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Blog Post | Financial Reform

It Makes No Sense to Eliminate Successful CFPB, Weaken Wall Street Reforms | Ed Mierzwinski

The successful CFPB turns 6 years old tomorrow, July 21. It's already returned nearly $12 Billion to over 29 million consumers harmed by unfair financial practices. Here is a birthday look at the Consumer Bureau's body of work so far and why it makes no sense for Congress to roll it back at the request of Wall Street lobbyists and other special interests.

Blog Post | Financial Reform

Telco, Cable Guys Assault State Broadband Privacy Efforts, Sacramento Key Battleground | Ed Mierzwinski

After the new FCC chair and Congress rolled back pending Obama-era broadband privacy rules applying to collection and use of your personal information by Internet Service Providers (generally large telephone and cable companies) the states (and some cities) moved to replace protections. AT&T, Verizon and Comcast swiftly sent lobbyists out around the nation to quash the efforts. This week, Sacramento is under siege by a phalanx of ISP lobbyists as a key California proposal, AB375 (Chau) is considered. Key Senate committee votes occur Tuesday.

Blog Post | Public Health

Testing School Drinking Water for Lead – Stronger Guidelines Needed in California | Jason Pfeifle

When it comes to lead and school drinking water, what we don't know can hurt us, and in this case, hurt our kids. Lead is highly toxic to children, and even small exposures to this neurotoxin can have life-altering effects on children's overall development. Out of concern for children's health, the California State Water Board recently launched a new initiative requiring local water districts to provide free lead tests to schools that request them.

News Release | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

Statement On CFPB's Rule Restoring Rights To Take Wrongdoers To Court

Financial wrongdoers have long used mandatory arbitration clauses buried in small-print, take-it-or-leave-it contracts to prevent consumers from banding together to have their day in court. Our statement on the CFPB's important new rule restoring consumer rights to join class actions follows.

News Release | CALPIRG | Tax

CALPIRG Applauds Introduction of Bill to End Anonymous Shell Companies

This Wednesday, Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the Corporate Transparency Act (H.R. 3089). Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) also introduced their companion bill, the True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act (S. 1454). CALPIRG applauds the introduction of these bills, which would put an end to anonymous shell companies in the U.S.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

Statement On CFPB's Rule Restoring Rights To Take Wrongdoers To Court

Financial wrongdoers have long used mandatory arbitration clauses buried in small-print, take-it-or-leave-it contracts to prevent consumers from banding together to have their day in court. Our statement on the CFPB's important new rule restoring consumer rights to join class actions follows.

News Release | CALPIRG | Tax

CALPIRG Applauds Introduction of Bill to End Anonymous Shell Companies

This Wednesday, Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the Corporate Transparency Act (H.R. 3089). Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) also introduced their companion bill, the True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act (S. 1454). CALPIRG applauds the introduction of these bills, which would put an end to anonymous shell companies in the U.S.

News Release | Health Care

Our Statement on Senate Health Care Bill

Statement by Jesse Ellis O’Brien, CALPIRG Health Care Advocate, on public release of the “Better Care Reconciliation Act.”

News Release | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

Statement Commending New Military Consumer Enforcement Act

Read our statement commending the introduction of the Military Consumer Enforcement Act by Sens. Jack Reed (RI), Sherrod Brown (OH) and others. These senators have the right idea-- strengthen the CFPB’s ability to protect servicemembers, veterans and their families. Why do others want to weaken the CFPB?

News Release | CALPIRG | Consumer Protection

What Could Possibly Go Wrong If Wall Street Banks and Predatory Payday Lenders Are Allowed to Run Amok Again?

Today, the U.S. House, on a nearly party-line vote, approved HR10, the Financial Choice Act, which is the Wrong Choice for all of us who aren’t Wall Street banks or predatory lenders and would gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB. The bill would leave the successful CFPB as an unrecognizable husk incapable of doing its job to protect consumers, homeowners, older Americans, students, servicemembers and veterans.

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Result | Democracy

Delivering one million petitions to President Obama on dark money

U.S. PIRG joined a broad coalition to deliver one million petitions from Americans, including U.S. PIRG members and supporters, calling on President Obama to shine a light on dark money, or secret political spending.

Result | Health Care

Consumer-Friendly Health Care

In the fall of 2015, the state Legislature passed a series of CALPIRG-backed bills designed to help promote a more consumer-friendly and affordable health care system in California. State Bill (SB) 137 will give consumers accurate, up-to-date information about their health plan’s network; Assembly Bill (AB) 339 will ensure people with chronic health conditions are not discriminated against by insurers; AB 1305 will limit deductibles and annual out-of-pocket maximums for individual members of families; and SB 546 will require health insurance companies to justify rate increases for large employers’ health insurance plans.

Result | Consumer Protection

30 years of toy safety

For the past thirty years, our sister organization U.S. PIRG Education Fund has taken a close look at the safety of toys sold in stores. Their reports have led to more than 150 regulatory actions. In November 2015, they released our 30th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

Result | Consumer Protection

Keeping Children Safe From Dangerous Toys

Every year, as consumers begin purchasing toys for the holiday season, CALPIRG Education Fund visits numerous toy stores, malls and dollar stores to find potentially dangerous toys sitting on store shelves. In November 2015, we released our 30th annual report, "Trouble in Toyland 2015." Over the years, our reports have led to more than 150 recalls and other regulatory actions, helping to remove dangerous products from store shelves and keep children safe.

