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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

New Report: As Senate confirms Kraninger to head CFPB, state and local authorities can fill the void to protect consumers

Below is a press release for our report showing how states can fill the void in consumer protections at the CFPB, following Kathy Kraninger's confirmation as director this afternoon. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

New car seats made without toxic flame-retardant chemicals

Car seats are supposed to keep our youngest children safe. But though they may protect infants and toddlers during accidents, car seats have a history of containing toxic flame-retardant chemicals.

That’s finally changing.

Today, a coalition of groups including U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Ecology Center’s “Healthy Stuff” program released test results on car seats in a new report, Hidden Hazards:Flame Retardants and PFAS in Children’s Car Seats. The authors collaborated with researchers from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

The Marriott breach: why it’s bad and what you can do to protect yourself

Today, Marriott announced a data breach affecting up to 500 million customers of Marriott’s Starwood hotel properties. Mike Litt, consumer campaign director for the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, issued the following statement and steps consumers can take to protect themselves.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Antibiotics

Poultry giant Sanderson Farms to end preventative use of medically-important antibiotics

Today, Sanderson Farms, Inc., the third-largest chicken producer in the United States, announced that it will stop using medically-important antibiotics to prevent disease in its chickens by March 1, 2019. Instead, as recommended by medical professionals, Sanderson Farms will only use the drugs to treat sick animals or to control a disease outbreak.

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

Popular toys contain toxics and other hazards

This holiday season, watch out for dangerous and toxic toys. U.S. PIRG’s 33rd annual Trouble in Toyland report found toxic amounts of boron, which can cause nausea, vomiting and other health issues, in slime products as well as fining that Amazon failed to appropriately label choking hazards.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG response to reports of Facebook security breach

Facebook announced today that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG response to reports of Facebook security breach

Facebook announced today that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Higher Ed

Open Textbooks Pilot renewed, saving college students up to $50 million

 

Today, Congress set aside $5 million to renew the Open Textbook Pilot program for FY19, which gives grants to colleges and universities to promote adoption of free and open textbooks by professors. The program could save students up to $50 million.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Antibiotics

Darden Shareholders Vote in Favor of Protecting Antibiotics

This week, shareholders of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, voted  on a proposal introduced by Green Century Capital Management,  that would require the company to study the feasibility of phasing the routine use of medically important antibiotics out of its meat supply chain. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

Tomorrow's National Free Credit Freeze Law

Our press release about the national free credit freeze law that goes into effect tomorrow. It includes tips about credit freezes and other steps consumers can take to protect themselves from different types of identity theft and fraud. 

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Report | U.S. PIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice | Tax

Offshore Shell Games 2015

U.S.-based multinational corporations are allowed to play by a different set of rules than small and domestic businesses or individuals when it comes to the tax code. Rather than paying their full share, many multinational corporations use accounting tricks to pretend for tax purposes that a substantial portion of their profits are generated in offshore tax havens, countries with minimal or no taxes where a company’s presence may be as little as a mailbox. Multinational corporations’ use of tax havens allows them to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Boosting the Impact of Small Donors

What if our campaign finance system encouraged candidates to raise money from everyday citizens making small contributions? This report examines how the 2016 fundraising picture would look if a small donor campaign finance system were in place, where small contributions were matched with limited public funds for candidates who agree to turn down large contributions.

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Report | US PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Mortgages and Mortgage Complaints

Our sixth report analyzing complaints in the CFPB's Public Consumer Complaint Database evaluates mortgage complaints, the number one source of complaints to the CFPB, totaling 38% of nearly 500,000 complaints posted since 2011.

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Report | US PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Who Pays For Roads

Many Americans believe that drivers pay the full cost of the roads they use through gas taxes and other user fees. That has never been true, and it is less true now than at any other point in modern times. Today, general taxes paid by all tax- payers cover nearly as much of the cost of building and maintaining highways as the gas tax and other fees paid by drivers.

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Report | US PIRG Education Fund & CDD

Targeting Hispanics for Leads in the Digital Big Data Era

This report examines digital targeting and marketing to Hispanics, especially younger Hispanics, due to their growing economic clout and early adoption of mobile smart phones, which enables precision targeting based on behavior, geo-location and language.

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Blog Post | Public Health, Food

Antibiotics: Yummy Yucky | Steve Blackledge

Two of the three Yum! Brand companies announced new antibiotics policies this week. One was a promising step to save antibiotics. The other was more "yucky."

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Lowering your APR might be easier than you think | Kathryn Lee

Many Americans are walking around with a balance on their credit card because of high interest rates, or annual percentage rate (APR) charges for unpaid balances. It's best to pay off your balance in full but if you don't or can't, a higher APR makes your debit grow faster. What most people don’t realize is this APR can be negotiated to a lower rate.

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Blog Post | Public Health

Flint Pediatrician Gave a Voice to the Voiceless in Flint, Michigan | Anna Low-Beer

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is the Flint pediatrician who led the charge in proving that Flint water was tainted by lead and was poisoning the community. Without her drive and dedication to the children of Flint, it is hard to say how long government officials might have left the public in the dark about the mounting crisis. In honor of Women’s History Month we’re recognizing Dr. Hanna-Attisha -- a doctor, mother, and activist -- who has relentlessly fought for the public interest. 

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Blog Post | Transportation

The future of driving

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Blog Post | Transportation

Owning Fewer Cars Isn’t Just For Millennials | Sean Doyle

New transportation options are making it easier for people to use transit more, own fewer cars, and even save money on transportation.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Equifax penalty is a “sweetheart deal” that leaves consumers at risk

Our response to Equifax paying a $650 million penalty for exposing the social security numbers of 148 million Americans to identity theft.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Salmonella outbreak affects papayas in Northeastern US

As summer begins, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) told consumers in six states to stop eating papayas after a fast-moving outbreak was tied to papaya fruit in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

News Release

U.S. PIRG applauds court decision protecting student loan borrowers

Federal appeals court allows lawsuit to proceed under state consumer protection law.

Blog Post

What does “compostable” mean?

This product is certified compostable. Increasingly, this phrase is appearing on a variety of everyday goods -- from paper coffee cups and plastic forks to molded pulp packaging.

Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

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

  • How safe is our food?
    Nationwide recalls ranging from romaine lettuce to millions of pounds of beef to Ritz and Goldfish crackers underscore that there’s a growing public health crisis we need to address.
    Find out
  • Why are health experts alarmed?
    More than 93% of doctors are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms, yet factory farms still use up to 70% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S.
    Learn Why
  • Reclaim our Democracy
    Our democracy is based on the principle of one person, one vote, but our research shows the increasing dominance of big money in our elections.
    Get the facts
  • PROTECT YOURSELF
    We've created consumer tips to help protect you from unfair bank fees, identity theft, loan rip-offs and more.
    Get The Tips

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