You are here

Home >

About Us

For more than 20 years, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski has helped us stand up against big banks and credit card companies.

An Independent Voice For Consumers

U.S. PIRG is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society. 

For decades, we’ve stood up for consumers, countering the influence of big banks, insurers, chemical manufacturers and other powerful special interests.

Our team of researchers uncovers the facts; our staff bring our findings to the public, through the media as well as one-on-one interactions; and our advocates bring the voice of the public to the halls of power on behalf of consumers.

Our Mission
U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our wellbeing. With a strong network of researchers, advocates, organizers and students in state capitols across the country, we take on the special interests on issues, such as product safety, public health, political corruption, tax and budget reform and consumer protection, where these interests stand in the way of reform and progress.

Our Top Priorities
Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, U.S. PIRG stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results. 


 

STANDING UP FOR THE PUBLIC ON HEALTH CARE

As our leaders put the health care reform law into practice, we’re working to promote a more competitive health insurance marketplace that lowers costs for consumers. >LEARN MORE
 

 

PUTTING PUBLIC HEALTH AHEAD OF BIG AG

One in three school-age kids are overweight or obese, yet our government is wasting $16 billion each year on subsidies for sugar-laden, high-fat foods. U.S. PIRG is calling for an end to subsidies for junk food. >LEARN MORE
 

 

CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLES

Corporate tax dodgers cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. That’s why U.S. PIRG is working to close the loopholes that allow ExxonMobil, Bank of America and others to shift profits overseas to avoid paying their taxes. >LEARN MORE
 


 

U.S. PIRG, The Federation Of State Public Interest Research Groups
U.S. PIRG is a federation of independent, state-based, citizen-funded organizations that advocate for the public interest.

 

Since 1970, state PIRGs have delivered results-oriented citizen activism, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRGs employ close to 400 organizers, policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and are active in 47 states, with a federal lobby office in Washington, D.C. On national issues, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact.

U.S. PIRG Staff - A Partial List
U.S. PIRG is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, U.S. PIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest.


 

ANDRE DELATTRE

Executive Director

(312) 544-4436 x 203

>CONTACT
>BIO
 
 

STEVE BLACKLEDGE

Regional Director

(916) 448-4516 x108

>CONTACT
>BIO
 
 
 

ALLISON CAIRO

Regional Director

(312) 544-4436 x 303

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

GARY KALMAN

Federal Legislative Office Director

(202) 546-9707 x311

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

ED MIERZWINSKI

Federal Consumer Program Director

(202) 546-9707 x314

>CONTACT
>BIO
 


 

Funded By Our Citizen Members 

Thousands of U.S. PIRG members and supporters fund our staff so we can counter the influence of powerful special interests by: 

 

• conducting research; 

• educating the public; and 

• advocating in the public interest by, for example, making our case face-to-face with elected officials. 

 

Your contribution provides the resources and the clout we need to win real results. 

What's New

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Some Consumer News of the Week, In Case You Missed It | Ed Mierzwinski

It's hard to keep up, so here are some key consumer news stories I am following that you may have missed this week. We start with CALPIRG Education Fund's new "Cell Phone Guide," look at the Consumer Federation of America's report on auto insurance discrimination and take you all the way to the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign survey on what's "good, bad and ugly (rats!)" in NYC subway stations.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Toxic Toys Found at Houston Port | Nasima Hossain

An article published in the Houston Chronicle on Monday January 23rd revealed that 25,000 children’s toys have been confiscated at the Port of Houston in the past two years, because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found them to be unsafe.

 

 

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Transportation

House Proposal Threatens to Defund Public Transportation

Statement of U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Associate Dan Smith on the House Ways and Means Committee title (H.R. 3864) of the surface transportation bill to fund all federal investment in transportation over the next five years.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Budget, Transportation

House Transportation Bill a Step Backwards, Lacks Serious Funding Mechanism

 

Statement of U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Associate Dan Smith on the House transportation reauthorization bill introduced today.

 

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Financial Reform

CFPB's Cordray to Highlight Achievements/Goals Today In Senate | Ed Mierzwinski

The Senate Banking Committee will hold an oversight hearing today at 10 am (live video) on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's semi-annual report to Congress. The witness will be CFPB director Rich Cordray, who received a PIRG-backed recess appointment from the President on January 4th. Expect some CFPB opponents on the committee to boycott; others to show up.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | U.S. PIRG | Transportation

House Proposal Threatens to Defund Public Transportation

Statement of U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Associate Dan Smith on the House Ways and Means Committee title (H.R. 3864) of the surface transportation bill to fund all federal investment in transportation over the next five years.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Budget, Transportation

House Transportation Bill a Step Backwards, Lacks Serious Funding Mechanism

 

Statement of U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Associate Dan Smith on the House transportation reauthorization bill introduced today.

 

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

Popular Magnets Still Pose Danger if Swallowed

Statement of Nasima Hossain Public Health Advocate, on the continued danger of magnets to children.

