U.S.PIRG

Campaigns

• End Government Subsidies to Wealthy Corporations

  Americans should not have to pay their hard-earned tax dollars to wealthy multinational corporations to conduct business activity abroad. Eliminating the Ex-Im Bank has garnered public support from across the political spectrum, but the largest and most powerful multinational corporations and institutions, such as Boeing and the Chamber of Commerce, have continued to pressure Congress to uphold the subsidies and preserve the status quo. For lawmakers looking to eliminate waste and get our fiscal house in order, the Export-Import Bank should be at the top of the list. With the bank’s charter expiration date set for June 30th, Congress simply needs to do nothing. We need to make sure Congress makes the right choice to let the Export-Import Bank expire, and act in the public interest. (1) http://reut.rs/1umaXLf, http://1.usa.gov/1INucEl

  5,644 of 6,000 Signatures

  Created by U.S. PIRG
• Don't Let BP Write Off Oil Spills As Tax Deductions

  BP has paid about $42 billion to address the Deepwater Horizon disaster since oil first started spilling in 2010. About 80% of those payments have qualified for tax deductions, effectively shifting the cost of BP’s “gross negligence” onto taxpayers. The practice of writing off settlement agreements is both legal and common—but it doesn’t have to be. Should BP be able to write off its payments made to address the Gulf Coast oil spill? Should Wall Street banks be allowed to deduct their settlements for mortgage abuses as business as usual? Tell the Justice Department no tax deductibility for BP in the upcoming Gulf spill settlement and to make other future settlements for corporate misconduct non-deductible as well. These write offs send the wrong message. They diminish the value of settlements as a deterrent to future misbehavior. They are also costly for the public because taxpayers must make up for the lost revenue through cuts to public programs, higher tax rates, or more federal debt. When settlements become write-offs, Americans pay both for the cost of corporate misbehavior, and secondly to subsidize the tax write-offs. It’s time to demand an end to this practice: no more write-offs for corporate wrongdoing.

  20,551 of 25,000 Signatures

  Created by U.S.PIRG
• No More Tax Deductions for BP Oil Spill

  On Monday, October 5th, the Department of Justice announced the 'final' terms of a settlement with BP over its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The proposed settlement would require BP Oil Company to pay $20.8 billion in damages as a result of gross negligence, but only $5.5 billion of that settlement will be non-tax deductible. As a result, BP could take a tax deduction on $15.3 billion of the settlement payments. Of the $42 billion BP has paid to address the Deepwater Horizon disaster since oil first started spilling in 2010, about 80% has qualified for tax deductions, effectively shifting the cost of BP’s “gross negligence” onto taxpayers. These write-offs send the wrong message. They diminish the value of settlements as a deterrent to future misbehavior. They are also costly for the public because taxpayers must make up for the lost revenue through cuts to public programs, higher tax rates, or more federal debt. It's time to demand an end to holding taxpayers accountable for corporate misconduct: no more write-offs for corporate wrongdoing.

  16,806 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by Andre Delattre, US PIRG
• GMO Mushrooms are not worth it

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture just gave the green light to a genetically-modified mushroom that... stays whiter? This is a foolish use of GMO technology, and yet another example of how high-minded GMO rhetoric falls flat in light of more common vanity applications. Now, the product is headed to the FDA for review. As the agency dedicated to protecting citizens from potentially unhealthy or even dangerous products, the FDA has a responsibility to fully test these mushrooms before they go to market. Tell the FDA: This genetically-modified mushroom should not be approved for sale until the health and ecological impacts have been fully tested.

  25,329 of 30,000 Signatures

  Created by US PIRG
• Stop the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act"!

  We have a right to know whether our food contains genetically modified organisms. But the so-called Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act would do nothing to make our food safer and would prevent consumers from getting more accurate information by blocking states from labeling GMO foods. That’s why it’s so alarming that the U.S. House just passed a bill intended to keep consumers in the dark. Among the public, a strong bipartisan majority favors GMO labeling. Blocking state labeling laws is not only anti-consumer; it’s undemocratic as well. We have the right to know what we're eating. Tell the Senate to block the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act.

