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Blog Post | COVID-19

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

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.

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Blog Post | COVID-19

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 | Ed Mierzwinski

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.

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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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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

As electric cars revolutionize the vehicle market, new study helps cities address infrastructure and parking challenges

With electric vehicles (EVs) hitting U.S. streets in record numbers, a new study by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center and Frontier Group highlights best practices to help local officials make their cities as EV-friendly as possible. The new report, “Plugging In: Readying America’s Cities for the Arrival of Electric Vehicles,” includes local and state data about the projected number of electric cars expected on the road in coming years, and how cities can accommodate these new EVs with enough places to park and recharge.

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

Consumer Guide Released for Valentine's Day: Research Shows Some Lipsticks Contain Harmful Chemicals

We should be able to trust that the products we buy are safe — especially ones our families use every day, applied directly to our lips. However, today U.S. PIRG Education Fund released a consumer guide entitled “Kiss Off,” which contains examples of lipsticks, lip balms, and children’s lip products which contain ingredients linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and reproductive problems. Popular brands such as Maybelline, L'Oréal, and ChapStick made the list.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Solid Waste

Trash in America: Moving from Destructive Consumption to a Zero-Waste System

A new report released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund, Frontier Group, and Toxics Action Center, Trash in America:  Moving from Destructive Consumption to a Zero-Waste System, details the effects of overconsumption in America, including water contamination, air pollution, habitat destruction, and global warming. The report also examines how good policies can minimize the proliferation of waste and incentivize reduction, repairs, reuse, recycling, and composting.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG/U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health, Food

Bee-Killing Pesticides Found in Great Lakes Water

A recent scientific study found the presence of commonly-used pesticides known to harm bees ("neonicotinoids" or "neonics") in several Great Lakes waterways. This study shows we know very little about the effects of pesticides once released into the environment.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Food

New Report: Reaping What We Sow: How the Practices of Industrial Agriculture Put Our Health and Environment at Risk

 

U.S. agriculture is at a crossroads. While the nation’s agricultural system now produces more food than we can consume or than is good for us, we are squandering our resources, technology and taxpayer-funded investments on farming systems and practices that prioritize higher yields and profitability without regard to the impacts on the environment and public health, or to long-term agricultural productivity.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

CFPB Gets Results for Consumers In December | Ed Mierzwinski

It's been a good month for consumers and a bad month for corporate crime, as the CFPB continued to hold financial firms accountable for unfair marketplace practices. Let's hope that in the New Year, banks and other financial companies get the message that cheating their customers is a bad business model.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

CFPB getting results for consumers this week | Ed Mierzwinski

Last week, a senior bank industry lawyer said he was "amazed" at the amount of work the CFPB had accomplished "in such a short amount of time." This week, the CFPB stepped up its game another notch, when it returned $34 million to consumers who'd been deceived by a medical debt credit card pitched by their doctors and dentists and their receptionists and also took a big step toward ending forced arbitration in consumer contracts. Had any victims of the medical credit card wanted to go to court because they'd been ripped off, they couldn't, since the small print on that card, like the small print on most others, would send them instead to arbitration, no better than a kangaroo court.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Shopping? We've got your back, online and in the store. | Ed Mierzwinski

Whether you're shopping for toys or anything else this holiday season, the state PIRGs have new resources to help you make better, safer choices. We also have tips to protect your privacy and your wallet from online scams and rip-offs.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Will U.S. Trade Deal With Europe Eliminate Consumer Protections? | Ed Mierzwinski

Tomorrow, Tuesday, on Election Day, Washington State voters will consider the question "Yes On 522: To Label Genetically-Modified Foods." The right to choose your food is a right that American consumers want and every European citizen already has. But at the behest of the powerful agribusiness industry, U.S. trade negotiators want to take it away from all of us on both sides of the Atlantic in a secret deal. U.S. PIRG is among the consumer groups pushing back.

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Blog Post | Budget, Tax

Webinar for State Officials on Spending Transparency

U.S. PIRG Education Fund conducted a webinar with officials from 31 states on ways to improve online spending transparency.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

STATEMENT: Boppy Co. recalls more than 3 million newborn loungers after eight babies died

A year after the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned parents not to use nursing pillows and loungers for infant sleep, the CPSC and The Boppy Co. announced a recall Thursday of 3.3 million newborn loungers.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Report: Only one-third of largest phone companies have completely adopted anti-robocall technology

A looming deadline should finally force all U.S. phone companies to take stopping robocalls seriously. However, only one-third of the largest mobile and home phone providers nationwide -- and a more disappointing percentage of smaller telecommunications companies -- have installed caller ID verification aimed at squashing illegal robocalls.

Blog Post

Make the ringing stop: The FCC is finally fighting back against robocalls

Scam robocalls have declined by 29 percent since June. But most of us still get too many. And the industry overall isn't doing enough.

Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Make the ringing stop

Research by PIRG Education Fund shows that among 49 of the largest phone companies nationwide (those that can serve 1 million or more), only 16 have reported to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that they have completely implemented anti-robocall technology. What does this mean? It means the industry isn’t doing nearly as much as hoped to fight the crime that for years has caused so much heartache and aggravation among consumers nationwide.

Blog Post

18 tips to reduce robocalls and protect yourself from scams

The good news: Illegal robocalls seem to be declining a bit. The bad news: They'll probably never go away completely. Consumers need to remain vigilant to protect their personal information and their money. 

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
  • TROUBLE IN TOYLAND
    Shopping for the holidays? Our annual toy safety report can help you spot the health hazards in the toy aisle and keep kids safe this holiday season.
    OUR REPORT
  • NURSING HOME SAFETY DURING COVID: PPE SHORTAGES
    Seven months into COVID-19 pandemic, 226,000 nursing home residents nationwide at risk.
    SEE THE REPORT
  • AUTO LOAN COMPLAINTS RISE
    Consumer complaints about auto purchasing, leasing and finance have spiked since the beginning of the pandemic.
    OUR REPORT

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