the high cost of groceries and inflation, which has been a major issue for Americans since the beginning of the pandemic.
Harris is also battling to create an economic agenda. It was Biden’s greatest liability during his disastrous reelection bid.
Food prices are rising