> Keep Reading
Media Hit

Reuters: Bank Transfer Day saw 600,000 switch

Bank of America (BofA) Gets Hit By $5 Debit Card Fee, Consumers Move Their Money From Big Banks. Read the story. Then, get more info at U.S. PIRG's Bank Fee Tips. Check out our April 2011 report Big Banks, Bigger Fees for more details.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Democracy

U.S.PIRG urges Senate to ban insider trading

In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked congress to help him clean up the government by sending him a bill that bans the practice of insider trading based on congressional knowledge. Today, U.S. PIRG and other reform groups sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate urging them to pass the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge act when it comes to the floor next week.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Result | Health Care

KEEPING HEALTH CARE AFFORDABLE

Across the country, U.S. PIRG has stood up against unjustified rate hikes and won victories in Oregon and California so far. Thanks in part to our advocacy, California now requires insurers to justify rate hikes to the public, and Oregon state regulators recently cut a proposed 22% rate hike almost in half, saving $12.5 million for some ratepayers.  

> Keep Reading
Result | Consumer Protection

KIDS’ SCHOOL LUNCHES NOW SAFER

For years, America’s schoolchildren have been eating beef, chicken and other foods that would have been rejected as substandard even by fast food chains. Thanks in part to our advocacy, the U.S.D.A. has stopped buying such low-quality meat for school lunches.

> Keep Reading
Result | Health Care

Young People Now Covered

This year, the federal health care reforms that U.S. PIRG worked to win have started to pay off for young people. In the past, teens saw their premiums soar or were denied coverage when they turned 19, even if they’d been insured their whole lives. Now, they can remain on their parents’ plans until age 26. 

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

Too Close to Home

 Among the risks demonstrated by the Fukushima crisis is the threat of water contamination – including contamination of drinking water supplies by radioactive material. In the United States, 49 million Americans receive their drinking water from surface sources located within 50 miles of an active nuclear power plant – inside the boundary the Nuclear Regulatory Commission uses to assess risk to food and water supplies.

 

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Democracy, Tax

Representation Without Taxation

Marking the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case – which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on elections – this report takes a hard look at the lobbying activities of profitable Fortune 500 companies that exploit loopholes and work to distort the tax code to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

> Keep Reading
Report | Consumer Protection

Big Banks, Bigger Fees

Since Congress largely deregulated consumer deposit (checking and savings) accounts beginning in the early 1980s, the PIRGs have tracked bank deposit account fee changes and documented the banks’ long-term strategy to raise fees, invent new fees and make it harder to avoid fees. 

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland

The 2011 Trouble in Toyland report is our 26th annual survey of toy safety. In this report, we provide safety guidelines for consumers when purchasing toys for young children and provide examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead

Privatized traffic law enforcement systems are spreading rapidly across the United States. As many as 700 local jurisdictions have entered into deals with for-profit companies to install camera systems at intersections and along roadways to encourage drivers to obey traffic signals and follow speed limits. Local contracting for automated traffic enforcement systems may sometimes be a useful tool for keeping drivers and pedestrians safe. But when private firms and municipalities consider revenues first, and safety second, the public interest is threatened.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Some Consumer News of the Week, In Case You Missed It | Ed Mierzwinski

It's hard to keep up, so here are some key consumer news stories I am following that you may have missed this week. We start with CALPIRG Education Fund's new "Cell Phone Guide," look at the Consumer Federation of America's report on auto insurance discrimination and take you all the way to the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign survey on what's "good, bad and ugly (rats!)" in NYC subway stations.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Toxic Toys Found at Houston Port | Nasima Hossain

An article published in the Houston Chronicle on Monday January 23rd revealed that 25,000 children’s toys have been confiscated at the Port of Houston in the past two years, because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found them to be unsafe.

 

 

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Financial Reform

CFPB's Cordray to Highlight Achievements/Goals Today In Senate | Ed Mierzwinski

The Senate Banking Committee will hold an oversight hearing today at 10 am (live video) on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's semi-annual report to Congress. The witness will be CFPB director Rich Cordray, who received a PIRG-backed recess appointment from the President on January 4th. Expect some CFPB opponents on the committee to boycott; others to show up.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Watch for fake 5.0 user ratings on merchant sites; and watch out for efforts by doctors, others to block real ratings, too | Ed Mierzwinski

Some user reviews on the Internet are written by sockpuppets paid by the website; in other cases, consumers are given inducements to write good reviews (New York Times). Meanwhile, doctors, especially, are trying to use copyright law to "squelch" valid reviews from patients (Washington Post). Either way, watch out.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Food

Supreme Court Puts Sick Cows Back on the Menu | Nasima Hossain

On Monday the Supreme Court overturned a California law that required the euthanization of downed livestock at federally inspected slaughterhouses to keep this meat out of the nation’s food system.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Tools & Resources

PRIORITY ACTION

Every year, our tax dollars pay for enough corn syrup and other junk food additives to buy 2.8 million Twinkies. It's time to stop subsidizing obesity.

Send an email

Support Us

Your donation supports U.S. PIRG’s work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.

donate today

Consumer Alerts

Join our network and stay up to date on our campaigns, get important consumer updates and take action on critical issues.