Sign Up to Attend the Public Utility Commission Sunset Hearing and Hold the PUC Accountable

The People of Texas, Not a Few Outmoded Electric Companies Should Decide Our Energy Future

The PUC decided to ignore a state law that would increase electricity production from clean energy sources while claiming that electric rates must rise to make more power sources available. Why? Because the big players in the electricity market don’t want Texas to turn to clean energy to meet our needs. They want to earn bigger profits from the old, inefficient, polluting power plants that they already have.

Like most state agencies in Texas, the PUC is periodically reviewed by the Sunset Advisory Commission. One purpose is to consider new and innovative changes to improve each agency’s operations and activities.

On December 18 or 19, the Sunset Advisory Commission will be holding a hearing in Austin to accept public input on the PUC.

The legislators sitting on the commission need to hear from you.

If you think that Texas energy policy needs to shift and the PUC needs to do a better job of protecting electric customers, make your voice heard.

We’ll let you know which day the PUC hearing will be when the schedule is released at the beginning of December.

If there is enough interest, we may provide transportation to Austin from several points in Texas.

Keep Informed With Texas Vox Blog

Clean Energy Works for Texas Coalition

Hold BP Accountable

Sign Petition to Demand BP’s Suspension From Federal Contracts

The U.S. government and BP have reached a criminal settlement related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Negotiations around the civil penalties are still ongoing.

BP has pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts and two misdemeanors related to the oil rig explosion that claimed 11 lives and touched off what became the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.

But despite ranking among the world’s worst corporate criminals, BP is still one of the U.S. government’s top federal contractors.

Federal law enables U.S. government officials to debar — ban from government business — companies which commit fraud or repeatedly run afoul of the law.

Sign the Petition Below to Demand That the Government Use the Regulatory Tools at Its Disposal to Deter Corporate Behavior That Puts Our Workers and Environment at Risk

We, the undersigned, call on the government to suspend all current contracts and debar BP and its subsidiaries from all future contracts.

BP’s criminal conviction for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster is preceded by a decade of criminal negligence that has resulted in three convictions for environmental crimes and a guilty plea to market manipulation.

BP’s entire operations — from exploration, to refining, to fuel transport, to commodity trading — have violated federal laws with frequency and severity. Given the company’s willful transgression of U.S. laws, it should no longer be eligible for federal contracts.

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Hold the Public Utility Commission of Texas Accountable in Your Local Newspaper

Sign Below to Show Your Interest in Working With Public Citizen on a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper

The Public Utility Commission of Texas is ignoring the pleas of thousands of Texans to bring more clean energy to the state and has authorized giveaways to big electric producers instead.

By raising the electricity price cap and refusing to implement a law that requires the use of affordable clean energy, the PUC is acting against its stated mission of protecting consumers.

None of the three unelected commissioners made a single public comment in response to the more than 6,600 Texans who have called on the PUC to enforce the law and bring more clean energy options to Texas.

We are continuing the fight to push energy policy forward in Texas, and we need your help.

Add your name below if you are interested in working with us on a letter to the editor to your local newspaper about the PUC’s lack of leadership.

Keep Informed With Texas Vox Blog

Clean Energy Works for Texas Coalition

Hold the Big Banks Accountable

Oppose Legal Immunity for Lenders Pushing Unaffordable Loans

Big Bank lobbyists are working to defang a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. The provision they are trying to weaken would prevent the banks from pushing unaffordable loans on unsuspecting families.

They’ve recruited Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) to attach get-out-of-jail-free language for the banks to a non-controversial piece of legislation, the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act (S. 3522), a bill which will make it easier for consumers to refinance at current low-interest rates.

The Corker amendment, if allowed to pass, would grant the banks legal immunity, even when they push predatory loans they know that consumers won’t be able to pay back.

Aggressive sales of unaffordable loans containing hidden fees, tricks and traps were at the heart of the financial crisis and the foreclosure disaster.

Don’t let them get away with it.

Urge your senators to oppose legal immunity for banks that make unaffordable loans.

 

Please type your zip code into the box below. Then, please take a moment to add your own words to the email message that appears. This greatly increases the likelihood that your message will make a difference. We also urge you to follow up your message by calling your senators. The phone number for the U.S. Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121. If you call, us know how it went with an email to action@citizen.org.

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Call Your Senators Today to Stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Negotiators-Gone-Wild

Urge Your Senators to Co-sponsor the 21st Century Trade Agreements Act – Before the TPP Takes Us Off a Cliff

Runaway U.S. negotiators are rushing to lock in the TPP corporate power-grab before Congress and the public can learn the details. Leaked text from these secretive negotiations reveals that if completed, the TPP could offshore millions of American jobs, flood our homes with unsafe food and drive medicine prices through the roof.

