Sponsors (5)
Official title: Strengthen the prohibition on price discrimination under the Clayton Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Christopher Murphy · Last progress March 19, 2026
The bill strengthens antitrust protections and makes it easier for buyers to recover monetary harm, but it expands liability for businesses of all sizes and raises the risk of larger damages and higher costs that may be passed on to consumers.
Buyers — including consumers and businesses (small businesses, middle-class families) — gain broader antitrust protection because the statute explicitly covers "products or services" and activities "affecting commerce," making it easier to challenge anticompetitive conduct.
Victims of unlawful price discrimination (small businesses and consumers) get an automatic presumption that their monetary loss equals the injury, simplifying recovery and reducing litigation burden for plaintiffs.
Buyers and courts (small businesses and everyday purchasers) gain clarity because the bill defines "purchase" and "purchaser," reducing legal ambiguity about who may bring claims under section 2.
Large retailers, service providers, and other firms face broader liability because the law applies to any activity "affecting commerce" and covers services, increasing compliance and litigation costs that could be passed on to consumers.
Mid-size and smaller retailers (including those with ≤ $100B in annual retail sales) remain exposed to antitrust suits when they knowingly induce or receive benefits, which could impose significant legal risk and costs on those businesses.
Defendants face a conclusive presumption of damages equal to monetary harm, increasing defendants' exposure to large monetary awards and creating a risk of overdeterrence that could raise consumer prices and taxpayer exposure.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Amends the Clayton Act to broaden covered conduct and definitions, add a size-based knowledge requirement for liability for certain retailers, and create a conclusive damages presumption for unlawful discrimination claims.
Expands and modernizes parts of the Clayton Act by broadening covered conduct to acts “in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce,” replacing older product language with “products or services,” and updating ‘purchase/purchaser’ definitions. It adds a size-based safe harbor for alleged facilitators with annual retail sales at or below $100 billion (they’re liable only if they knowingly induced or received benefits), and creates a conclusive presumption that a plaintiff who proves unlawful discrimination under the amended statute has suffered injury and damages equal to the monetary amount or equivalent of the discrimination (while allowing proof of additional damages). The changes apply to transactions on or after enactment.