Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) led 13 House colleagues in a letter to Samuel Levine, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the potential financial impacts of digital store-issued coupons on seniors, low-income persons, and others without reliable digital access as more and more stores switch to digital-only formats.
“The digital divide continues to leave behind seniors and price-sensitive shoppers, who benefit from store-issued coupons and deals,” said U.S. Rep. Strickland. “The FTC must investigate how the switch to digital-only store-issued coupons affects the people who need and use them most.”
Approximately 25% of seniors never go online, shutting them off from accessing store-issued coupons at retailers that have switched to exclusively offering digital store-issued coupons. Meanwhile, 17 million seniors in the U.S. are considered to be economically insecure, making access to store-issued coupons important to their financial well-being.
Strickland’s efforts urging FTC research and data collection are to better understand the scope of impact and how to improve certain populations’ access to store-issued coupons and the savings that come with them.
The letter was endorsed by Consumer World, Consumer Action, and Consumer Reports and signed by U.S. Representatives André Carson, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Pramila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Stephen Lynch, Seth Magaziner, Eleanor Norton, Mark Pocan, Adam Schiff, Jill Tokuda, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Nikema Williams.
Strickland continues to champion economic well-being for seniors, families, and low-income Americans through her work in Congress.
A full copy of the letter is available here.
U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She is the Congressional Black Caucus whip, a member of the New Democrat Coalition, one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress, and the first African-American elected to represent the Pacific Northwest at the federal level.
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