‘Anti-Price-Fixing’ Bill Passes a Key Senate Test

Controversial legislation aimed at making it harder for manufacturers to control the sales and servicing policies of discount retailers cleared a major hurdle Wednesday when the Senate voted 63 to 35 to cut off debate and bring the measure to a vote this week.

The bill, called an “anti-price-fixing” measure by consumer advocacy groups that support it, is opposed by manufacturers, business groups and many economists.

Supporters said failure to pass the measure would enable high-end retailers to charge higher prices by pressuring manufacturers to cut off supplies to discounters without fear of prosecution under antitrust laws.

Opponents warned that it would limit servicing of high-technology consumer items such as computers and cameras and lead to a welter of lawsuits by discounters who would rather compete by cutting prices than upgrading service to levels sought by manufacturers.

In any case, the measure faces an all-but-certain Bush Administration veto, opponents said. A letter circulated on Capitol Hill Wednesday from the Justice Department repeated past opposition to the bill, which has surfaced in varying forms in recent years but has never before reached the Senate floor for a final vote.

The bill, sponsored by Ohio Democrat Howard M. Metzenbaum and moderate Republican Warren B. Rudman of New Hampshire, was supported by most Democrats and opposed by most Republicans.

Wednesday’s vote removed the last obstacle to final Senate action, which could occur as early as today. Despite growing support, it appears that the bill may lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.

The bill, endorsed by 46 state attorneys general, is designed to overturn a 1988 Supreme Court ruling that upheld an electronics manufacturer’s efforts to discipline a cut-rate distributor for its discounted sales policies.