Result | Democracy

Giving more Americans a greater voice in our elections

In our democracy, the size of your wallet shouldn’t determine the volume of your voice. In 2015, we helped win reforms in Maine and Seattle to ensure that more Americans have a greater say in our elections. Seattle’s Initiative-122 empowers small donors with “democracy vouchers” that can be donated to local candidates and lowers the cap on contributions. In Maine, the state’s Clean Elections Act was improved by strengthening campaign finance disclosure laws and offering qualifying candidates increased public funding.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Protecting Those Who Serve

The men and women who serve in America’s military are also active consumers in America’s financial marketplace, where tricks and traps can cause harm to their finances and their lives. An analysis of more than 44,000 complaints submitted by active duty servicemembers and military veterans to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and contained in its Consumer Complaint Database finds that mistreatment of servicemembers by financial companies is widespread.

Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Budget

Governing in the Shadows

A review of 79 special districts’ online financial transparency shows that while a few districts are meeting the goals of “Transparency 2.0” – a standard of comprehensive, one-stop, oneclick budget accountability and accessibility – the vast majority do little to inform citizens about how they spend money.

Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Medical Debt Malpractice

Millions of Americans are contacted by debt collectors every year over debt related to medical expenses. This review of complaints submitted to the CFPB suggest that many consumers contacted about medical debt should not have been contacted in the first place, and that many contacts involve aggressive or inappropriate tactics.

Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Get the Lead Out

Our children need safe drinking water – especially at school where they go to learn and play each day. Unfortunately, lead is contaminating drinking water at schools and pre-schools across the country. As our report shows, states including California are so far failing to make the grade when it comes to keeping lead out of drinking water at school.

Report | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

Student, Education, and Consumer Groups Defend CFPB To Congress

On February 13, nearly 60 local, state and national student advocacy, professional, consumer, educational, faith and other organizations sent a letter to Congressional leaders expressing "strong support for the crucial work the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) does on behalf of student loan borrowers." The "borrower-focused" letter also urged Congress "to ensure the agency remains well-positioned to solve borrowers’ problems, which includes protecting the Bureau’s single-Director structure and its independent funding, and maintaining Director Richard Cordray until his term ends.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

It Makes No Sense to Eliminate Successful CFPB, Weaken Wall Street Reforms | Ed Mierzwinski

The successful CFPB turns 6 years old tomorrow, July 21. It's already returned nearly $12 Billion to over 29 million consumers harmed by unfair financial practices. Here is a birthday look at the Consumer Bureau's body of work so far and why it makes no sense for Congress to roll it back at the request of Wall Street lobbyists and other special interests.

Blog Post | Financial Reform

Telco, Cable Guys Assault State Broadband Privacy Efforts, Sacramento Key Battleground | Ed Mierzwinski

After the new FCC chair and Congress rolled back pending Obama-era broadband privacy rules applying to collection and use of your personal information by Internet Service Providers (generally large telephone and cable companies) the states (and some cities) moved to replace protections. AT&T, Verizon and Comcast swiftly sent lobbyists out around the nation to quash the efforts. This week, Sacramento is under siege by a phalanx of ISP lobbyists as a key California proposal, AB375 (Chau) is considered. Key Senate committee votes occur Tuesday.

Blog Post | Public Health

Testing School Drinking Water for Lead – Stronger Guidelines Needed in California | Jason Pfeifle

When it comes to lead and school drinking water, what we don't know can hurt us, and in this case, hurt our kids. Lead is highly toxic to children, and even small exposures to this neurotoxin can have life-altering effects on children's overall development. Out of concern for children's health, the California State Water Board recently launched a new initiative requiring local water districts to provide free lead tests to schools that request them.

Blog Post | Public Health, Food

Warning Labels for Roundup — Coming Soon in California | Jason Pfeifle

Earlier this week California health officials announced that, starting on July 7, 2017, glyphosate — the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup — would be added to the state's list of cancer-causing chemicals. With this move, California has stepped up once again to be a leader in the fight to protect public health from harmful pesticides.

Blog Post | Public Health, Food

EPA’s Pruitt Met with Dow Prior to Favorable Ruling Dev Gowda Kara Cook-Schultz

On March 31st, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that his agency would deny a petition to ban the dangerous pesticide chlorpyrifos from being sprayed on food. He announced this decision despite EPA scientists’ earlier findings that concluded that chlorpyrifos, which is manufactured by Dow Chemical, can harm brain development of fetuses and infants after ingesting even small amounts. The news that the EPA would continue to allow the spraying of chlorpyrifos alarmed doctors and other public health officials, but what’s even more interesting is that according to several recent Freedom of Information Act requests, Pruitt met with Dow CEO Andrew Liveris at a Houston hotel just twenty days prior to making his controversial decision.

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CONSUMER PROTECTIONS AT RISK

Congress is one step closer to rolling back consumer protections established after the 2008 financial crisis. Help keep the financial cop on the beat.

Take Action
CALL ON L’ORÉAL TO GO TOXIC-FREE

We should know whether the products we use on our bodies are safe. Tell L'Oreal to be a leader and Pledge to be Toxic-Free.

Add Your Name
VICTORY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

KFC just announced that they’re going to stop serving chicken raised on our life-saving medicines. This is a major step forward in our efforts to stop the overuse of antibiotics.

TELL KFC: THANK YOU
Did Monsanto Ghostwrite Studies?

The EPA is reviewing the safety of Roundup’s main ingredient. But new evidence suggests “independent” research was written by Monsanto. If true, EPA officials should toss those studies.

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DEFEND THE CFPB

Tell your senators to oppose the “Financial CHOICE Act,” which would gut Wall Street reforms and destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as we know it.

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