S. 4266 — Cost-of-living Emergency Act

This section defines terms used in the Act, including (1) “average U.S. household” as a household earning less than the median household income for the prior year, per Census Bureau data; (2) “basic household necessities” as specified Bureau of Labor Statistics expenditure categories as of January 1, 2026 (i.e., food at home, owned and rented dwellings, gasoline and other fuels, medical services, utilities, fuels, and public services); (3) “co-chair,” “Commission” (i.e., Cost-of-Living Commission), “Council” (i.e., Council of Economic Advisers), “large corporation” (i.e., business other than a small business concern), “outside expert” (i.e., non-elected official or government officer or employee), “Special Advisor,” and “State” (i.e., any state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territory or possession).

This section declares a national emergency with respect to the high cost of living facing the people of the United States, terminating 180 days after the date of enactment unless extended by joint resolution considered under expedited procedures of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(c)).

This section requires the President, acting through the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), during a cost-of-living emergency to (1) prioritize, in CEA duties under 15 U.S.C. 1023(c), economic analysis and advice on the affordability of basic household necessities, economic pressures on low- and middle-income families, and distributional consequences of federal economic policy; (2) establish within 7 days of enactment a Cost-of-Living Emergency Office within the CEA to coordinate government-wide efforts to reduce costs of basic household necessities; and (3) using CEA hiring authority under 15 U.S.C. 1023(b), appoint six Special Advisors to the President—for grocery costs, housing costs, utility costs, health care costs, transportation costs, and wages—each to lead a weekly task force of Cabinet members and other senior officials, prepare weekly cost reports for executive leadership, host at least three regional public listening sessions per year with summary reports to Congress and the CEA, and testify annually to the Joint Economic Committee on cost-reduction actions. This section further requires the CEA to submit quarterly State of Household Budgets reports to the President, a specified commission, and the Joint Economic Committee covering metrics such as median household purchasing power, real wage growth net of housing and health costs, household debt-to-income burdens, regional affordability indexes, and basic necessities inflation. (As background, the CEA advises the President on economic policy, analyzes trends for full employment and production under free enterprise, and prepares the annual Economic Report of the President.)

This section requires the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget to mandate that each agency head include a household costs impact statement in any major regulatory action (i.e., rules with at least $100 million in annual economic effects) submitted during the emergency declared under section 3. The statement must include (1) estimated effects on the average U.S. household, (2) regional variations in household cost burdens, (3) estimated benefits to large corporations, and (4) an analysis of whether benefits accrue more to average U.S. households or large corporations; agency heads must make these statements publicly available unless national security prohibits disclosure.

This section establishes the Joint Task Force on Consumer Costs, co-chaired by the Attorney General and Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), during the emergency declared under section 3. The task force—which includes attorneys from DOJ's Antitrust Division and FTC's Bureaus of Competition and Consumer Protection, as well as economists and investigators—coordinates federal efforts to prevent and prosecute price gouging and anticompetitive practices, including by (1) monitoring retail and wholesale prices for essential goods and services; (2) sharing information between DOJ and FTC; (3) investigating cost-inflating practices; (4) initiating joint investigations of price gouging, price-fixing, and price discrimination; (5) guiding state attorneys general; and (6) operating a public reporting portal. It utilizes enforcement authorities under the FTC Act, Sherman Act, Clayton Act, and statutes prohibiting fraud, hoarding, or price manipulation; enables non-reimbursable personnel details and protected information sharing; requires reports on activities and enforcement actions to four congressional committees not later than 60 days after establishment and every 90 days thereafter; and terminates 30 days after the emergency ends without affecting ongoing investigations or actions.

This section requires the President, during the emergency declared under section 3, to use authorities under title III of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4531 et seq.)—which authorize loans, loan guarantees, purchase commitments, and subsidies to expand industrial production—to increase the domestic productive capacity and supply of basic household necessities, without regard to the Act's national defense requirement. It defines covered agency head as the head of an agency delegated section 101 authorities (50 U.S.C. 4511) under Executive Order 13603. It further directs the President, acting through covered agency heads, to (1) develop a strategic plan within 15 days of enactment for expending funds from the Defense Production Act Fund (50 U.S.C. 4534); (2) conduct continuous assessments of the domestic industrial base to identify supply chain bottlenecks contributing to price volatility in basic household necessities; and (3) prohibit execution of any contract, loan, or purchase commitment absent a covered agency head's written certification, based on empirical economic data, that the activity will reduce the retail or wholesale cost of a specific basic household necessity within 180 days. Authorized actions include issuing loan guarantees and loans to small- and medium-sized businesses for facility modernization under DPA sections 301 and 302 (50 U.S.C. 4531, 4532); executing purchase commitments under section 303 (50 U.S.C. 4533) to provide necessities at consistent prices; and providing production cost offset subsidies under section 303(c) (50 U.S.C. 4533(c)).

This section establishes a Cost-of-Living Commission in Congress, composed of 12 members appointed within 14 days of enactment (four Senators and three outside experts appointed equally by the Senate majority and minority leaders; four House Members and three outside experts appointed by the Speaker and minority leader of the House). The commission must identify policies to (1) improve the cost-of-living situation for the average U.S. household in the short and medium term, including by reducing cost drivers for specified sectors, and (2) achieve long-term national economic growth with a stable and sustainable cost of living. Committees of Congress may transmit recommendations to the commission within 60 days of enactment. The commission may issue an interim report on its findings; must issue a report within 180 days containing findings, conclusions, recommendations, a Congressional Budget Office estimate of effects, and legislative language to implement recommendations; and, not later than 30 days before the cost-of-living emergency under section 3 terminates, must issue a report assessing whether actions taken under the Act should be made permanent, with implementing legislative language if applicable. Commission approval of reports and legislative language requires a majority vote including at least two Republican appointees and two Democratic appointees; reports must be made public within 24 hours (allowing three days for additional views); and approved materials must be submitted to congressional and executive leaders within three days. The commission may extend deadlines with the same majority approval.