U.S.PIRG

Campaigns

• 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.

  38,051 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
• Rein in the Still-Too-Big-To-Fail, Too-Big-To-Manage Big Banks

  Coming out of the Dodd-Frank 2010 overhaul, the goal was to make large banks less of a threat to the economy. One of the requirements was that the largest financial institutions need to submit plans, or living wills, for how the banks would enter bankruptcy in an orderly fashion in case of a crisis. Plans submitted by five of the largest banks have failed testing, which suggests that if there were another crisis today, the government would need to prop up the largest banks if it wanted to avoid financial chaos. In order to prevent that from happening, we need to restore The Glass-Steagall Act, which successfully protected taxpayers and the economy from the risky bets investment banks take. From 1932 to 1999, the original Glass-Steagall Act led to the largest sustained period of economic growth and safe banking in U.S. history; it ensured that investment banks could take risks but consumer deposits in commercial banks were protected. Just seven years after it was largely repealed in 1999, the economy suffered a major collapse and taxpayers were forced to bail out the banks. Now that five big banks have flunked two separate regulator tests of their ability to avoid being bailed out again, it’s time to pass the “21st Century Glass-Steagall Act” to rein in the still too-big-to-fail and still too-big-to-manage big banks.

  6,657 of 7,000 Signatures

  Created by 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.

  25,328 of 30,000 Signatures

  Created by US PIRG
• FDA: It's time for real action to save antibiotics

  Antibiotics are a miracle of modern medicine, and are designed to be given in precise doses, to treat specific illnesses and infections. But once big farming operations discovered that a regular dose of antibiotics promoted rapid growth and prevented disease in their livestock, they started to routinely put lifesaving medicines into the daily feed of healthy animals. The result? Bacteria that come into contact with those animals grow resistant to antibiotics. Already two million people fall ill, and 23,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections -- and that was before the arrival of mcr-1, a gene carried by bacteria that can resist even our last resort antibiotics. Superbugs aren't taking their time, and neither can we. Call on the FDA to stop the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms.

  3,950 of 4,000 Signatures

  Created by US PIRG
• Tell the EPA: Ban Monsanto's Roundup Unless and Until It's Proven Safe

  We're launching a big campaign to get the EPA to ban Roundup unless and until it's proven safe. The chemicals in Roundup have been linked to serious health risks, yet its use is on the rise. The active ingredient in Roundup is now the most widely used agricultural chemical of all time. Yet weeds are developing resistance to the herbicide, becoming "super weeds." That means farmers need to use more Roundup to kill those weeds, subjecting more of our rivers, land, wildlife and bodies to more of the chemicals linked to cancer and reproductive problems. It's time for the EPA to ban Roundup unless and until it's proven safe. Join our movement and sign our petition now!

  5,201 of 6,000 Signatures

  Created by US 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.

  16,802 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by Andre Delattre, 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.

  154,054 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by James Dubick, U.S. PIRG
• KFC: 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 antibiotics sold in the United States go to livestock and poultry operations, which routinely mix huge quantities of antibiotics into the feed of animals that aren’t sick. This practice increases the likelihood that all kinds of bacteria will develop resistance to antibiotics, meaning our life-saving medicines won't work. As the national Colonel of fried chicken, KFC has tremendous power to change the chicken market and put an end to this dangerous practice... but they won't do it unless they know that consumers demand it. Please, sign now!

  5,886 of 6,000 Signatures

  Created by US PIRG
• Congress: Stop the Amtrak Funding Cuts

  Last night, an Amtrak train tragically derailed, leaving at least seven people dead. The very next day, Congress took an initial vote to cut $262 million from Amtrak’s budget [1]. This is a devastating cut to an agency that is already radically underfunded. The exact cause of last night's accident is yet unknown, but safe trains don't pay for themselves. Is this risk worth the consequences? Tell Congress: Stop the Amtrak funding cuts. [1] Hours after deadly crash, House panel votes to cut Amtrak budget, Politico: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/amtrak-budget-house-panel-crash-117904.html

  6,216 of 7,000 Signatures

  Created by U.S. PIRG