Consumer Protection
What Hank has done:
- As Chairman of the Courts and Competition Policy Subcommittee during the 111th Congress, led Congressional efforts to crack down on anti-competitive business practices, monopolies, and cartels.
- Introduced (with Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota) the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2011, which will protect consumers and stop business practices that require consumers to cede their rights to a jury trial as a condition of service. Hank first introduced this bill in 2007.
- Cosponsored the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, which passed House and Senate. It dramatically expands the CPSC’s capacity to oversee the consumer goods manufactured in and imported by the United States. This became obviously necessary, after the repeated introduction of toxic imported children’s toys and tainted pet food.
What Hank will do:
- From his post on the Judiciary Committee, continue to introduce legislation designed to level the bargaining and legal playing field between consumers and service and product providers.
- Support increased funding of and oversight on the part of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
- Call for quality control and safety assurance mechanisms in any trade agreements.
More on Consumer Protection
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law (RRCAL), which exercises jurisdiction over regulatory and competition policy, spoke out against Republicans’ H.R. 26, the REINS Act, as an example of “corporate welfare” that would establish sweeping restrictions on new environmental and public health protections.
[Watch Rep. Johnson speak from the House floor HERE]
Yesterday, House Judiciary Democrats convened a forum on “The Electoral College and the Future of American Democracy.” It has been nearly twenty years since the last hearing on this topic in 1997, and much has happened since then.
DeKalb residents and those throughout Georgia struggling with opioid addiction or who know someone who is now have an online toolkit of resources to help in the journey to recovery.
A House Democrat is calling on Airbnb to stop using forced arbitration clauses in its contracts with customers.
I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and a Happy New Year. May the gift of love, peace and happiness be yours this season.
It’s been a busy month since Thanksgiving, and I want let you know what I’ve been working on in Congress.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law (RRCAL), which exercises jurisdiction over antitrust laws and competition, sent a letter to Airbnb’s CEO urging the short-term rental company to reconsider its use of pre-dispute, forced arbitration clauses and class-action waivers in their “terms of service” agreements in their contracts.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law (RRCAL), which exercises jurisdiction over antitrust laws and competition, called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take swift action to address the disproportionate use of surveillance technology against low-income and minority communities.
Congressman Hank Johnson held a telephone town hall from his Washington, D.C. office on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. He called 50,000 residents in the Fourth District to hear their thoughts on the results of the Nov. 8 General Election and to listen to what they would like to see him work on in the 115th Congress that begins Jan. 3, 2017.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a staff report providing an assessment of the regulatory and competition policy implications of sharing economy platforms. The report follows a 2015 June FTC public workshop on the issue.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On October 27, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules to protect consumers’ privacy for information collected by broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The final rules require greater choice, transparency, and security protection for this information.