[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7828 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7828
To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are
substantially similar if such products or services are priced
differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the
products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are
performed or offered.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2024
Mrs. Torres of California (for herself, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Bonamici, Mr.
Bowman, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Chu, Mr. Connolly,
Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida,
Mr. Frost, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Johnson of
Georgia, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Moore of
Wisconsin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Omar, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Schiff,
Ms. Titus, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mrs. Watson
Coleman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are
substantially similar if such products or services are priced
differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the
products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are
performed or offered.
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 ``Pink Tax Repeal Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GENDER-BASED PRICING OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES.
(a) Prohibited Practices.--
(1) Consumer products.--It shall be unlawful for any person
to sell or offer for sale in interstate commerce any two
consumer products from the same manufacturer that are
substantially similar if such products are priced differently
based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the
products are intended or marketed.
(2) Services.--It shall be unlawful for any person to sell
or offer for sale any services that are substantially similar
if such services are priced differently based on the gender of
the individuals for which the services are performed, offered,
or marketed.
(b) Enforcement by the Commission.--
(1) Unfair and deceptive act or practice.--A violation of
subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule
prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) defining an unfair or
deceptive act or practice in or affecting interstate commerce.
(2) Powers of the commission.--The Federal Trade Commission
shall enforce 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 were incorporated into and made a part of this
Act.
(3) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who violates
subsection (a) shall be subject to the penalties and entitled
to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
(4) Authority preserved.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any
other provision of law.
(c) State Attorneys General.--
(1) Civil action.--In any case in which the attorney
general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of
the residents of the State has been or is adversely affected by
a violation of subsection (a), the attorney general may, as
parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf of the residents
of the State in an appropriate district court of the United
States--
(A) to enjoin further violation of such subsection
by the defendant;
(B) to compel compliance with such subsection; or
(C) obtain damages, restitution, or other
compensation on behalf of residents of the State.
(2) Notice to the commission.--
(A) Notice.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(C), the attorney general of a State shall notify the
Commission in writing that the attorney general intends
to bring a civil action under paragraph (1) not later
than 10 days before initiating the civil action.
(B) Contents.--The notice required by subparagraph
(A) shall include a copy of the complaint to be filed
to initiate such civil action.
(C) Exception.--If it is not feasible for the
attorney general of a State to provide the notice
required by subparagraph (A), the attorney general
shall notify the Commission immediately upon
instituting a civil action under paragraph (1).
(3) Intervention by the commission.--The Commission may--
(A) intervene in any civil action brought by the
attorney general of a State under this subsection; and
(B) upon intervening, be heard on all matters
arising in such civil action and file petitions for
appeal of a decision in such action.
(4) Investigatory powers.--Nothing in this subsection may
be construed to prevent the attorney general of a State from
exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the
laws of the State to conduct investigations, to administer
oaths or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of witnesses
or the production of documentary or other evidence.
(5) Preemptive action by the commission.--If the Commission
institutes a civil action or an administrative action for a
violation of this section, the attorney general of a State may
not, during the pendency of such action, bring a civil action
under this subsection against any defendant named in the
complaint of the Commission for the violation with respect to
which the Commission instituted such action.
(6) Actions by other state officials.--
(A) In general.--In addition to any civil action
brought by an attorney general under paragraph (1), any
other consumer protection officer of a State who is
authorized by the State to do so may bring a civil
action under paragraph (1), subject to the same
requirements and limitations that apply under this
subsection to civil actions brought by an attorney
general.
(B) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection
may be construed to prohibit an authorized official of
a State from initiating or continuing any proceeding in
a court of the State for a violation of any civil or
criminal law of the State.
(d) Rules of Construction.--
(1) Substantially similar products.--For purposes of this
section, two consumer products are substantially similar if
there are no substantial differences in the materials used in
the product, the intended use of the product, and the
functional design and features of the product. A difference in
coloring among any consumer products shall not be construed as
a substantial difference for purposes of this paragraph.
(2) Substantially similar services.--For purposes of this
section, two services are substantially similar if there is no
substantial difference in the amount of time to provide the
services, the difficulty in providing the services, or the cost
of providing the services.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Consumer product.--The term ``consumer product''--
(A) has the meaning given such term in section 3 of
the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052);
(B) includes a device or cosmetics, as such terms
are defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321); and
(C) includes a child restraint system, as such term
is defined in section 571.213 of title 49, Code of
Federal Regulations.
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