I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6457 
To clarify that the Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits excessive and 
unjustified price increases in the sale of certain products and services 
when an emergency or disaster results in abnormal disruptions of the 
market and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 7, 2020 
Mr. CLEAVER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To clarify that the Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits 
excessive and unjustified price increases in the sale of 
certain products and services when an emergency or dis-
aster results in abnormal disruptions of the market and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster and Emer-
gency Pricing Abuse Prevention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this section: 
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(a) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ means 
the Federal Trade Commission. 
(b) ESSENTIAL GOODS OR SERVICES.—The term ‘‘es-
sential goods or services’’ means goods or services that 
may be used to preserve, protect, or sustain the health, 
safety, or welfare of members of the public from potential 
harms resulting from a natural disaster, a pandemic, or 
the circumstances giving rise to a state of emergency. 
(c) NATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘‘natural dis-
aster’’ means a disaster, catastrophe, or emergency, in-
cluding flood, fire, earthquake, storm, or other serious act 
of nature, which threatens the health, safety, or welfare 
of the public. 
(d) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an indi-
vidual or entity, its directors, officers, employees, agents, 
representatives, successors, and assigns, including any en-
tity the person controls, and the respective directors, offi-
cers, employees, agents, representatives, successors, and 
assigns of each. 
(e) STATE
OF EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘state of 
emergency’’ means any state of emergency or disaster de-
clared by the President or by the government of any State 
or territory of the United States. 
(f) UNCONSCIONABLY EXCESSIVE PRICE.—The term 
‘‘unconscionably excessive price’’ means a price that rep-
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resents a gross disparity between the price of the essential 
good or service that is the subject of an offer or trans-
action during, or in anticipation of, a natural disaster, 
pandemic, or state of emergency and the average price at 
which such essential good or service was offered in the 
ordinary course of business prior to any public anticipa-
tion of a natural disaster, pandemic, or state of emer-
gency. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ENFORCEMENT 
AGAINST PRICE GOUGING. 
(a) VIOLATION.—Selling, or offering for sale, essen-
tial goods and services, in or affecting commerce, at an 
unconscionably excessive price during, or in anticipation 
of, a natural disaster, pandemic, or state of emergency, 
shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice 
under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(15 U.S.C. 45(a)). 
(b) CIVIL ACTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission has rea-
son to believe that there has been a violation of sec-
tion 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 45(a)) under subsection (a) of this section, 
the Commission may commence a civil action to re-
cover a civil penalty and seek other appropriate re-
lief in a district court of the United States. 
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(2) PRESUMPTION.—In a civil action under 
paragraph (1), the price of an essential good or serv-
ice shall be presumed to be an unconscionably exces-
sive price if the price charged or offered by the de-
fendant during, or in anticipation of, a natural dis-
aster, pandemic, or state of emergency, exceeded by 
20 percent the greater of— 
(A) the average price charged by the de-
fendant for the essential good or service during 
the preceding 60 days before the public could 
reasonably have anticipated the natural dis-
aster, pandemic, or state of emergency; or 
(B) the average price at which buyers 
could obtain such good or service or similar 
goods or services in the geographic area during 
the 60 day period before the date on which the 
public could reasonably have anticipated the 
natural disaster, pandemic, or state of emer-
gency, 
unless the price charged by the defendant is attrib-
utable to price increases in related input markets or 
to additional expenses not within the control of the 
defendant that increased the defendant’s costs to 
furnish the essential goods or services. 
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(3) CIVIL PENALTY.—In an action under para-
graph (1), any person that has been found liable for 
a violation of section 5(a) of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)) under subsection 
(a) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty 
of an amount no greater than $10,000 per violation. 
(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The civil pen-
alty provided in this subsection is in addition to, and 
not in lieu of, any other remedies provided by Fed-
eral law, including injunctive relief under section 
13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 53(b)). Nothing in this paragraph shall be 
construed to affect any authority of the Commission 
under any other provision of law. 
SEC. 4. PRICE GOUGING HOTLINE. 
The Commission shall establish a telephone hotline 
and an online portal dedicated solely to receiving price 
gouging complaints from the public, which shall be acti-
vated in anticipation of or during major disasters or states 
of emergency and shall remain operational until 120 days 
after the conclusion of such major disasters or states of 
emergency. 
SEC. 5. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW. 
Nothing in this Act preempts any State law. 
Æ 
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