But U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s 21st Century Trade Agreements Act would rein in runaway trade negotiators. It lays out a clear roadmap for how to get a deal that works for us, not just the corporate special interests now driving this process.

Find your senators’ phone numbers and use the script below to give them a call:

“Hello, my name is __{name}__ and I’m calling today about the 21st Century Trade Agreements and Market Access Act – S.3347. This important bill would restore congressional oversight over secretive trade negotiations like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And that’s urgent, because there are major TPP negotiations next month. This bill will make sure that U.S. negotiators are not repeating the mistakes of old trade deals that offshore our jobs and flood us with unsafe imports. Would Senator __{name}__ please co-sponsor this critical legislation?”

Please let us know how your call went by using the form below

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Senator Contact Information

State	Senator	Phone Number
CA	Sen. Boxer	(202) 224-3553
HI	Sen. Inouye	(202) 224-3934
IL	Sen. Durbin	(202) 224-2152
MD	Sen. Cardin	(202) 224-4524
MI	Sen. Stabenow	(202) 224-4822
MN	Sen. Klobuchar	(202) 224-3244
MN	Sen. Franken	(202) 224-5641
MT	Sen. Tester	(202) 224-2644
NJ	Sen. Lautenberg	(202) 224-3224
NM	Sen. Menendez	(202) 224-4744
NM	Sen. Udall	(202) 224-6621
NY	Sen. Gillibrand	(202) 224-4451
NY	Sen. Schumer	(202) 224-6542
OR	Sen. Merkley	(202) 224-3753
PA	Sen. Casey	(202) 224-6324
RI	Sen. Reed	(202) 224-4642
VA	Sen. Webb	(202)-224-4024
VT	Sen. Leahy	(202) 224-4242
VT	Sen. Sanders	(202) 224-5141
WV	Sen. Manchin	(202) 224-3954
WV	Sen. Rockefeller	(202) 224-6472

Stop the Countdown to Mystery Meat

Shine the spotlight on the WTO's attack on consumer rights

In a decision last fall, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against U.S.country-of-origin labels on meat. Now the U.S. is being forced to tell unelected trade officials when they will gut our consumer protection or pay millions for the right not to eat mystery meat. . [Learn more]

E.Coli laden hamburger from Canadian cattle. Banned Korean shellfish. All of these end up on our local grocery store shelves. We rely on policies like COOL labeling to allow us to protect our family's health and make informed decisions as consumers. Under current rules, the U.S. will have to water down or eliminate these policies, or face trade sanctions.

Take the pledge and stand up to the WTO's attack on our consumer rights.

Tell your friends and family to sign the pledge as well. The more names that sign on, the better chance we'll have of gaining the attention of the public, media, President Obama and Congress. We'll do our part to shine the spotlight on your terrific work. This is only the beginning of all of our efforts.

Sign the Consumer Rights Pledge:

In a matter of months, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against three popular U.S. consumer policies: our country-of-origin labels on meat; dolphin-safe tuna labels; and a ban on sweet-flavored cigarettes that were marketed to lure teens to start smoking. Previously, we’ve seen this global commerce agency facilitate offshoring of jobs to low-wage countries and rule against a series of health and environmental laws around the world. Now the WTO has even ruled against consumers’ basic right to know where products come from and how they are produced. Enough is enough! When the WTO rules against a policy, countries are pressured to water down or eliminate their laws. Our government must not cave in and follow a WTO order to gut our laws, if necessary by eliminating any funding to make a WTO-ordered roll back possible. I pledge NOT to support trade deals that include similar anti-consumer provisions. I also pledge to alert my community and my elected representatives to the WTO attacks on our consumer policies. Sign,

[Also in PDF]

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• Get the latest information on the WTO attacks on U.S. consumer safeguards.
• Check out the other big threat on our economy and domestic policies: TPP

Tell the Federal Trade Commission to Pass New Policies to Protect Kids’ Online Privacy

Update COPPA to Help Parents Protect Kids from Online Marketers

Since 1998, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) has protected children under 13 by requiring that commercial websites seek parental consent before gathering kids’ personal information.

But times have changed. Today, many kids are almost always connected to the Internet — and marketers know it. Mobile phones, tablets and gaming devices have changed the landscape of the Internet, and COPPA needs to change, too.

