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STATEMENT: Biden plans executive order supporting Right to Repair

While broader action is possible, reports indicate that the Biden administration will at least call on the FTC to remove repair restrictions on farm equipment

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

Shareholders push back against Microsoft’s backwards stance on repair | Nathan Proctor

As Microsoft joins the $2 trillion club, a shareholder group presses for Right to Repair 

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Blog Post

Burger King signals intention to move away from PFAS in packaging | Henry Hintermeister

Burger King customer service staff told concerned callers in June that the company plans to phase out PFAS in its packaging by the end of 2021.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

Statement: U.S. PIRG helps reintroduce Rep. Maloney’s Overdraft Protection Act

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) hosted a press conference with U.S. PIRG and other consumer advocacy organizations on Wednesday to reintroduce the Overdraft Protection Act.

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News Release | US PIRG | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Statement: CPSC vote to regulate infant sleep products will save lives

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission approved tough new standards Wednesday to regulate several infant sleep products for the first time.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG and Environment America

Groups urge EPA to stop dumping of “forever chemicals”

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News Release

Statement: Landmark FTC report calls for action on Right to Repair

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report today on manufacturers' use of restrictive repair tactics that have kept consumers from repairing their own products.

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

Lawmakers and public push Whole Foods to put “Planet Over Plastic” at upcoming annual meeting

AUSTIN, Texas --  U.S. PIRG Education Fund , Environment America Research & Policy Center, and Student PIRG sent 59,000 petitions and a letter signed by more than 40 state lawmakers Thursday to Whole Foods urging the company to commit to a comprehensive plan for phasing out single-use plastic packaging from its stores. This follows a March 2021 letter signed by more than 130 advocacy and community groups calling on the national supermarket chain to adopt a bold response to the plastic pollution crisis.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Dangerous secrets: Popular cosmetics brands fail to disclose ingredients

A new report that surveys nearly 1,000 personal care products from 26 popular cosmetics companies finds that many of these companies are doing a poor job informing the public on what ingredients are going into their products, hiding potentially toxic chemicals from consumers.

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Report | MontPIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Volkswagen Settlement State Scorecard

Every state, with the exception of Florida, has now published its plan to spend the money being received as part of the Volkswagen emissions violations settlement. This scorecard grades each state’s plan on how well it is designed to take full advantage of the opportunity to invest in transportation electrification.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Blueprint For Tomorrow

Infrastructure is at the heart of America’s greatest challenges. The infrastructure investments made by generations past have contributed to improved health and welfare, and to the nation’s unparalleled economic prosperity. But the infrastructure decisions of the past have also cast a long shadow, leaving America to deal with the burden of lead water pipes that jeopardize our children’s health, fossil fuel pipelines that contribute to global warming, and transportation and solid waste infrastructure that no longer serve today’s needs.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Glyphosate Pesticide in Beer and Wine

Roundup is everywhere. As the most commonly used agrichemical in the world, Roundup and its main active ingredient, glyphosate, is showing up in places people do not expect, such as food and drinks.1 In this report, we tested beer and wine and found glyphosate in beer and wine from the U.S., Europe, and Asia. We even found glyphosate in some unexpected places, such as in some organic varieties.

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Report | MontPIRG Citizen Advocate | Consumer Protection

Driving Into Debt

In much of America, access to a car is all but required to hold a job or lead a full and vibrant life. Generations of car-centric transportation policies – including lavish spending on roads, sprawl-inducing land use policies, and meager support for other modes of transportation – have left millions of Americans fully dependent on cars for daily living.

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Report | MontPIRG | Transportation

Climate Solutions from Day One

New governors are getting ready to take office in 20 states, from Florida to Alaska. As America’s newly elected governors prepare to take on their states’ biggest challenges, they should prioritize taking bold action on the greatest challenge of our time: climate change.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

Virtual wallet, payment app complaints skyrocket | Ed Mierzwinski

Consumers increasingly are using digital peer-to-peer payment (P2P) apps for convenience. However, that convenience can quickly turn to inconvenience as the result of these apps’ often-confusing design, poor customer service and propensity for being used for scams and fraud. The number of written complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) about these apps and other financial tools in the “mobile or digital wallet” category has skyrocketed in recent years, reaching new heights in 2021.

Cover photo by grinvalds via IStock 

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Blog Post

Right to Repair shows no signs of slowing down | Nathan Proctor

From a win in the New York Senate, to a new bill in Congress: A roundup of news on Right to Repair

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Blog Post

Man lost $124,000 in Amazon scam. Here are 10 ways to keep it from happening to you | Teresa Murray

In light of some of these newer cons, here is actionable information to help you avoid the aggravation, time and financial losses that come with sophisticated scams.

