What To Know About the White House’s ‘Time Is Money’ Plan

Time Is Money

The Biden administration is expanding its ongoing crackdown on junk fees to a wider range of business practices that, in short, waste Americans’ time.

The White House’s new initiative, dubbed “Time Is Money”, takes aim at businesses that make it difficult for Americans to cancel a service, get a refund, or chat with customer support.

What Does It Cover?

Here are a few of the campaign’s specific goals:

•   Making it easier for consumers to cancel a service or subscription by mandating that companies allow customers to cancel in as many (or as few) steps as it took them to sign up.

•   Requiring airlines to pay a full cash refund for canceled flights if customers choose not to accept rebooking.

•   Allowing patients to submit health coverage claims online to save time on excessive paperwork.

•   Diminishing customer service delays by requiring companies to let customers talk to a real customer service representative by pressing a single button, instead of navigating an automated system.

Other proposals from the initiative include accountability measures for companies with poor customer service or ineffective chatbots, and making it easier for parents to communicate with schools.

The Bigger Picture

This latest move is part of a broader push toward consumer protection, support, and regulatory oversight. The White House has already taken steps to enable online passport renewal and tax filing.

If implemented, these efforts could establish a new precedent for consumer rights that continues extending to other sectors.

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