Today, corporations are collecting children’s data through invasive “behavioral” tracking. Using these techniques, marketers track kids’ behavior by leaving “invisible” cookies and other identifiers. Companies also collect children’s location data when they use mobile devices. With this data, marketers can directly target kids with tailored ads all around the Internet.

The new COPPA rules would give parents and caregivers control over the data that corporations can collect from children. However, not surprisingly, these proposed rules have sparked opposition from powerful industry lobbyists. Companies that stand to profit by manipulating children and violating their privacy want to undermine the protections an updated COPPA would provide.

It’s time to strengthen the legislation that has done so much to protect children over the past 14 years.

Add Your Name to the Petition Below

We, the undersigned, call on the Federal Trade Commission to pass new rules to bring the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act up to date. The new rules will empower parents and caregivers to control how their children’s personal information is collected and used. We urge the Commission to help parents protect children’s online privacy from corporate marketers.

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• Read the comments on the new COPPA rules submitted to the FTC by Public Citizen's Commercial Alert project and other consumer groups.
• Read a New York Times article about a children’s online privacy complaint submitted to the FTC by a coalition of groups, including Public Citizen.
• Read a Wall Street Journal article about food marketing to kids via mobile games.
• Proposed amendments to COPPA (pdf file).

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Wall Street Can’t Be Trusted to Regulate Itself

Thank the Schneiderman Task Force for Standing Up to Wall Street

 

First steps are finally being taken to hold one of the Big Banks accountable for its role in causing the economic collapse.

A joint federal and state task force, led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, has filed suit against Bear Stearns — now owned by JPMorgan Chase — alleging systemic fraud, deceit and recklessness that ripped off investors and devastated homeowners across the nation.

It’s an excellent, if long delayed, first step. But more must be done.

No Big Bank CEO is too big to jail.

Add your name below to thank Schneiderman and press for further charges against the Big Banks.

 

We, the undersigned, applaud New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for taking the first step toward holding Wall Street accountable by filing suit against Bear Stearns & Company for its fraud and deceptive practices.

However, for the millions of Americans who, because of Wall Street’s recklessness, lost their savings, their homes, their jobs and their very way of life, this single civil suit against one Big Bank is not enough.

We also urge the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group and other prosecutors to take the next steps: Pursue criminal charges against Bear Stearns and other Big Banks who perpetrated the financial crisis.

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Wall Street Can’t Be Trusted to Regulate Itself

Thank the Schneiderman Task Force for Standing Up to Wall Street

 

First steps are finally being taken to hold one of the Big Banks accountable for its role in causing the economic collapse.

A joint federal and state task force, led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, has filed suit against Bear Stearns — now owned by JPMorgan Chase — alleging systemic fraud, deceit and recklessness that ripped off investors and devastated homeowners across the nation.

It’s an excellent, if long delayed, first step. But more must be done.

No Big Bank CEO is too big to jail.

Add your name below to thank Schneiderman and press for further charges against the Big Banks.

 

We, the undersigned, applaud New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for taking the first step toward holding Wall Street accountable by filing suit against Bear Stearns & Company for its fraud and deceptive practices.

However, for the millions of Americans who, because of Wall Street’s recklessness, lost their savings, their homes, their jobs and their very way of life, this single civil suit against one Big Bank is not enough.

We also urge the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group and other prosecutors to take the next steps: Pursue criminal charges against Bear Stearns and other Big Banks who perpetrated the financial crisis.

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Ask Your Representative and Senators to Get the Facts on Nuclear Power

Send Them the Top 5 Take-Aways from the Congressional Briefing on Nuclear Power Sponsored by Representative Dennis Kucinich on September 20

The briefing was intended to give legislators information that they need about the ongoing situation in Japan and the problems with the continued use of nuclear power in the U.S. by those that don’t have a financial stake in its proliferation.

Feel free to add any additional facts you would like your legislators to know.

Thank you!

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Japan Nuclear Crisis

Energy Vox Blog

Trans-Pacific Partnership Citizens’ Voice Tool

Submit Your Comments to TPP Negotiators in Leesburg, Virginia

Round 14 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations are underway in Leesburg, Virginia. Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch has been fighting to make sure the voices of the 99% are heard — and now it’s your turn to speak out directly to the negotiators.

Fill out the form below with a short message — or send a message on Twitter using the hashtag #openTPP — and your comments will be displayed at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Leesburg, Virginia, on a stream developed by our friends at OpenMedia.ca for negotiators to see. From 11a.m.-2p.m. EDT on September 9th, we’ll stream the messages everyone is sending, which will be on display in Leesburg.

