Rep. Andrea Salinas Standing Up For Small Businesses Struggling With Delivery Fees

Salinas' legislation targets the "vicious cycle that benefits big corporations at the expense of a lot of working families and small businesses."

This month, Rep. Andrea Salinas is on the ground connecting with constituents and finding solutions for the biggest issues facing small business owners across Oregon's 6th Congressional district.

As delivery app fees are "eating at the margins of local restaurant owners" which "in turn eats away at the family budget," Salinas has introduced new legislation "that would require apps to be completely transparent about where the customer's money is going." In Congress, she has also pioneered FTC's moves to regulate "restaurant service fees and delivery charges" and co-sponsored the Junk Fee Prevention Act to prohibit dishonest price advertising.

DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
"When it comes to addressing kitchen table issues and high prices, Rep. Andrea Salinas isn't scared to take on self-serving corporate interests. Salinas is the definition of a representative who listens to her neighbors and goes to bat for them - and that's why she'll be reelected this November."

Read more below.

KPTV: Local businesses struggle with delivery app fees, Rep. Salinas pushes for change
Karli Olson | August 5, 2024

• District 6 Representative Andrea Salinas held a press conference Monday outside the Great Greek, to talk about new legislation that would require apps to be completely transparent about where the customer's money is going.

• "They're eating away at the margins of local restaurant owners like Brenda, which in turn forces restaurants to raise prices just to keep up and that in turn eats away at the family budget," Salinas said.

• She's been a proponent of the FTC as they move to regulate restaurant service fees and delivery charges. They are seeking to add transparency, so that customers are completely clear on where their money is going. This would allow them to shop more easily for the best price.

• Salinas is also involved in the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which prohibits businesses like online ticket and lodging platforms from dishonest price advertising.

• She hopes these things will be the first step toward eventually bringing down the fees, and putting money back into the pockets of families and restaurants themselves, especially those struggling to stay afloat.

Beaverton Valley Times: Junk fees on food: Tigard restaurateur, legislators push to oust hidden fees for food ordering/delivery
Ray Pitz | August 6, 2024

• Salinas said many Americans have food apps on their smartphones, noting that the average American orders takeout about once a week, spending about $33 on that order.

• What they don't know, she said, is that about 35% of that cost is in hidden fees.

• "Yeah, that's right, less than two-thirds of what you're actually paying for delivery is going back to support the restaurant and its employees, just like this one," Salinas said. "The rest is going back to these third-party companies, and many consumers … they don't realize that they're paying extra for probably nothing."

• Salinas said mobile food delivery companies are "making a killing" to the tune of billions of dollars each year.

• "They're eating away at the margins of local restaurant owners like (Schmidt), which in turn forces restaurants to raise prices just to keep up, and then that in turn eats away from the family budget," Salinas said.

• But the U.S. representative emphasized that those hidden fees are not limited to food, and include booking airline flights, reserving hotels and purchasing concert tickets.

• "It's a vicious cycle that benefits big corporations at the expense of a lot of working families and small businesses," Salinas said.

• As a result, she is a co-sponsor of the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which would increase transparency and save folks money by prohibiting certain businesses from what she called "dishonest price advertising."

• "Two provisions from this bill, including new transparency requirements for online ticket platforms and short-term lodging providers, have already passed the U.S House of Representatives, and I proudly voted for both of these," she said.

KBND: Rep. Salinas Pushes For Transparency In Food Delivery Fees
Heather Roberts

• Federal lawmakers have targeted hidden fees consumers pay for flights, hotel stays and concert tickets. One Oregon Congresswoman wants to add food delivery apps to the list.

• Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR6) says American families spend billions every year on third-party food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, "The average American ordered takeout about once per week, and spends about $33 on that order. But what I think a lot of people don't know is about 35% of that cost is in hidden fees." She says, "Less than two-thirds of what you're actually paying for delivery is going back to support the restaurant."

• Tigard Mayor Heidi Lueb says many of her city's 3,400 businesses are restaurants, "And a lot of them are struggling. And when they get orders from all of these apps, it really is cutting into their business and they're not able to break even; they're even losing [money], just to be able to get their name out there and get that name recognition."

• Salinas says she's not necessarily calling for the fees to be abolished, just that they're disclosed to customers who may otherwise believe the money they're spending is staying local, "There are some hidden fees that don't have any legitimacy. And so those are the kinds of fees - and we don't know where they're going exactly, except perhaps to profit." She adds, "Delivery apps are making a killing from what might be better known as junk fees. And we're talking billions of dollars every year. They're eating away at the margins of local restaurant owners."

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