PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 26, 2017
Anti-Pyramid Scheme Act of 2017
This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to make it unlawful for any person to establish, operate, or promote a pyramid promotional scheme. "Pyramid promotional scheme" means any plan or operation in which individuals pay consideration for the right to receive compensation that is based upon recruiting other individuals into the plan or operation rather than primarily related to the sale of products or services to ultimate users.
Furthermore, any person who establishes, operates, or promotes any plan or operation which sells or solicits the sale of consumer products or services in the home or otherwise outside of a permanent retail establishment, and which sells products or services to independent salespeople, shall have a bona fide inventory repurchase agreement.
A violation of the bill shall be treated under the Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice in, or affecting, commerce.
People & committees
Rep. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN-7] · R–TN
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.3409 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.3409 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.3409 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.3409 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.