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About U.S. PIRG Education Fund

For more than 20 years, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski has helped us stand up against big banks and credit card companies.

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH & EDUCATION

U.S. PIRG Education Fund is an independent, non-partisan group that works for consumers and the public interest. Through research, public education and outreach, we serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.

OUR MISSION

With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, U.S. PIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation.

U.S. PIRG Education Fund Staff
U.S. PIRG Education Fund is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, U.S. PIRG Education Fund speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest.


 

Our Board of Directors

Janet Domenitz — Chair

Steve Blackledge

Bruce Speight

Gary Kalman

THE FEDERATION OF STATE PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUPS

U.S. PIRG Education Fund is a federation of independent, state-based, citizen-funded organizations that advocate for the public interest.

 

Since 1970, state PIRGs have delivered results-oriented citizen activism, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRGs employ close to 400 organizers, policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and are active in 47 states, with a federal office in Washington, D.C. On national issues, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact.

Our Top Priorities
Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, U.S. PIRG Education Fund stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results.  


STOPPING THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON FACTORY FARMS

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. We're working to protect our medicine. 
 

 

CHANGING OUR TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES

Americans are driving less and less. It's time to change the way we think about how we get around.
 

   

RECLAIMING 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. That's why we're working to reclaim our democracy. 
 

Our research and public education work is made possible by tax-deductible contributions to the U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

Click here to view our 2015 Form 990.

What's New

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

ID Theft & Privacy Checklists | Mike Litt

Today, we're releasing our revamped Identity Theft and Online Privacy resources.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

Leading Groups Oppose OCC Proposal To Charter Fintechs | Ed Mierzwinski

We joined leading consumer organizations to criticize the national bank regulator OCC's new proposal to charter non-bank fintech companies. We called it both illegal and a gateway for online predatory lenders to enter states where high-cost payday lending is banned. Leading state bank regulatory officials also opposed the OCC move, which is also one of the recommendations in a controversial Treasury Department report released the same day.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

One year after discovering your data was hacked, Equifax still hasn’t paid a price

A year after Equifax discovered signs of a data breach that exposed 147 million Americans to potential identity theft, the company has yet to be held accountable.

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Blog Post | Public Health

We Support HHS Efforts To Rein In Abusive PBM & Big Pharma Practices That Keep Rx Prices Too High | Ed Mierzwinski

In response to a Request for Information from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to comment on its "Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs", we joined Consumers Union and other leading groups in a comment letter. In particular, we detail ways to rein in abusive and anti-competitive practices of both Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and Big Pharma's brand name drug companies that force American consumers to pay too much for health care. Our comments support many of the proposals from Secretary Azar and HHS.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health, Solid Waste

World Health Organization finds increased cancer risk for chemical found in plastics

After years of debate and evidence collection, the World Health Organization (WHO) has just reclassified styrene from being a “possible carcinogen” to a “probable carcinogen.” Styrene is a chemical building block of polystyrene, the plastic material used to make styrofoam and many other plastic products.

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News Release | U. | Public Health

Arkema disaster could have been prevented

 

New Chemical Safety Board report warns that with increased flooding from global warming, companies need to use better safeguards to avoid another Arkema disaster.

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

Groups Call On McDonald’s To Hold The Antibiotics From Its Meat Supply Chain During Shareholder Meeting

As McDonald’s executives gathered today for the company’s annual shareholder meeting, consumer and public health groups held an event at McDonald’s headquarters calling on the world’s largest fast food chain to address antibiotic resistance. U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Consumers Union, Food Animal Concerns Trust, and CREDO Action delivered 160,000 petition signatures from consumers across the United States urging McDonald’s to eliminate beef raised with routine antibiotic use from its supply chain.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG Statement Supporting Wednesday’s Senate Vote To Reinstate Net Neutrality

The Senate has voted in favor of every Internet-using American. By a vote of 52-47, senators approved Sen. Ed Markey’s (MA) Resolution to repeal the Federal Communications Commission’s February 2018 action that rescinded the 2015 Open Internet Order.

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

European government agencies order Claire’s to stop selling asbestos-contaminated makeup products

In the wake of a recent U.S. PIRG study showing that U.S.-based retailer Claire’s is selling makeup contaminated with asbestos, a government agency in The Netherlands confirmed the results of U.S. PIRG’s study. The Dutch Health and Safety Authority (ILT) ordered Claire’s to remove several makeup products from Dutch store shelves after the agency’s lab testing confirmed that there is asbestos in two makeup products.

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

Predatory Loans & Predatory Loan Complaints

This is the seventh in a series of reports that review complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In this report, we explore consumer complaints about predatory loans, categorized in the database as payday loans, installment loans, and auto title loans.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Guide to Convention Funding: Democratic National Convention

The Guide to Convention Funding: Democratic National Convention gives a snapshot of the sources of convention funding, what contribution limits and laws apply to convention fundraising, and the impact of large private contributors

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Guide to Convention Funding: Cleveland GOP Convention

On July 18-21, the Republican Party will hold its 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, concluding the party’s presidential primary, and finalizing the Republican party platform. This report examines the money behind the convention, where it comes from, how convention fundraising has changed over time, and funding in this year’s Republican primary.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Getting Personal with Chemicals

We should be able to trust that the products we buy are safe — especially the ones our families use every day, directly on our bodies. However, we looked into common ingredients in popular personal care products, and found that when we use these products, like shampoo, baby wipes, deodorant, shaving gel, or perfume, we are often dosing our bodies with chemicals that can disrupt our hormones, cause developmental problems, cause cancer, and more.

This consumer guide describes the results of our investigation of 10 popular personal care products that contain chemicals of concern.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Empowering Small Donors in DC Elections

This report examines how a small donor matching program would have reshaped the fundraising of competitive candidates for DC Council, Mayor, and Attorney General during their most recent campaigns.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Some Tips To Protect Internet Privacy | Ed Mierzwinski

You may have heard that Congress just voted to take away many of your online broadband privacy protections. After a little background, we will give you some tips on how to protect what’s left.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Congress Votes Against Consumers and Internet Privacy | Kara Cook-Schultz

Yesterday, the House voted to gut online consumer protections, and if the president signs the legislation, internet service providers will be able to use and sell consumers’ personal information without their permission.

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Blog Post | Democracy

Let’s Put Voters Back on the Map | Andre Delattre

Some of the biggest contributors to candidates in our elections are corporations, which spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on political contests up and down the ballot. The influence of corporate money in our elections puts our democracy at risk, pushing regular voters to the sidelines as candidates work to court big money interests.

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Blog Post | Public Health, Antibiotics

If It Looks Like a Chicken and Walks Like a Chicken | Steve Blackledge

Earlier this week, Tyson Foods announced another big step toward stopping the overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms. The announcement underscores a larger trend that’s been happening for a few years now; consumer pressure is helping to drive important public health changes in the marketplace. To be sure, there are laggards on the antibiotics front (see our recent blog on KFC), but perhaps no company has lagged as aggressively and proudly as Sanderson Farms. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

CFPB Report Finds 1 In 4 Consumers Feel "Threatened" By Debt Collector Tactics | Ed Mierzwinski

We joined Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray and Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine for release of new CFPB data on debt collector abuses. Fully 1 in 4 consumers feel "threatened" by abusive, possibly illegal, debt collector tactics. The release also included an emphasis on problems with the "debt buyer" industry, comprised of firms that buy older, uncollected debt for as little as less than a penny on the dollar.

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Your tax-deductible donation supports U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s work to educate consumers on the issues that matter, and the powerful interests that are blocking progress.

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