CLOSING THE LOOPHOLE—U.S. PIRG's Ed Mierzwinski was part of a team of advocates that helped pass a law to crack down on private contractors such as KBR, which had avoided paying taxes up until now.
After media reports confirmed that Kellogg, Brown and Root and several other government contractors had set up sham companies in tax havens like the Cayman Islands to avoid paying millions in taxes, U.S. PIRG took action.
This spring, we scored a major victory for the public—by making sure tax-dodging private contractors are held accountable. U.S. PIRG organized a coalition of consumer, labor, church and taxpayer groups to urge Congress to close the loophole that allowed private contractors to avoid paying their taxes. Leadership in both chambers responded, and a bill closing the loophole was unanimously approved by both the House and Senate, and was signed by President Bush.
“Americans are working hard and paying their fair share, and we expect contractors that receive billions from the federal government will do the same,” said U.S. PIRG Staff Attorney John Krieger.
Higher Education
Lower Interest Rates For Students This Fall
According to a new report by U.S. PIRG, new first-year college students can expect to save more than $2,500 on their student loans under new interest rate changes that took effect this summer.
The report, “Cutting Interest Rates, Lowering Student Debt Updated,” finds that, on average, a four-year college student starting in 2008 with subsidized Stafford loans will save about $2,570 over the life of his or her loans. The changes are the result of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, which U.S. PIRG helped to pass last summer.
“With more students taking out larger loans to pay for college, the interest rate reductions that went into effect this summer will save new low- and middle-income borrowers several thousand dollars over the life of their loans,” said Luke Swarthout, U.S. PIRG’s higher education advocate.
Government Transparency
A New Way To Hold Our Government Accountable
In an age of instant information, when people can check online for up-to-date information on everything from local sports to credit reports, there still isn’t an easy way to track down information about government spending.
U.S. PIRG lauded passage of the Obama-Coburn Federal Funding Transparency and Accountability Act, which created a searchable database of all federal awards to contractors.
Citizens, journalists and watchdog groups can find up-to-date information by entering search terms such as “Halliburton” or “Blackwater,” or browse the contracts and tax breaks given by particular agencies.Now we’re backing efforts to increase the transparency of state government.
In December, nine state PIRGs held media events to showcase techniques that states are using to share information on spending, contracting and subsidies with the public. WISPIRG Advocate Bruce Speight was invited to the bill signing with Gov. James Doyle after his testimony helped push through legislation for a statewide online database. Support by Maryland PIRG helped bring victory for a similar system in that state.
U.S. Law & Policy
U.S. PIRG Releases Legislative Scorecard
This summer, U.S. PIRG released our annual legislative scorecard, which ranks United States senators and representatives based on how they voted on important public interest issues in 2008.
In 2008, legislators had a chance to vote on a variety of critical issues, including measures to promote energy efficiency, challenge political corruption and protect consumers from unsafe products. Nationwide, the voting record of 164 representatives and 24 senators scored a perfect 100 percent, and 101 members of Congress received a 0 percent.
U.S. PIRG and the state PIRGs distributed scorecards to thousands of households across the country.
Imagine my surprise, on hearing that a veritable army of ExxonMobil lobbyists were lining up for a Senate hearing on a product safety bill. What does ExxonMobil have to do with safe toys?
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