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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Budget

Federal Reserve’s new rules open the door to fossil fuel bailout

The Federal Reserve announced new rules on Thursday for its “Main Street Lending Program” designed to help small and mid-sized businesses during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The rule changes allow both larger companies and those carrying more debt to qualify, potentially exposing taxpayers’ money to more risk. The changes also create an opportunity for oil and gas companies to access government assistance.

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips

The health benefits of ditching plastic and going zero waste | Olivia Sullivan

Transitioning to a zero waste lifestyle isn't just about saving the ocean or protecting the environment. It can also improve your health by reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Coronavirus how-to’s: Paying your taxes, and making student loan payments | Grace Brombach

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to wreak havoc on our health and finances, U.S. PIRG Education Fund is putting out resources and tip guides to help Americans weather the storm. To help illustrate these issues, each week, we’ll be posting a round-up of short stories from across our network, from staff experiencing various COVID-related issues and their solutions.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Putting Consumers First

U.S. PIRG Education Fund, the Student Borrower Protection Center and Consumer Action have released a report recommending that  CFPB should use the full extent of its authority to take immediate action to strengthen its consumer complaint tool, hold companies accountable for providing complete and timely responses to consumers, and leverage consumer complaints related to the pandemic to support oversight and regulatory action to protect consumers.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund and National Taxpayers Union Foundation | Tax

Report: Groups find ‘Common Ground’ on nearly $800 billion in cuts to wasteful federal spending

Even before COVID-19, the U.S. was on track to surpass a $1 trillion deficit. Current projections are climbing much higher. Once the immediate health crisis begins to subside, lawmakers will face the challenge of adopting a 2021 federal budget in a time of reduced revenue. U.S. PIRG Education Fund and National Taxpayers Union Foundation have come together to recommend over 50 bipartisan spending reform recommendations for Congress, totaling nearly $800 billion in savings.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Statement: SBA data breach puts business owners at risk of ID theft and other fraud

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Tuesday that the personal information of nearly 8,000 business owners applying for federal disaster loans had been exposed. The breach affects applicants to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL), and may have included names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, email addresses, phone numbers, citizenship statuses and insurance information.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Higher Ed

Private lenders announce they’ll suspend student loan payments

 

State leaders secure relief to cover most Americans with student loans

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips

How to save money and make safer online purchases during COVID-19

To help address concerns as they arise, U.S. PIRG Education Fund is publishing new tip guides each week to help consumers navigate this crisis.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Consumer complaints of COVID-19 fraud surpass 15,000

Scammers and other bad actors are trying to take advantage of Americans’ heightened fears around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and fraud complaints are soaring. Consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to the virus surpassed 15,000 Thursday.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Food

Food Recall Failure

Our research found the majority of grocery stores fail to warn the public about hazardous food recalls. While they collect significant information about Americans shopping habits to sell us more food, they aren't doing enough to use that information to protect the public health.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Highway Boondoggles 5

Highway Boondoggles 5 finds nine new budget-eating highway projects slated to cost a total of $25 billion that will harm communities and the environment, while likely failing to achieve meaningful transportation goals.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center | Transportation

Trouble in the Air

People across America regularly breathe polluted air that increases their risk of premature death, and can also trigger asthma attacks and other adverse health impacts. In 2018, 108 million Americans lived in areas that experienced more than 100 days of degraded air quality. That is equal to more than three months of the year in which ground-level ozone (the main ingredient in smog) and/or particulate pollution was above the level that the EPA has determined presents “little to no risk.” These Americans live in 89 large and small urban areas,* and in 12 rural counties.

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Report | Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Electric Buildings

To prevent air and water pollution and the worst impacts of global warming, America must move toward meeting its energy needs with 100 percent renewable energy. Getting there will require that we get the most out of every bit of energy we use – and that we end the burning of fossil fuels in our homes and commercial buildings.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group | Tax

Following the Money 2019

Our 10th report on government spending transparency rates all 50 states on the degree to which they make information about corporate tax breaks and other subsidies available online.

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Blog Post | COVID-19

Factory farms: A pandemic in the making. | Matt Wellington

The emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic is a symptom of how we raise food animals across the world. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19, Public Health, Consumer Protection

Stimulus check plans, finding hand sanitizer, and avoiding scams during coronavirus | Grace Brombach

Each week, we’ll be posting a round-up of short stories from across our network from staff experiencing various COVID-related issues, and what they did about them.

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Blog Post | COVID-19

Paying bills, making homemade masks, and adjusting to new traditions during COVID-19 | Grace Brombach

A weekly roundup of COVID-related consumer stories from our network

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Blog Post | Higher Ed

Free resources without an expiration date | Cailyn Nagle

Getting educators and students the course materials they need during COVID-19

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Blog Post

What we learned in 2019 | Faye Park

Our work standing up for consumers always starts with research. We examine problems and evaluate policies through hard-hitting reports, then use those reports to earn media coverage and build support for meaningful solutions. Read on for a recap of 10 things we learned in 2019 from Faye Park, President of U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

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Blog Post

Is COVID-19 price gouging still a problem?

A quick search of Amazon tells me yes

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Consumer advice: Ask for help with your bills before an emergency

This coming Monday, June 1, will mark the third full month that bills are due since COVID-19 was declared a national state of emergency in March. To help Americans manage their finances, U.S. PIRG Education Fund has published an updated guide with tips on what to do about paying bills during the crisis.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Statement: Consumer complaints about COVID-19 fraud near 50,000

Consumer complaints to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to the coronavirus approached 50,000 on Tuesday. U.S. PIRG Education Fund has documented the actions taken by the FTC and 14 other federal agencies in response to coronavirus scams.

Blog Post

Panel of health care experts call for more medical supplies and testing

U.S. PIRG, Get Us PPE and Doctors for America co-hosted a panel on which leading physicians and U.S. Representative Andy Kim (N.J.) from the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis discussed how we can keep health care workers safe so that they, in turn, can treat the general public.

Blog Post

U.S. PIRG Supports Automated Contact Tracing Because More Than Anything Else, America Needs Good Information Before It Can Safely Lift Stay-At-Home Rules

Public health experts have made it abundantly clear that to safely lift stay-at-home rules we must have four key things we don’t yet have. We need fast, accurate and widely available testing. We need a better plan for isolating and supporting people who have COVID-19. We need sufficient hospital capacity, including medical and protective equipment, to treat all patients safely. And we need more contact tracing. This blog explains U.S. PIRG's support for automated warning and contact tracing, subject to appropriate privacy and civil liberties protections, which can provide critical information quickly about who has potentially been exposed.

Solid Waste

New federal bill calls for U.S. to move beyond plastic

On Feb. 11, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall and U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal introduced legislation that would phase out unnecessary single-use plastics, which commonly end up clogging our landfills and polluting our environment. It also provides funding for recycling and composting infrastructure, and would shift the financial burden of managing waste and recyclables from town and city governments to the manufacturers.

 
  • COVID-19 CONSUMER TIPS
    Avoid online scams, protect your credit and more. We have assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days to come.
    OUR TIPS
  • THE FIX IS IN
    Our survey shows that independent shops are struggling to access parts, service information and repair software which is necessary to fix phones — which manufacturers won’t let these independent shops have.
    OUR REPORT
  • FOOD RECALL FAILURE
    Will your supermarket warn you about hazardous food? Our survey grades 26 of the largest grocery stores in the country to determine the efficacy of their policies and practices notifying consumers about food recalls.
    OUR REPORT
  • CHAIN REACTION V
    The overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections in people. Our report ranks restaurant chains on their policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.
    SEE THE GRADES

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