94TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4214 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 4, 1975 Mr. McFALL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Currency and Housing A BILL To establish an independent board which shall have the authority to require prenotification of price increases, delay proposed price increases, disapprove proposed price increases, and roll back excessive prices with respect to companies in concentrated industries, in order to reduce inflation in the United States. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4 SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Concentrated 5 Industries Anti-Inflation Act". 6 7 8 54-968 O 75 - 2 FIND.NGS AND PURPOSE SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that (1) in order to achieve full employment with the 2 minimum of inflation, achieve price stability, lower long term interest rates, improve the Nation's competitive position in world trade and protect the purchasing power of the dollar, it is necessary to attain and maintain a full employment budget, attain and maintain a full employment stock of money, limit administrative inflation arising from the excessive use of market power by either management or labor, rebuild the supplies of farm products, and in other ways resist inflation; (2) governmental efforts should take place to make jobs, lower long-term interest rates, reduce taxes for workers and their families, and provide for equitable burden-sharing; and then wage guideposts should be negotiated between interested parties, taking into account changes in national productivity and in living costs; and (3) the major inflation problem today is to minimize administrative inflation which can occur in the more concentrated industries and can be avoided if producers, in general, expand their profits by increasing production and sales without increasing their profit margins and if rates of pay, in general, rise only in proportion to the trend of national productivity and the increases in living costs. (b) It is, therefore, the purpose of this Act to 13 3 (1) so control administrative inflation that fiscal and monetary measures can bring about full employment without an excessive rise in prices; (2) have the authority conferred by this Act exercised with full consideration and emphasis on the maintenance and furtherance of the American system. of competitive enterprise; and (3) have the authority conferred by this Act exercised with reasonable flexibility in order to avoid excessive hardship, inequity, or impedance of economic growth. ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP SEC. 3. (a) There is established the Price Restraint 14 Board (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Board"). (b) The Board shall be composed of five members, ap 15 16 pointed by the President by and with the advice and con 17 sent of the Senate, as follows: 18 19 20 21 (1) A chairman and vice chairman with broad experience in government operation. (2) Three members with experience in the fields of business, labor, and consumer affairs, respectively. 22 A vacancy in the Board shall be filled in the manner in 23 which the original appointment was made. 24 (c) Not more than three members of the Board ap 1 2 3 4 5 4 pointed shall be of the same political party, and the chairman and vice chairman shall not be of the same political party. (d) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), members shall be appointed for terms of three years. (2) Of the members first appointed under paragraph 6 (2) of subsection (b) 7 8 9 10 (A) one shall be for a term of one year, and (B) two shall be for terms of two years, as designated by the President at the time of appointment. (3) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring 11 prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor 12 was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 13 such term. A member may serve after the expiration of his 14 term until his successor has taken office. 15 (e) Members of the Board other than the chairman 16 shall each be entitled to receive the daily equivalent of the 17 annual rate of basic pay in effect for level IV of the Execu18 tive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5315). The chairman shall be en19 titled to receive the daily equivalent of the annual rate of 20 basic pay in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule 21 22 (5 U.S.C. 5314). (f) Three members of the Board shall constitute a 23 quorum but a lesser number may hold hearings. 223 25 24 25 (g) The Board shall meet at the call of the chairman or a majority of its members. 5 1 STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR PRICE ADJUSTMENTS 2 SEC. 4. The Board shall issue standards and guidelines 3 for noninflationary price adjustments as follows: 4 (1) The basic guideline for price adjustments shall be 5 the maintenance of the dollars and cents profit margin per 6 unit of output of any firm for any product or product cate7 gory which prevailed for such firm during such fiscal years as the Board may designate. 8 9 (2) Subsidiary standards and guidelines for price adjust10 ments shall provide for modifying the basic guideline, as the 11 Board may find necessary, to avoid undue hardship, inequity, 12 or impedance of economic growth. 13 (b) In exercising the authority conferred upon it under 14 subsection (a), the Board shall make such exceptions as 15 are necessary to foster orderly economic growth, to adjust 16 for changes in the domestic value of the dollar, and to pre17 vent gross inequities, hardships, serious market disruptions, 18 domestic shortages of raw materials, localized shortages of 19 labor, and windfall profits. 20 CLASSIFICATION OF FIRMS 21 SEC. 5. (a) For purposes of this Act and except as 22 provided by subsection (b), three categories of firms shall 23 be recognized as follows: 24 (1) "firm in category I" means any person who |