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House Democrats see the Biden Administration's crusade against junk fees as a winning strategy for 2024 and are joining in on the fight against the 'hidden and deceptive' add-ons

Aug 14, 2023, 21:36 IST
Business Insider
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 28: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) questions U.S. Attorney General William Barr during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 28, 2020 in Washington, DC.Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
  • In October 2022, the Biden Administration announced its plans to fight against hidden "junk fees."
  • It's seen some success: Ticketmaster has begun showing more "transparent" pricing and some airlines have changed their practices.
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House Democrats are increasingly embracing what could be a winning strategy as the 2024 election approaches by joining in on the Biden Administration's crusade against "junk fees."

In October 2022, the White House announced its plans to go after junk fees — "fees designed either to confuse or deceive consumers or to take advantage of lock-in or other forms of situational market power" — which it said could save consumers more than $1 billion each year.

Then, five months later, Biden addressed the issue again during his 2023 State of the Union speech, where he made a point to note how he personally understands "how unfair it feels when a company overcharges you and gets away with it."

And after the Biden Administration's push in part led to some airlines changing policies to allow family seating without additional fees and Live Nation Entertainment to introduce a more "transparent" pricing model, House Democrats have entered the fight as well.

According to a recent report from the Associated Press, with assistance from the Progressive Change Institute, some House Democrats have already held events addressing junk fees and there are at least a dozen or more planned across the country.

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Speaking to the AP, House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries said that "House Democrats will continue to work with President Biden to fight these excessive fees, hold corporations accountable and lower costs for families across the country."

The report noted that Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who's running to replace Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the Senate, already has one campaign event planned in the coming weeks addressing the topic, which she said "will put money back in people's pockets."

The push from House Democrats comes at a time when the party is attempting to regain the majority in the House of Representatives, which it lost control of in the 2022 midterm elections.

There are currently 222 Republicans and 212 Democrats in the House — following mandated redistricting of New York, Alabama, and several other state's congressional districts, Democrats are increasingly hopeful of their chances in 2024.

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