Top Democrats take another swipe at grocery prices as Election Day nears
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Adam Schiff are urging an investigation of grocery stores that they say might be overcharging customers.
Two Democratic lawmakers are urging an investigation of grocery stores that they say might be overcharging customers.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., sent a letter, seen by NBC News, to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture on Sunday, calling on the agencies to investigate whether “major grocery chains may be making false and misleading representations regarding food sold by weight, leading to customers paying more for groceries than expected.”
Both lawmakers come from overwhelmingly Democratic states and are on the ballot this year. Warren is favored to win re-election, and Schiff, currently a high-ranking House member, is ahead in his bid to become California’s junior senator.
Their move in the election’s home stretch isn’t likely to spark any near-term government action, especially not if Republicans regain the White House. It follows numerous efforts by the Biden-Harris administration to pressure grocery sellers to lower prices, and plans by Vice President Kamala Harris to curb excessive food price hikes if elected. She and former President Donald Trump have each sought to persuade voters that they’re focused on tackling living costs in an election where affordability is top of mind.
The letter refers to a lawsuit in which California prosecutors alleged Albertsons and its subsidiaries Safeway and Vons “unlawfully charged customers prices higher than their lowest advertised or posted price” and mislabeled items sold by weight, including produce, meat and baked goods.
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