Sen. Chris Murphy is trying to blow up the quiet pricing deals that let giant chains snag discounts while the corner grocer and neighborhood taqueria get stuck paying more. On Thursday he rolled out the Fair Prices for Local Businesses Act, a proposal to update a long-overlooked 1936 law and arm small businesses with new ways to challenge those arrangements. "For decades, corporations have been allowed to break the law and rig the system to make small businesses pay higher prices for the exact same products," Murphy said.
According to Business Insider, the bill would revive and modernize the Robinson-Patman Act so it is easier for regulators and small sellers to go after discriminatory pricing and secret preferential deals. The measure would also make clear that those rules reach services that shape local prices, including delivery marketplaces and certain payment and point-of-sale arrangements.
What the bill would do
The proposal takes aim at special deals that tilt the playing field in groceries and food delivery. A summary from Murphy's office says it would explicitly cover services such as delivery apps, point-of-sale systems and credit-card swipe fees. The goal is to give smaller retailers and independent restaurants a clearer legal path when suppliers or platforms hand big chains better terms that local competitors cannot touch.
Why backers say it matters
Supporters frequently cite an unsealed Federal Trade Commission complaint that accused PepsiCo of giving Walmart preferential discounts and even taking steps to keep rivals' prices higher, a dispute that put new spotlight on Robinson-Patman enforcement. As reported by Bloomberg Law, those details helped fuel calls for stronger legal tools to crack down on hidden price-distorting deals.
What this could mean for restaurants
Delivery platforms already eat into restaurant revenue with marketplace and marketing fees that stack up fast. Per the company's merchant guidance, Uber Eats lists marketplace fees that in some packages can reach as high as 30% of an order, changes the company put in place in March 2026. Restaurateurs and small grocers say those kinds of percentages, on top of other platform charges, squeeze margins that were already razor thin.
How likely is it to pass?
Any shift in federal antitrust law has to survive committee hearings and floor votes, and that is a steep climb in a Republican-controlled Senate. Republicans hold the Senate majority heading into 2026, so Murphy will need at least some GOP backing to move the bill, according to CBS News.
That math makes passage an uphill battle, even as antitrust scrutiny of suppliers and digital platforms has drawn interest from both parties in recent years.
Legal implications
If it becomes law, the measure would lower practical barriers for price-discrimination claims and broaden the kinds of conduct regulators and private plaintiffs can attack under a revived Robinson-Patman framework. Attorneys say that could trigger fresh waves of litigation and agency enforcement that target not only manufacturers and big retailers but also the contractual terms platforms use to structure their marketplaces.
For neighborhood restaurants and independent grocers, supporters are pitching the bill as a way to blunt hidden advantages enjoyed by national chains and the platforms that serve them. For those chains and apps, it would add a new layer of compliance and legal risk to pricing and partnership decisions. Lawmakers and industry players will be watching committee referrals and early hearings for clues about whether the proposal can secure the bipartisan support it needs.
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