A Selection of PennPIRG's Top Accomplishments: Results For Pennsylvania Consumers
Keeping Our Families Safe From Dangerous Products
Those who violate product safety laws will face stiff fines and penalties and hazardous products will be removed from store shelves more quickly, under a landmark law championed by PennPIRG in 2008.
Holding Elected Officials To Higher Ethical Standards
A new, independent office will police ethical scandals in Congress, under a plan endorsed by PennPIRG. Our staff helped make the case for the new Office of Congressional Ethics through a report showing that 23 states, including Pennsylvania, have independent panels to enforce ethics.
Paving The Way For 21st Century Transportation
Passenger rail travel will improve and America will begin investing in a new generation of high-speed rail thanks to a PennPIRG-backed law that authorizes $13 billion in spending over the next five years, a small step in a shift toward public transit and away from wasteful new highway projects.
Closing Contractor Loopholes
When private contractors, including Halliburton spin-off Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR), tried to avoid paying taxes by setting up foreign subsidiaries, PennPIRG backed a new law to close that loophole and another law requiring contractors to pay back taxes before being awarded new contracts.
Standing Up For Taxpayers And Homeowners
When Congress rushed to pass the $700 billion bailout for Wall Street banks, PennPIRG staff warned that the hastily conceived law lacked basic protections for taxpayers and assistance to homeowners. One week after taxpayers bailed out insurance giant AIG to the tune of $85 billion, the company was caught wasting nearly half-a-million dollars on a staff retreat at a luxury spa.
Pointing The Way Toward Affordable, Dependable Health Care
If Pennsylvania hospitals improved their efficiency by 43%, the state would save $11.49 billion. PennPIRG backed plans to cut wasteful spending by drug companies, HMOs and others, laying the groundwork for a national and state plan to ensure affordable and dependable health care.
Promoting Young Voter Participation
Two million more 18- to 24-year olds voted in 2008 than in the last presidential election in 2004, part of a record overall voter turnout. Our Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project did its part by deploying organizers to Pennsylvania campuses and across the country to help turn out the vote.
Holding Drugmakers Accountable For Safety
The FDA reform bill adopted by Congress in 2007 included several PennPIRG-backed provisions that force drug companies to post all clinical trial results, good and bad—an antidote to such notorious cases as Vioxx, Paxil and Avandia. The law increases penalties for drug companies that rush unsafe drugs to market.
