Cost-of-living Emergency Act

Full Title:
Cost-of-living Emergency Act

Summary#

This bill, the Cost-of-living Emergency Act, declares a 180-day emergency (extendable by Congress) about high costs of living and directs many federal actions while the emergency is in effect. It tells the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers to prioritize work on affordability and to set up a White House Cost Cutting Council. The bill requires appointment of Special Advisors for groceries, housing, utilities, health care, transportation, and wages who must lead task forces, deliver weekly reports, hold regional listening sessions, and testify to Congress. It requires the Council to send a quarterly "State of Household Budgets" report with measures like purchasing power, real wage growth net of housing and health costs, debt-to-income burdens, and regional affordability indexes.

The bill makes the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs require a household budget impact statement for any major regulation during the emergency. It directs the Attorney General and the FTC Chair to create a Joint Task Force on Consumer Costs to monitor and investigate price gouging and other unfair pricing practices and to create a public portal for consumer reports. The President is directed to use authorities under title III of the Defense Production Act to expand domestic production and supply of defined basic household necessities, with a strategic plan, economic analysis requirements, and a requirement that projects show they will reduce costs within 180 days.

Congress would also create a temporary Cost-of-Living Commission with 12 members (bipartisan, including outside experts) to recommend short-, medium-, and long-term actions and to prepare reports and legislative language. The bill sets reporting, hearing, staffing, and termination rules for the Commission and other bodies.

What it means for you#

  • Federal agencies must analyze how major regulations affect an "average U.S. household," including regional differences and any benefits to large corporations.
  • The federal government will increase monitoring of prices for essential goods and may open investigations into suspected price gouging or unfair pricing.
  • Special Advisors and task forces will be meeting regularly and producing weekly and quarterly reports that focus on food, housing, utilities, health care, transportation, and wages.
  • The President may use Defense Production Act authorities to support loans, purchase commitments, and subsidies to increase domestic supply of basic household necessities.
  • A temporary Congressional commission will gather hearings, produce reports, and may propose legislative changes within the timeframe set in the bill.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on total estimated costs or a comprehensive budget in the bill text. The bill does specify or authorize the following uses of funds or resources:

  • The Commission may incur expenses paid in equal parts from the Senate contingent fund ("Miscellaneous Items") and applicable House accounts.
  • Use of the Defense Production Act Fund for loans, guarantees, purchase commitments, and subsidy payments to increase domestic supply of basic household necessities.
  • Agency staff time and resources for new reporting, weekly task forces, regional listening sessions, hearings, and the Joint Task Force on Consumer Costs.
  • The bill requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to provide cost estimates for any legislative language the Commission proposes, but it does not itself provide an overall cost estimate.

Proponents' View#

The bill text states that there is an emergency with respect to high costs of living and directs coordinated federal action. It emphasizes prioritizing economic analysis of affordability, creating specialists and task forces to address specific cost drivers (food, housing, utilities, health care, transportation, wages), strengthening enforcement against unfair pricing, and using production authorities to increase supply of essential goods. The Congressional Commission is designed to produce recommendations and possible legislative text in a defined time frame.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information on formal objections, opposition arguments, or stated opposing views in the bill text or provided metadata.