Former Virginia Governors Caution GOP AGs on DOJ Lawsuit, Defend Free Market
Former Virginia leaders advise GOP attorneys general against participating in a lawsuit that they view as detrimental to the free market.
On Monday, former Virginia governors Bob McDonnell and Jim Gilmore, along with former state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, wrote a letter to Republican attorneys general asking them not to join a lawsuit that the Department of Justice is reportedly planning to file against RealPage, Inc.
RealPage offers a service that collects data from clients to assist landlords in determining rental prices for their properties. In a Statement of Interest filed by the department in a class action lawsuit against the company last year, it was alleged that RealPage and its clients are involved in a conspiracy to manipulate rental prices.
The authors of the letter strongly oppose the lawsuit, considering it to be unjustified and against the principles of a free market. They expect that the department will request state attorneys general to join the suit.
“We ask that you choose not to… [sign] onto an unjustified, anti-free market suit, which would create pricing knowledge gaps — discouraging future building and investing in the housing industry and making today’s problems worse, not better,” they wrote.
According to former attorneys general McDonnell and Gilmore, the Biden-Harris administration is being accused of trying to manipulate the housing marketplace for political reasons. They argue that the policies implemented by the administration have played a role in the current conditions faced by renters and home buyers.
“Housing costs have become very inflated for a variety of reasons. Chief among those is the current Administration’s inflationary policies and costly regulations, which have discouraged new construction, creating a significant property shortage,” the former attorneys general wrote.
In July, President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass the Biden-Harris Housing Plan, a proposed bill that aims to construct 2 million homes, expand homeownership opportunities for numerous Americans, and encourage corporate landlords to limit rent hikes on current units to 5% or potentially forfeit their federal tax breaks.
Vice President Kamala Harris has also emphasized the importance of the legislation in her efforts to support the middle class and mitigate the impact of inflation by addressing price-gouging and reducing costs.
“We will take on corporate landlords and cap unfair rent increases,” Harris said at an Atlanta rally amidst promises to prohibit bank late fees and cap the cost of prescription drugs.
Source: The Center Square
