Main Street Competition Coalition

Main Street Competition Coalition Welcome to the Main Street Competition Coalition.

We're a bipartisan coalition of independent businesses and agriculture producers fighting to restore competitive fairness across the American economy.

06/23/2026

Thank you to the National Community Pharmacists Association for having MSCC Executive Director Chris Jones on its Independent Rx Forum Podcast to discuss the work of the coalition to restore the competitiveness of independent businesses.

Today, the House took an important step toward putting Main Street at the center of competition policy.The bipartisan Ma...
06/23/2026

Today, the House took an important step toward putting Main Street at the center of competition policy.

The bipartisan Main Street Competes Act strengthens the Small Business Administration's role in evaluating whether antitrust enforcement is preserving competitive opportunities for entrepreneurs and independent businesses. It also makes promoting competitive markets and effective antitrust enforcement a core economic policy objective of the Small Business Administration. It recognizes that entrepreneurship, consumer choice, and business ownership depend on market conditions that allow independent businesses to compete and grow.

Competitive markets are essential to innovation, consumer choice, and business ownership. Small businesses are often the first to feel the effects of excessive market concentration and deserve a stronger voice in our nation's antitrust discussions.

We thank Representatives Derek Schmidt and Hillary Scholten, as well as the House Small Business Committee, for their bipartisan leadership on this important legislation.

Read our full statement here: https://www.mainstreetcompetition.com/news/main-street-competition-coalition-applauds-house-passage-of-the-main-street-competes-act

Everyone is talking about affordability. Almost no one is talking about the antitrust law that could actually bring pric...
06/16/2026

Everyone is talking about affordability. Almost no one is talking about the antitrust law that could actually bring prices down.

In a new piece, our Executive Director Chris Jones explains how the Robinson-Patman Act stops suppliers from handing big chains secret discounts that smaller stores can never match. It worked for decades. Then it got blamed for inflation it never caused.

The proof behind that blame isn't there. What is there is mounting evidence that the law's absence is what keeps your prices high.

Read the full breakdown below. Worth your time if you've ever wondered how the big box store can undercut everyone and still pocket a bigger margin:
https://thecapitolforum.com/the-forum/the-forum-newsletter-june-13-2026/the-antitrust-tool-that-lowers-prices/

State attorneys general don't wait for Washington.Ahead of the DAGA Summer Policy Conference in Milwaukee, MSCC Executiv...
05/22/2026

State attorneys general don't wait for Washington.

Ahead of the DAGA Summer Policy Conference in Milwaukee, MSCC Executive Director Chris Jones sits down with Elizabeth Odette, Assistant Attorney General in Minnesota's Antitrust Division and Chair of the NAAG Multistate Antitrust Task Force, to talk about what Democratic AGs are focused on in 2026: market power, affordability, and how Main Street businesses can engage with AG offices on competition enforcement.

Tuesday, May 26 | 1:00–2:00 PM ET | Open to members and prospective members.

Register here: https://ujajm.share.hsforms.com/2NvNQuLIgRWue_OhvF0OVpw

One week in. Two wins.The Main Street Competes Act just cleared the House Small Business Committee, unanimous and bipart...
05/21/2026

One week in. Two wins.

The Main Street Competes Act just cleared the House Small Business Committee, unanimous and bipartisan. The bill refocuses the Small Business Administration on competitive markets so small businesses, family farms, and consumers aren't left behind.

Tuesday, we led a stakeholder letter urging more funding for FTC and DOJ antitrust enforcement. Wednesday, H.R. 8882 is out of committee.

Thanks to Reps. Derek Schmidt (R-KS) and Hillary Scholten (D-MI) for carrying this bill, and to every member of the Committee who voted yes.

Now we're calling on Majority Leader Steve Scalise to put this on the next suspension calendar. Time for the full House to vote.

The Main Street Competition Coalition and our allies sent a letter to Congress today asking for full funding of America'...
05/19/2026

The Main Street Competition Coalition and our allies sent a letter to Congress today asking for full funding of America's antitrust enforcers.

The ask: $313 million for the Justice Department's Antitrust Division and $487.4 million for the Federal Trade Commission in FY 2027.

Why this matters for Main Street: your local independent businesses and the farmer down the road can't take on dominant corporations alone. They depend on the FTC and the Justice Department to enforce the rules. Right now, those agencies don't have the resources to keep up.

Since 2010, the U.S. economy has grown 37 percent. Funding for antitrust enforcement has grown 3 percent. That's how concentration keeps building, prices keep climbing, and small businesses keep getting squeezed out.
The Coalition launched last Thursday at the National Press Club with bipartisan keynotes to kick us off, including Rep. Mike Rulli (R-OH) and former FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya.

