Credit: (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON — Two consumer-oriented bills that have decent chances at becoming law zipped through the House of Representatives this week.
One (HR 4310) would ban the sale to the public of a preservative linked to a growing uptick of internet-inspired suicides, and the other would require entertainment companies that host events, like concerts or live sports, to disclose upfront the full price for a ticket, including added fees.
No New Jersey representative voted against the bipartisan bills, which are now bound for the Senate, though Reps. Andy Kim (D-3rd) and Mikie Sherrill (D-11th) did not vote.
A fraction of bills introduced become law. But this Congress is on track to pass the fewest bills of any Congress in decades as the House has struggled to pass legislation, even bills that have support from a majority of lawmakers.
Both bills passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, a House panel with sweeping jurisdiction over approximately 40% of the topics that come before Congress.
‘The ticket market is like the Wild West — mammoth, opaque, speculative and brutally unfair.’ — Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9th)
During floor debate, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th) said the poisoning bill was necessary to curb the flow of sodium nitrite, a common preservative for cured meats, like bacon and deli cuts. It’s also been tied to a rising and deadly trend, said Pallone, the highest-ranking Democrat on Energy and Commerce.
Self-poisoning
“This legislation is necessary because, sadly, online forums are providing detailed instructions and real-time guidance on how to die by suicide by consuming just a small amount of sodium nitrite,” Pallone said.
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a “sharp increase in the rise of self-poisoning using sodium nitrite,” Pallone said.
The bill would prevent the sale of concentrated sodium nitrite to the public but allow businesses, such as those that use the substance to cure meat, to continue purchasing it in bulk.
“There are bad actors out there looking to capitalize on people experiencing suicidal ideation by creating websites for the sole purpose of selling the chemical as suicide kits,” said Rep. Lori Trahan, a Massachusetts Democrat and the bill’s lead sponsor. “Right now there is no law on the books to stop them from doing so.”
The legislation would also empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal agency that investigates and recalls goods, to regulate concentrated sodium nitrite.
‘Junk fees’
A different independent federal agency, the Federal Trade Commission, would assume regulatory power under the other approved bill. That legislation (HR 3950) requires companies selling tickets to share a detailed list of fees with a customer when they buy tickets for an event like a concert or sports match.
The total ticket price, including so-called junk fees, would have to be disclosed in ads, and the legislation would cover businesses selling tickets on the secondary market.
“Junk fees” — unexpected costs that companies hide or minimize — are often shown only once a customer is ready to check out.
The topic has become a focus in recent years for Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9th), who has his own ticket-pricing legislation.
“The ticket market is like the Wild West — mammoth, opaque, speculative and brutally unfair,” Pascrell said Tuesday, adding that the bill will allow shoppers to compare prices between venues. “Music, plays, ball games, they are for everybody. They should be accessible.”
While more than three-quarters of the House voted for these two bills, this Congress has enacted just 2% of legislation that’s been introduced, according to GovTrack, a nonpartisan data organization that tracks congressional activity.
That’s the lowest figure since the Congress that began in 1973, the oldest data available through GovTrack.
— Chart by Genesis Obando
