Biden’s White House is taking on corporate mergers, landlord junk fees and food prices

By JOSH BOAK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing new guidelines for corporate mergers, taking steps to disclose junk fees charged by landlords and launching a crackdown on price-gouging in the food industry. Wednesday’s announcements were discussed when President Joe Biden met with his White House Competition Council. The council is a group of administration officials established under a 2021 executive order with the goal of improving competition within the U.S. economy and helping consumers. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the proposed guidelines “respond to modern market realties.” Republican lawmakers and some business group critics say the Democratic president’s effort will lead to greater regulatory costs that leave the economy worse off.