TICKET Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act. This bipartisan legislation creates a fairer and more transparent event ticketing marketplace. It ends the surprise fees on tickets for concerts and sporting events that understandably frustrate consumers. With this legislation, the price you see when you are shopping for event tickets will be the price that

you pay. There will be no hidden fees raising the price at the checkout point.

This bill also prohibits companies from selling tickets they don't have, requires refunds for events that are canceled or postponed more than 6 months into the future, and cracks down on fraudulent ticketing websites.

American consumers need and deserve these commonsense protections.

Yet, these protections are meaningless without strong and consistent enforcement. House Republicans are standing by in silence as the Federal Trade Commission, the agency entrusted with enforcing this bill and several others under consideration this afternoon, is compromised by the Trump administration and the President's illegal political attempt to fire the two Democratic commissioners.

This unlawful decision undermines the legitimacy and transparency of the agency's decisions, sending a message that no commissioner, regardless of party, is safe, and no business that harms consumers should fear accountability, so long as it shows sufficient loyalty to the President.

I urge my Republican colleagues to recognize that restoring the FTC as an independent agency, as this Congress intended, is essential to ensuring this bill and similar efforts to protect consumers are fully effective and enforced without fear or favor.

I thank the wide range of stakeholders who worked on this bill, and particularly the consumer groups for their unwavering support of this bill.

Of course, I particularly want to commend Subcommittee Chair Bilirakis and Ranking Member Schakowsky for their years of hard work on this legislation.

Finally, I need to acknowledge, Mr. Speaker, the contribution of my late colleague and dear friend from New Jersey, Congressman Bill Pascrell. He was a tireless advocate and leader on improving the ticketing experience for consumers.

I am proud to have partnered with him on his longtime efforts that are included in the bill we have before us today. When the TICKET Act was on the floor last year, Bill gave an impassioned speech in support of all-in pricing and the other consumer protections in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation, the TICKET Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the Democratic sponsor of this bill, who has worked on this legislation for such a long time.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with Mr. Bilirakis. This is important consumer protection, and I am glad to see that our committee and the subcommittee headed by Mr. Bilirakis as chair and Ms. Schakowsky as the ranking member has taken on so many of these consumer issues today and in the future. I ask for support on both sides of the aisle, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1402) to require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information to consumers about ticket prices and related fees, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1402, the Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act, or the TICKET Act. I am proud to lead this bill alongside the ranking member, my good friend, Ms. Schakowsky.

This legislation is about empowering consumers and ensuring fans can enjoy live events by improving ticket price transparency.

H.R. 1402 requires all platforms selling event tickets to show the complete price, with all required fees, right from the start. People budget, Mr. Speaker, for these games, concerts, or what have you. They need to know up front what the price is going to be. It also guarantees customers can get their money back if an event is canceled or rescheduled. It also cracks down on misleading ticket sites. It is a great bill.

This bill further prohibits the sale of tickets the seller doesn't yet have, a practice known as speculative selling. Eliminating this tactic helps level the playing field so more fans have a fair shot at attending events. They deserve that.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of this very good bill, H.R. 1402. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the remarks of the gentlewoman from Illinois. I just want to say it has been great working with Representative Schakowsky on a number of bills over the years. She has really been very cooperative, and we are doing good things for the American consumer.

I will also say that this is a very profamily bill. We have got to get our kids out to some of these ball games and some of these concerts together as a family, but it is very difficult to budget when you don't know exactly what the price is going to be ultimately.

I want to commend some of the artists such as Kid Rock. He will buy the tickets and give them to people that deserve those tickets that otherwise would not be able to afford them. My good friend Tony Orlando, as well, does this. They are just wonderful artists that do so much for our country, particularly our military and our veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage a ``yes'' vote in the memory of Bill Pascrell who did such a wonderful job on this particular issue. I am glad we are getting it across the finish line.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Frank Pallone for his support and leadership. Gus Bilirakis and I have been working for over 2 years now on this piece of legislation that is going to bring such delight and security for artists and for consumers who really want to benefit from being able to get the wonderful products that they can put their money into so that they can have their families enjoy so many events.

We know that there have been hidden fees. These companies say that this is how much it is going to cost you to be able to go to an event, to be able to go to a concert. You think, and the people who are trying to buy these tickets think, that these are going to be the fees that they are going to have to pay. Sure enough, by the time the product is ready to be paid for, often it can go as much as 40 percent higher. That is really cheating the people who are spending their money.

We know that with passage of the TICKET Act that consumers will be paying only the amount that they believe they are paying the first time. That is the money that you are going to pay, no more.

It is about time that the scammers who are going and raising the price of these events are now going to not be able to do that. People are going to get exactly what they had asked for, what they had paid for.

The passage of the TICKET Act is really a happy event. We need to pass this legislation. I know that lots and lots of people and people who are artists are going to really do better. I look forward to finally, after a couple of years, passing this bill. This bill passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly in the last Congress.

It is time for us to get this done. I thank Gus for his bipartisanship. It has been a pleasure to work with him.