“To direct the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study on the potential impacts of public grocery stores, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section sets forth congressional findings that (1) the retail grocery sector is a critical component of the U.S. food supply chain and economy; (2) recent municipal proposals advocate for public grocery stores; (3) such proposals raise questions about competitive dynamics between public and private grocery stores (with respect to pricing, market access, and consumer choice), impacts on farmers and food banks, and long-term sustainability; and (4) the Federal Trade Commission has expertise in analyzing competitive practices in retail markets and assessing government entry into consumer markets.
This section directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in consultation with the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture, to conduct a study on the impacts of public grocery stores (i.e., businesses directly owned or operated by a federal, state, or local government entity that sell general food products) not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act. The study must analyze (1) competitive impacts on small, medium, and large private grocery stores (i.e., nongovernmental businesses selling general food products), farmers, food banks (i.e., nonprofits that collect, warehouse, and distribute food), wholesale food prices and supply chains, and the retail grocery sector generally; (2) effects on consumer access, choice, and prices, including in food deserts (i.e., census tracts with a poverty rate of 20% or higher and at least 500 residents living more than 1 mile from a supermarket or large grocery store); (3) subsidies, tax exemptions, or regulatory advantages; (4) impacts on local, regional, and national agriculture, including producer prices; (5) long-term market effects, including barriers to entry and exit for private entities; and (6) concerns over unfair competition or market distortion, using existing data from the FTC, USDA, state and local records, industry reports, and public procurement disclosures. Not later than 1 year after study completion, and annually thereafter, the FTC must submit a report to Congress containing the study results and recommendations for administrative or legislative action.