Read today's letter and learn more at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NUlxU5t5Cu3NnaaiL_UtDmIuT9eOWghTFOmJZWFPhgo/edit?tab=t.0

"If Main Street organizes around a shared vision for competitive markets, we become extraordinarily powerful."— Chris Jo...
05/15/2026

"If Main Street organizes around a shared vision for competitive markets, we become extraordinarily powerful."
— Chris Jones, Executive Director, MSCC

Yesterday, the Main Street Competition Coalition held its official launch event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The MSCC is the first business-backed coalition built to pursue a broad agenda against market power abuses affecting Main Street: grocers, pharmacists, farmers, franchisees, and independent businesses across the economy. At its founding core are two of the most trusted voices in independent business, the National Grocers Association and the National Community Pharmacists Association. Nearly 90 years ago, their predecessor organizations joined together to win the Robinson-Patman Act, a law that guaranteed independent businesses a level playing field. That law is still on the books. It just stopped being enforced.

And this is just the beginning. The MSCC is expanding to take on market power abuses across every corner of Main Street.

Read Chris's full opening remarks here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19pTY48BBRGBZ-LRoSOLCpleDj68fH4IH/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107029615524895188945&rtpof=true&sd=true
View MSCC's letter to President Trump and Congress: https://lnkd.in/ehG7uTa3
Want to get involved? Visit mainstreetcompetition.com

Thank you to our speakers: Matt Stoller and Nidhi Hegde, American Economic Liberties Project; Alvaro Bedoya, Former FTC Commissioner; Douglas Hoey, NCPA; Laura Strange, National Grocers Association; Congressman Michael Rulli, OH-06; Teddy Downey, The Capitol Forum; Wade Payne, Food Giant/Mitchell Grocery; Christine Lee, Professional Pharmacy; John Settlemyre, fifth-generation farmer and Agri-Business Advocate; Terry Schilling, American Principles Project; and Randy Stutz, American Antitrust Institute.

And thank you to The Capitol Forum for sponsoring the event.

The Main Street Competition Coalition is back.MSCC relaunches today at the National Press Club in Downtown Washington, D...
05/14/2026

The Main Street Competition Coalition is back.

MSCC relaunches today at the National Press Club in Downtown Washington, D.C. with a live-streamed event sponsored by The Capital Forum. The coalition is expanding its policy platform to address a wide range of market power abuses and obstacles to competition. MSCC's letter to President Trump and Congress, released today, highlights and encourages the bipartisan momentum in favor of strong competition policy to deliver affordability and opportunity to America's Main Street businesses.

The event streams live from 8-11am EST today over the National Community Pharmacists Association's page: facebook.com/commpharmacy

If you want to weigh in, join us at mainstreetcompetition.com.
If you'd like you view MSCC's letter to President Trump and Congress, view here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z5oQ1BZXnGswiihx69RxgxGZmH3Bty6b/view?usp=drive_link

He turned a college project into a cold brew brand. Now Nestlé wants to take his name.Evan Oeflein, one of our own membe...
05/07/2026

He turned a college project into a cold brew brand. Now Nestlé wants to take his name.

Evan Oeflein, one of our own members, started Seattle Strong at the University of Washington in 2017. What began as a business class idea is now on shelves at Whole Foods, Fred Meyer, Safeway, and stores across Washington and Oregon.

Two years ago, Evan earned his trademark. Now Nestlé is trying to cancel it, arguing that Seattle Strong is too similar to Seattle's Best and might confuse consumers.

"You can't own the word Seattle, and Seattle is known for coffee, so if you want to trade in that realm, you can't prevent others from doing it too," Evan said.

His legal bills are mounting. That's money he'd rather put toward expanding into California and Texas. But he's not backing down, and neither are we.

This is why the Main Street Competition Coalition exists. Small business owners who build something from the ground up deserve a fair shot, and we'll keep telling these stories.

Follow Seattle Strong and learn more at mainstreetcompetition.com.

https://komonews.com/news/local/small-coffee-business-seattle-food-industry-2017-international-company-1989-court-battle-nestles-attorney-patent-trademark-office-infringement

Is price discrimination enforcement making a comeback?A recent Robinson-Patman Act win in LA International v. Prestige B...
04/15/2026

Is price discrimination enforcement making a comeback?

A recent Robinson-Patman Act win in LA International v. Prestige Brands could signal a shift that independent businesses have been waiting for.

Join the Main Street Competition Coalition for a free webinar to unpack:
• What this case means for price discrimination enforcement
• How enforcement may evolve
• What options are available today

April 21 · 2:00 PM ET

Speakers:
Chris Jones, Executive Director, Main Street Competition Coalition
Katie Van Dyck, Founder and Principal, KVD Strategies PLLC
Nick Stebinger, Founding Partner, Simonsen Sussman LLP

Register your interest: https://ujajm.share.hsforms.com/2OjHZntWARSyypXcj0aIicA
Learn more at mainstreetcompetition.com

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