Arizona representatives call out 2 suppliers for price gouging on PPE
Apr 18, 2020, 4:05 AM | Updated: 2:45 pm
PHOENIX – Arizona representatives are calling on personal protective equipment companies to not price gouge on essential gear during the coronavirus outbreak
Democratic U.S. Reps Greg Stanton and Ruben Gallego sent letters to executives at Grainger and Bound Tree Medical who have raised the prices of protective equipment.
The letters called the conduct “un-American” and “illegal.”
“Over the last few weeks, we have seen the very best of our nation—doctors and nurses putting themselves in harm’s way to help strangers, police officers and firefighters fearlessly taking on new threats to our safety, everyday Americans lending a helping hand to neighbors in need,” Stanton and Gallego wrote in the letter.
“At a time when so many are doing so much, it is maddening that some choose to look at those same Good Samaritans as prey.”
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Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission investigated vendor Galls, who was asking customers to pay 600% more for personal protective equipment.
This was despite an executive order from President Donald Trump that prioritizes and allocates health and medical resources to respond to the coronavirus spread.
At the state level, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed an executive order prohibiting price-gouging for personal protective equipment.
As of Friday, Arizona has 4,507 total cases and 169 deaths with 49,230 tests having been given.
