Becca Balint (D-VT)
Directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and report on anticompetitive practices and violations of the antitrust laws in the fire truck manufacturing industry.
A Democratic resolution with 5 Republican cosponsors · See all 9 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This joint resolution directs the Federal Trade Commission to conduct an investigation into the fire truck manufacturing industry. The goal is to look into potential anticompetitive practices and violations of antitrust laws. The investigation must specifically address issues like price fixing, price gouging, and monopolization. The Federal Trade Commission is required to report its findings to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary within one year. Additionally, the report should include recommendations for potential legislation or remedial actions.
Yes· 3 of 5
- Scored +4
Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices?
The investigation targets price fixing and monopolization to protect buyers from unfair practices.
- Scored +3
Does this make it easier to run a small business?
The bill seeks to investigate how market consolidation and price gouging harm small businesses.
- Scored +3
Would business owners be better off under this?
The investigation may help small businesses face more competitive pricing in the fire truck market.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Addressing Safety Concerns: By investigating the industry, the bill aims to address issues where rising costs and delivery backlogs have forced fire departments to use outdated trucks, which threatens firefighter and public safety (Section 1).
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Investigating Price and Supply Issues: The investigation seeks to determine the extent of practices such as price fixing, price gouging, and monopolization that have allegedly caused truck prices to rise far beyond inflation (Section 1A).
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Identifying Economic Harms: The Federal Trade Commission will report on how these practices affect fire fighters, fire departments, States, municipalities, and small businesses (Section 1B).
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Potential for New Solutions: The resolution directs the commission to provide recommendations for new legislation or other remedial actions to fix these industry issues (Section 1C).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Reporting of Non-Responsive Companies: If a company being investigated does not provide timely answers to information requests, the Federal Trade Commission will report on that company's conduct to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary (Section 2).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices? — The investigation targets price fixing and monopolization to protect buyers from unfair practices. Does this make it easier to run a small business? — The bill seeks to investigate how market consolidation and price gouging harm small businesses. Is this likely to grow the economy? — The investigation into anticompetitive practices may address market inefficiencies that hinder economic activity.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — The investigation may help small businesses face more competitive pricing in the fire truck market.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill requires the FTC to report findings to Congressional committees regarding industry conduct.
- 10/22/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 10/19/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 10/9/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 8/10/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 7/21/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Ben ClineRepublican · Virginia
H. GriffithRepublican · Virginia
Carlos GimenezRepublican · Florida
Thomas KeanRepublican · New Jersey
Michael LawlerRepublican · New York
Nellie PouDemocrat · New Jersey
Josh RileyDemocrat · New York
Brad ShermanDemocrat · California
Mary Gay ScanlonDemocrat · Pennsylvania