  38,054 of 40,000 Signatures

  Created by Anya Vanecek, U.S. PIRG
• McDonald's - Help Save Antibiotics

  According to the CDC, more than 2 million Americans get sick from antibiotic-resistant infections each year, and 23,000 people die. Yet, more than 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are used in livestock and poultry operations, which routinely mix huge quantities of antibiotics into the feed for healthy animals. This practice increases the likelihood that all kinds of bacteria will develop resistance to antibiotics, meaning our life-saving medicines won't work. As one of the largest purchasers of meat in the world, McDonald’s has tremendous power to change the food market and put an end to this dangerous practice.

  27,055 of 30,000 Signatures

  Created by Anya Vanecek
• Protect our communities from chemical disasters!

  More than 100 million Americans live in vulnerability zones that surround dangerous chemical facilities, putting them at risk of explosions, fires and releases of toxic chemicals caused by these facilities. We can make our communities safer by ensuring that these facilities switch to safer chemicals and technologies that are both available and affordable. Tell Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy we need a strong rule to make chemical facilities safer!

  3,745 of 4,000 Signatures

  Created by US PIRG
• Label Meat from Animals Raised On Antibiotics

  “Without urgent, coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era in which common infections and minor injuries, which have been treatable for decades, can once again kill.” - World Health Organization It’s not on the label, but the danger is real. Raising livestock and poultry on routine antibiotics is causing the growth and spread of superbugs—antibiotic-resistant bacteria—that could soon become one of the world’s #1 killers. We have a right to know when our food threatens our health. Seventy percent of medically-important antibiotics are used on livestock and poultry, often on animals that aren’t sick. This overuse can grow and spread drug-resistant bacteria, aka superbugs. If the meat that consumers purchase contributes to this rising public health crisis, that should be clear to see. Tell the USDA to label meat raised with routine antibiotics.

  25,681 of 30,000 Signatures

  Created by U.S. PIRG
• Tell Experian & T-Mobile to Pay for Security Freezes

  In the wake of a massive data breach of Experian computers affecting 15 million T-Mobile customers and applicants, we urge both companies to: Set a precedent and be the first companies to pay for security freezes on all victims’ credit reports after a data breach. Credit monitoring can only help detect new fraudulent credit accounts after they have been opened or applied for. But security freezes (also called credit freezes) block thieves from opening new accounts in the first place.

  287 of 300 Signatures

  Created by US PIRG
• No $3 Billion Tax Break for JPMorgan's Wrongdoing

  VICTORY UPDATE: We saw a partial victory on this campaign. The DOJ made a $2 billion portion of the settlement - the portion that is explicitly considered to be a "fine" - non-deductible for JPMorgan. This is excellent news and will save taxpayers $700 million. This is an exciting step in the right direction, though it's still far too little - we still have a long way to go to permanently end these tax breaks for corporate misdeeds. Background: JPMorgan is negotiating $13 billion in settlements with the Department of Justice for mortgage lending abuses they allegedly committed during the housing crisis. However, taxpayers could end up underwriting more than $3 billion of those settlements. That's because JPMorgan is likely to claim the settlements as tax deductions. Even though settlements like these are thought of as punishment for corporate wrongdoing, companies claim their settlement costs as tax write-offs all the time. They treat it as just another business expense. We can’t let that happen. The financial crisis caused by banks’ irresponsible practices landed us in a recession that we’re still struggling to recover from. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay any more for JPMorgan’s bad actions. Just last week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which houses Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, made a separate $5.1 billion settlement with JPMorgan. And, sadly, the FHFA let JPMorgan take that settlement as a write-off - effectively handing JPMorgan a $1.5 billion tax deduction. We need the Department of Justice to do better. The DOJ has the power to include a provision in JPMorgan's settlement that prohibits them from taking the settlement as a tax write-off. We just need to convince the DOJ to do the right thing. They've done it before, including with one of BP's settlements for the Gulf oil spill.

  154,060 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by James Dubick, U.S. PIRG