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Blog Post

Farmers need to fix their equipment. Repair restrictions continue to get in the way. | Henry Hintermeister

Without access to digital repair software, farmers are too often forced to send their machines to authorized dealers for fixes.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

Don’t let Sacklers off the hook for role in opioid crisis | Ed Mierzwinski

We’re backing legislation to prevent the billionaire Sackler family from using the corporate bankruptcy of its company Purdue Pharma (makers of Oxycontin and other opioids) to avoid personal liability in ongoing lawsuits by some 24 state Attorneys General attempting to bring some justice to the families of the victims of the opioid crisis. Congress held a hearing Tuesday, June 8 at noon ET.

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Blog Post

U.S. PIRG endorses bipartisan bill to end hunger on college campuses

A bipartisan consensus is forming around at least one issue: battling hunger among college students.

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Blog Post

Right to Repair campaign pushes Apple to make some initial changes

Apple is starting to get the message: Growing numbers of consumers are done putting up with stuff they can't repair.

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Blog Post

PIRG calls for improvements in food recall system after CDC reports yet another E. coli outbreak

Here we go again: In April, another illness outbreak was tied to contaminated food, this time sickening over 170 people in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.

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Blog Post

After U.S. PIRG Education Fund report, Wells Fargo eliminates some student debit card fees

After MontPIRG reported on problems in its debit card practices, Wells Fargo took steps to eliminate some "surprise" fees on student cards.

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Blog Post

We're calling on Wendy's to 'Hold the Antibiotics' from its beef supply chain

How can the country's third-largest burger chain help save the cornerstone of modern medicine? By buying only beef raised without the routine use of antibiotics.

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Blog Post

Is that really the IRS calling? Robocall protections take aim at spoofed numbers

"The FCC is done asking nicely or urging or begging phone companies to fight robocall."

News Release | U.S. PIRG

Statement: Infrastructure must be a good deal for our health

A bipartisan group of senators met Tuesday afternoon to prepare for a vote planned Wednesday on a $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework that aims to boost federal investment in U.S. infrastructure, including billions for roads, clean water and power infrastructure, according to media reports. 

Blog Post

House to take key vote to protect consumers today

Today, the U.S. House takes a key vote. HR2668, the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act, would restore the FTC's Section 13(b) authority to hold wrongdoers accountable and compensate consumer-victims harmed by their actions. The Supreme Court had recently ruled that the power, used for over 40 years to recover billions, was not clearly articulated in law.

Cover photo via Flickr by Mr. Blue MauMau, some rights reserved.

Blog Post

House to vote on restoring FTC powers to compensate victims of corporate crime

Next week, the full House of  Representatives is expected to vote on HR2668, critical legislation to restore Federal Trade Commission authority to disgorge ill-gotten gains from corporate wrongdoers to use to compensate victims of the crime. This spring, the Supreme Court had held that the power was not clearly defined in law, even though courts had upheld the authority for many years, allowing the FTC to return billions of dollars  to consumers.

-- Cover graphic of FTC Building via Flickr, by Boston Public Library, Some rights reserved.

Blog Post

Tough product safety rules will help babies sleep more safely

"No parent should ever have to endure the tragedy of losing a child."

Consumer Protection

Is that really the IRS? Robocall protections take aim at spoofed numbers

Thanks to new FCC rules, most phone providers are now required to arm their customers with Caller ID verification to confirm whether calls on their network are actually coming from the number on display. 

 

Consumer Protection

Tough product safety rules will help babies sleep more safely

Improperly used inclined sleepers have lead to dozens of infant deaths. Rules established by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will require all infant sleep products to adhere to more rigorous safety requirements and pass third-party testing.

 

Antibiotics

Chain Reaction VI

How top restaurants rate on reducing antibiotic use in their beef supply chains

 

Consumer Protection

Beech-Nut to stop making some infant rice cereal after officials find arsenic

Baby food maker Beech-Nut announced that it would stop selling its single grain rice cereal after testing by Alaska officials revealed high arsenic levels. PIRG is calling on all baby food companies to immediately recall foods that contain high levels of heavy metals.

 
  • STOP THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS
    The World Health Organization has identified antibiotic resistance as one of the top 10 global health threats. That's why reducing antibiotic overuse in food production is so important.
    TAKE ACTION
  • 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
  • WATCH OUT FOR UNSAFE TOYS
    Our “Trouble in Toyland” report found boron in slime, choking hazards without the proper warning labels, “connected” toys that pose a privacy risk and more.
    GET THE FACTS
  • HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?
    One year after Equifax announced the worst data breach in history, a U.S. House committee has recommended weakening data breach laws. Tell Congress to protect Americans, not Equifax.
    TAKE ACTION

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