Hill Dems try to tamp down backlash to Harris’ grocery price gouging pitch
In private, some lawmakers are telling voters and food industry officials her proposals will never pass through Congress.
People buy groceries at a Walmart Superstore.
While much in Kamala Harris’ price gouging plan remains vague, a central piece is simply a call for Congress to pass the first-ever federal ban on price gouging in the food and grocery sectors. | Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP
By Meredith Lee Hill and Adam Cancryn
08/25/2024 07:00 AM EDT
Under pressure to defend Kamala Harris’ grocery price gouging plan, some Democratic lawmakers are delivering a quiet message to anxious allies: Don’t worry about the details. It’s never going to pass Congress.
The Harris campaign’s proposal, unveiled as part of her first big economic policy speech, has become a focal point for her presidential rival, Donald Trump, and fellow Republicans, who claim she’s pushing “communist price controls.” It has also alarmed food industry officials and even some left-of-center economists, who’ve warned such policies can hurt more than they help.
While much in Harris’ price gouging plan remains vague, a central piece is simply a call for Congress to pass the first-ever federal ban on price gouging in the food and grocery sectors, which largely mirrors legislation reintroduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) earlier this year.
But such a bill has no chance of passing Congress anytime soon, even if Democrats win the White House and Congress this November, according to six Democratic lawmakers and five Democratic aides who were granted anonymity to discuss the matter candidly. These people said Democrats in Congress have privately been telling critics that this part of the Harris plan is not viable.
Rather, it’s a messaging tactic — a way to show that she understands food prices remain an economic burden for many Americans and to redirect voters’ anger about inflation to corporations, in a way that progressives in particular have cheered.
“It’s clear to me these are very general, very lofty goals,” said one of the Democratic lawmakers, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the proposal.
“I think people are reading too much into what has been put out there,” echoed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential contender, during an Aug.18 interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press. The proposal, Whitmer added, was intended to address the issue in “broad strokes.”
Kamala Harris speaks.
Kamala Harris has been under pressure to provide more detail on her policy priorities, after four years largely toeing the line set by President Joe Biden and his aides. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Harris would also likely need Congress’s buy-in for another key part of her plan: giving more resources to the FTC and other agencies that carry out antitrust enforcement. That, too, could face some stiff GOP opposition.
Even many Democrats remain skeptical, or at least uncertain about how Harris would carry out her proposal, if elected. They’re still working on getting details, but many have left that for after the DNC.
In private, some lawmakers are telling voters and food industry officials her proposals will never pass through Congress.
People buy groceries at a Walmart Superstore.
While much in Kamala Harris’ price gouging plan remains vague, a central piece is simply a call for Congress to pass the first-ever federal ban on price gouging in the food and grocery sectors. | Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP
By Meredith Lee Hill and Adam Cancryn
08/25/2024 07:00 AM EDT
Under pressure to defend Kamala Harris’ grocery price gouging plan, some Democratic lawmakers are delivering a quiet message to anxious allies: Don’t worry about the details. It’s never going to pass Congress.
The Harris campaign’s proposal, unveiled as part of her first big economic policy speech, has become a focal point for her presidential rival, Donald Trump, and fellow Republicans, who claim she’s pushing “communist price controls.” It has also alarmed food industry officials and even some left-of-center economists, who’ve warned such policies can hurt more than they help.
While much in Harris’ price gouging plan remains vague, a central piece is simply a call for Congress to pass the first-ever federal ban on price gouging in the food and grocery sectors, which largely mirrors legislation reintroduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) earlier this year.
But such a bill has no chance of passing Congress anytime soon, even if Democrats win the White House and Congress this November, according to six Democratic lawmakers and five Democratic aides who were granted anonymity to discuss the matter candidly. These people said Democrats in Congress have privately been telling critics that this part of the Harris plan is not viable.
Rather, it’s a messaging tactic — a way to show that she understands food prices remain an economic burden for many Americans and to redirect voters’ anger about inflation to corporations, in a way that progressives in particular have cheered.
“It’s clear to me these are very general, very lofty goals,” said one of the Democratic lawmakers, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the proposal.
“I think people are reading too much into what has been put out there,” echoed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential contender, during an Aug.18 interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press. The proposal, Whitmer added, was intended to address the issue in “broad strokes.”
Kamala Harris speaks.
Kamala Harris has been under pressure to provide more detail on her policy priorities, after four years largely toeing the line set by President Joe Biden and his aides. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Harris would also likely need Congress’s buy-in for another key part of her plan: giving more resources to the FTC and other agencies that carry out antitrust enforcement. That, too, could face some stiff GOP opposition.
Even many Democrats remain skeptical, or at least uncertain about how Harris would carry out her proposal, if elected. They’re still working on getting details, but many have left that for after the DNC.