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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

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

Equifax Breach: One Year Later

A year ago tomorrow, Equifax announced that hackers had breached its system and accessed the data of nearly 150 million U.S. consumers. To mark the anniversary of that notorious announcement, we are releasing a report containing suggestions on how state and federal authorities and consumers can safeguard personal information.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG

New study links untested strain of E. coli in chicken to human illness, USDA Needs to Act

A new report from the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health shows that a strain of E. coli in poultry that is rarely tested for could be linked to people contracting urinary tract infections. This gap requires a reevaluation of what strains require investigation to catch dangerous pathogens, according to experts and advocacy group U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG).

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

Recall: Toys Still Found with Lead Paint Decade After Virtual Ban

On Wednesday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than 30,000 units of BSN Sports rubber critter toys because of lead contamination. Despite Congress enacting stronger protections for toys and other children’s products 10 years ago this month due to a rash of China-manufactured lead contaminated toys, some toys with lead paint contamination are still reaching store shelves and getting into kids’ hands.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health, Consumer Protection, Health Care

Second recall of King Bio’s homeopathic drugs in the past month

King Bio Inc. issued the second significant voluntary recall since late July of their homeopathic drugs on Wednesday. Safety concerns over homeopathic drugs extend beyond King Bio as over the past several years, the FDA has issued recalls to several companies for a variety of health products from zinc-containing intranasal medicine to asthma drugs with toxic ingredients. 

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Solid Waste

Plastic pollution: One day, three solutions

One day, three decisions -- all of which may have far-reaching effects on plastic pollution in the United States.

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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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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health

U.S. judge allows Monsanto’s Roundup cancer lawsuit to go to trial, victims will be heard in court

Federal judge found sufficient evidence to move to trial hundreds of lawsuits alleging that Monsanto Co.’s glyphosate-containing weed-killer Roundup causes cancer.

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News Release | Environment America | Solid Waste

Environment America and U.S. PIRG praise Starbucks’ decision to ditch plastic straws

 

Today, coffee giant Starbucks announced that it would eliminate single-use plastic straws from all of its locations globally by 2020. In a Tweet, the company said the move would eliminate more than one billion plastic straws per year from its stores.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health

Johnson & Johnson commits to disclose fragrance ingredients in baby products by August 1

J&J said it intends to disclose 100 percent of the ingredients in its babycare products next month.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Antibiotics

New Video Series: Physicians Call for the Meat Industry to Stop Misusing Antibiotics

 

Physicians are sounding the alarm about antibiotic resistance in the new video series from the Health Professional Action Network, a project of U.S. PIRG Education Fund. Overusing antibiotics to produce meat breeds drug resistant bacteria, which can travel off the farm and infect people with potentially-deadly illnesses. The launch of the first video coincides with the July 4th holiday, the day of the year when Americans grill the most.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Congressional Primaries by Fundraising Receipts

According to analysis by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, candidates who outraised their opponents swept the vast majority of primaries, winning their election 83 percent of the time.

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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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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. 

> Keep Reading
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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