A new caucus in Congress is launching a series of “field hearings” focused on affordability, arguing that corporate consolidation is behind higher costs.
The “Monopoly Busters” caucus, co-chaired by Seattle Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, held its first field hearing in Seattle last week to examine rising food prices. It was set up just like a real congressional hearing, with witness testimony and questioning from House members from Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Polling shows that Americans feel increasingly pessimistic about their economic prospects. As the midterm elections approach, both Democrats and Republicans have seized on affordability as a top priority and worked to refine their messaging. While Republicans have pointed to regulations and taxes as drivers of the problem, Jayapal’s caucus argues that corporate consolidation is to blame.
“The very structure of consolidation is a central and very crucial factor to the tremendous spike in grocery prices,” Jayapal told the crowd. “For decades, corporations have swallowed up smaller competitors to the point that they can now raise prices and reduce choice without consequence.”
Jayapal said her caucus will continue to focus on other aspects of affordability, including the rising costs of housing, healthcare and utilities. Thirty-four congressional Democrats have joined the caucus so far, she said, including some from competitive swing districts.
The representatives were joined at the hearing by Seattle Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson. Ferguson spoke about his work to block the merger of Albertsons and Kroger in 2024 as state attorney general.
“When you consolidate that kind of power at that level, only bad things are going to happen,” Ferguson said.
After the merger was blocked, Kroger closed six stores in the Seattle area, raising concerns about declining access to grocery stores in underserved areas.
The company blamed theft and regulatory challenges, but union grocery workers like Bryan Gilderoy didn’t buy it.
“I totally believe that they put shareholder profits above everything else,” said Gilderoy, a UFCW 3000 shop steward who worked at one of the closed stores, in an interview after the hearing. “It’s all about the very top and not the workers, not the impacts on the community, not the economy — none of that makes sense.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, lawmakers heard testimony from an independent cattle producer, a Fred Meyer worker, a small natural food store owner and an antitrust lawyer.
Cynthia Duran, founder of Xinca foods, a Seattle-based Salvadorian food brand, told the lawmakers that corporate consolidation had made it increasingly hard for her business to compete with larger companies.
“This market concentration removes any incentives for larger distributors to offer their services in a competitive way, which increases cost for manufacturers and ultimately raises prices for consumers,” Duran said.
Attendees floated a variety of ideas to address food insecurity, including judicial reform, better enforcement of antitrust laws, farmer cooperatives and legislation to prevent digital price fixing.
Washington state Rep. Daria Farivar, a Democrat, told the congressmembers that she and other lawmakers are working on several bills to address food affordability, including one that would open up the possibility of publicly-owned grocery stores.
As part of Republicans' push to address economic anxiety ahead of the midterms, President Donald Trump gave a speech in the swing state of Iowa last month where he talked about working to loosen regulations for farmers and tried to paint a positive picture of the economy.
Washington state Republicans have proposed an "Affordability First" budget plan to reject new taxes and cut government spending this year.
