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News Release | PennPIRG Education Fund | Democracy

New Report Released: Auctioning Democracy: The Rise of Super PACs and the 2012 Election

Philadelphia, PA – Today the PennPIRG Education Fund and Demos released a new analysis of the funding sources for the campaign finance behemoths, Super PACs. The findings confirmed what many have predicted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs have been primarily funded by a small segment of very wealthy individuals and business interests, with a small but significant amount of funds coming from secret sources.

 

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Blog Post | Transportation

House Transportation Bill Strikes First as Tragedy, Then as Dangerous Farce Alana MillerPhineas Baxandall

With much fanfare and 854 days late, the U.S. House last week introduced bills to fund our nation's transportation system for the next five years. The new rules for spending $260 billion over five years would be tilted more toward highways with less going to buses, rail, biking and pedestrian trails. Given the nation's urgent need to reduce our addiction to oil, that in itself would have been a tragedy.

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News Release | PennPIRG | Transportation

House Proposal Threatens to Defund Public Transportation

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 2 – “The House Ways and Means Committee proposal to deprive transit of a dedicated funding source is a reckless move that would take America in exactly the wrong direction.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Senators: Oppose bills that threaten public health | Alana Miller

Dear Senators Casey and Toomey,

 

PennPIRG writes to urge you to oppose all legislation that would undermine the nation’s most basic public health and safety protections.  In particular, we are writing about three bills: The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA S.1606), the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act (RFIA S. 1938) and the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS S.299). All three bills pose a dangerous threat to the health and safety of the American people.

 

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News Release | PennPIRG | Transportation

Latest House Transportation Bill is a Step Backwards

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 1 – “America needs serious transportation reform. While the recent Senate transportation bill failed to move the ball forward on needed transportation reform, today’s House bill takes big strides in the wrong direction. And by funding future spending with revenue from increased oil drilling that won’t materialize for several years, it is clear that the House bill is just a political stunt.

 

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News Release | Budget, Food

Ag Subsidies Pay for 19 Twinkies per Taxpayer, But Only a Quarter of an Apple Apiece

Philadelphia, PA – Federal subsidies for commodity crops are also subsidizing junk food additives like high fructose corn syrup, enough to pay for 19 Twinkies per taxpayer every year, according to Apples to Twinkies, a new report by PennPIRG. Meanwhile, limited subsidies for fresh fruits and vegetables would buy less than a quarter of an apple per taxpayer.

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Media Hit | Food

Consumer Activists Say US Government Is Promoting Obesity

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -  A local activist group says if the government wants to battle childhood obesity, cutting subsidies to corn farmers would be a good start.

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News Release | PennPIRG and National Taxpayers Union | Budget

Unlikely Allies Uncover $1 Trillion in Savings for Super Committee

PHILADELPHIA, PA - As the Congressional “Super Committee” begins its search for $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, a new study released today by the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group (PennPIRG) and the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) provides the panel with a great place to start: more than $1 trillion of spending cuts with appeal from across the political spectrum.

 

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News Release | Budget, Consumer Protection, Financial Reform

New Consumer Agency Takes Over Thursday as Nation’s Consumer Bank Cop

Philadelphia, PA—Leading consumer groups today announced the results of a poll showing that an overwhelming majority of likely voters both support a new consumer agency (74%) and want Wall Street held “accountable” (77%), along with a report documenting “10 reasons” consumers need the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  The Bureau will take over enforcement of all major consumer laws on Thursday, July 21. The groups called for the Senate to vote to confirm former Ohio Attorney General Rich Cordray as its director, so that the CFPB is able to fulfill the promise of consumer financial protection.

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News Release | Budget, Tax

Offshore Tax Havens Cost Pennsylvania Taxpayers $464 a Year

PHILADELPHIA, April 18– Major corporations and some individuals avoid a total of as much as $100 billion a year in federal taxes by “off-shoring” the profits they make here in the U.S. or by setting up sham headquarters in tax haven countries. As a result, Pennsylvania taxpayers are left footing the bill.

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Report | PennPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

PIRG’s Trouble In Toyland

The recall of 45 million toys and other children’s products in 2007 and continued recalls in 2008 reminded Americans that no government agency tests toys before they are put on the shelves. Specifically, the wave of recalls focused attention on the fact that the agency charged with protecting Americans from unsafe products—the Consumer Product Safety Commission—is a little agency with a very big job to do.

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Tools & Resources

  • Protect Penn. From Toxic Accidents
    This accident in Paulsboro, N.J., was a sobering reminder of the threat of toxic accidents. Tell the EPA: protect our communities from toxic threats.
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  • STOP TAX DODGERS
    Corporate tax avoidance cost Pennsylvanians $4.4 billion last year. PennPIRG is working to close the loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying the taxes they owe.
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    Take Action
  • Reclaim Democracy
    The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ushered in an era of unprecedented spending by big money in our elections, but we're working to return our democracy back to the principle of "one person, one vote."
    Learn more
    Add your voice
  • How Many Tax Dollars In A Twinkie?
    Every year, more than a billion taxpayer dollars subsidize high-fructose corn syrup and other key ingredients in junk food at a time when 1 in 3 kids is overweight or obese.
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Priority Action

The vinyl chloride spill in Paulsboro, N.J., was a sobering reminder of the threat of toxic spills. Tell the EPA: Keep our communities safe from toxic accidents.

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