Folks dealing with excessively high prices for certain products may see some relief down the line.

The U.S. Senators from Pennsylvania John Fetterman and Bob Casey have joined several other senators in introducing the Price Gouging Act of 2024, which looks to prohibit charging customers grossly excessive prices.

Led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, it would require public companies to both disclose changes in their pricing and explain the rationale for price changes in their Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings during a period of "exceptional market shock."

"For too long, corporations have gotten away with jacking up prices to line their shareholders' pockets with the hard-earned dollars of working Americans," said Senator Fetterman. "This bill will put an end to that."

The bill would also target companies that have exploited the pandemic to boost profits by using an unfair leverage. 

Additionally, the bill includes provisions to protect small and local businesses who raise prices in good faith.

In order to enforce these new rules, the bill would provide the FTC with $1 billion in funding to carry out this work.

The bill was also introduced in the House, led by Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. 

This trend in price gouging by large corporations has become so common it's earned a new name among financial analysts looking at this trend - "Greedflation."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for all products between 2021 and 2022 increased 6.5% on average. Food prices increased 10.4%, which reflects an 11.8% price increase for food at home and an 8.3% increase in prices for food away from home.

Further, corporate profits increased 22.6% in 2021 and 9.8% in 2022, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

While the bill would look to right some of these issues, it still has a long way to go before it becomes law. As it stands, it has only been introduced in committee and has yet to make to the floor of either the House or the Senate.

You can read the full text of the bill here: