Washington, D.C. — In response to the introduction of the Housing Acquisitions Review and Transparency (HART) Act, a bill proposed by Senator Amy Klobuchar and eight other Senate Democrats that would empower federal antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and block large-scale acquisitions of residential properties by corporate investors, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“The HART Act is a much-needed measure to update our antitrust laws to protect consumers from the power big corporate landlords wield over the housing market,” said Morgan Harper, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “For years, private equity firms and other institutional investors have hoovered up real estate across the country, driving up housing prices. Empowering the FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division to review these acquisitions is an important step toward curbing these anticompetitive practices. We’re grateful to Senator Klobuchar and other Senate Democrats for proposing what should be a bipartisan bill. We encourage other members to sign on and urge Congress to pass it quickly.”

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.