Holding Elected Officials To Higher Ethical Standards

A new, independent office will police ethical scandals in Congress, under a plan endorsed by U.S. PIRG. Our staff helped make the case for the new Office of Congressional Ethics through a report showing that 23 states already have independent panels to enforce ethics.

Paving The Way For 21st Century Transportation

Passenger rail travel will improve, and America will begin investing in a new generation of high-speed rail thanks to a U.S. PIRG-backed law that authorizes $13 billion in spending over the next five years. The law marks a small step in a shift toward public transit and away from wasteful new highway projects.

Closing Contractor Loopholes

When private contractors, including Halliburton spin-off Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), tried to avoid paying taxes by setting up foreign subsidiaries, U.S. PIRG backed a new law to close that loophole and another law requiring contractors to pay back taxes before being awarded new contracts.

Standing Up For Taxpayers And Homeowners

When Congress rushed to pass the $700 billion bailout for Wall Street banks, U.S. PIRG staff warned that the law lacked protections for taxpayers, assistance to homeowners and accountability for the corporations receiving taxpayer dollars. One week after taxpayers bailed out insurance giant AIG to the tune of $85 billion, the company was caught wasting nearly half-a-million dollars on a staff retreat at a luxury spa.

Pointing The Way Toward Affordable, Dependable Health Care

PIRG staff and members in Massachusetts, California and Oregon identified ways to reduce health care costs and backed state plans to cut wasteful spending by drug companies, HMOs and others. Our work helped lay the groundwork for a national plan to ensure affordable and dependable health care.

Promoting Young Voter Participation

In the 2008 presidential election, 3.4 million more 18- to 29-year-olds voted than in 2004, resulting in the largest number of young voters on record. The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project did its part by deploying 80 organizers to help voters register on more than 100 college campuses in 22 states.

Holding Drugmakers Accountable For Safety

The FDA reform bill adopted by Congress in 2007 included several U.S. PIRG-backed provisions that force drug companies to post all clinical trial results, good and bad—an antidote to such notorious cases as Vioxx, Paxil and Avandia. It also increases penalties for drug companies that rush unsafe drugs to market.