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Tell Duke Energy to Withdraw From the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Duke Energy, the nation’s largest utility company, is providing key financial support to ALEC, an entity that drafts state laws for Big Business and hands them over to state lawmakers for passage.

ALEC’s mission includes attacking clean energy programs and delaying climate change policy.

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers says he understands how serious climate change is and claims to support clean energy. Yet Duke Energy is supporting attacks on state climate and clean energy laws through ALEC.

Tell Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers that he can’t have it both ways.

Sign the petition below to demand Duke Energy withdraw from ALEC.

We, the undersigned, call upon Duke Energy to drop all financial and staff support to ALEC due not only to its role in blocking clean energy implementation and solutions to global warming, but to the inherent disrespect its mission poses to effective democracy.

ALEC is one of many groups participating in a well-funded network of climate change skeptics, one that has no place in Duke’s budget given its own opposing positions.

Duke Energy must cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

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Duke Energy

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Sign the Petition: Tell School Districts to Keep Commercial Advertising Out of Schools

Let’s Get Back to Commercial-Free Schools

Across the country, many school districts face significant budget shortfalls. Seeking alternative sources of revenue, growing numbers of districts are allowing corporations to advertise on school properties. Eager to target a potentially lucrative market, advertisers are marketing their products in school cafeterias, athletic stadiums, on school buses, on lockers, and even in classrooms.

Schools are no place for advertising. Allowing commercialism to infiltrate schools undermines their educational mission. Kids learn market values instead of civic values. And, often, it is junk food makers that are most eager to advertise in schools. In an already hyper-commercialized world, children need schools to be a sanctuary from the onslaught of advertising they face everywhere else.

To make matters worse, in-school advertising schemes rarely raise significant revenue for school districts. When they permit advertising, districts are left in the same financial hole they began in, but now their students’ education has been compromised.

Some things shouldn’t be for sale.

Add Your Name to the Petition Below

When you sign our petition, we’ll keep you posted on how you can take action in your community to stop school commercialism.

We, the undersigned, believe that commercial advertising has no place in schools. We call on school district officials to reject all plans to allow commercial advertising on school properties.

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• Read our fact sheet on school commercialism.
• Visit our school commercialism home page.
• Follow recent news about commercial advertising in schools.
• Read our report, School Commercialism: High Costs, Low Revenues.

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Call Your Senator to Support the 21st Century Trade Agreements Act

Put the brakes on the run-away Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) train before it’s too late

Here’s how:

1. Select your senator’s district office from the list below.

California
Office of Senator Boxer (510) 286-8537

Colorado
Office of Senator Udall (303) 650-7820

Hawaii
Office of Senator Akaka (808) 522-8970; Office of Senator Inouye (808) 541-2542

Iowa
Office of Senator Harkin (515) 284-4574

Illinois
Office of Senator Durbin (312) 353-4952

Michigan
Office of Senator Stabenow (313) 961-4330

Minnesota
Office of Senator Franken (651) 221-1016; Office of Senator Klobuchar (612) 727-5220

New Jersey
Office of Senator Lautenberg (973) 639-8700; Office of Senator Menendez (856) 757-5353

New Mexico
Office of Senator Udall (505) 346-6791

New York
Office of Senator Gillibrand (212) 688-6262; Office of Senator Schumer (212) 486-4430

Oregon
Office of Senator Merkley (503) 326-3386

Pennsylvania
Office of Senator Casey (866) 461-9159

Rhode Island
Office of Senator Reed (401) 528-5200

West Virginia
Office of Senator Manchin (304) 342-5855; Office of Senator Rockefeller (304) 347-5372

Vermont
Office of Senator Leahy (800) 642-3193; Office of Senator Sanders (800) 339-9834

Virginia
Office of Senator Webb (804) 771-2221

2. Use the following script to get your senator to support the 21st Century Trade Agreements Act.

As you may know, Senator ______, we are negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Labor and other constituencies would like to see this agreement represent a 21st century trade agreement with high standards with regards to job growth, labor, environmental and consumer safety standards. In order to ensure that this agreement moves trade policy in the right direction, I strongly urge you to support the 21st Century Trade Agreements and Market Access Act introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown. The bill would require the President and negotiating countries to submit reports on our trading partners with regards to market access opportunities to ensure that we export American products and not American jobs, and that our trading partners reinforce U.S. values of upholding labor, environmental and consumer protection standards. Would you consider becoming a cosponsor on the bill?

3. Let us know how your call went.

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Hold BP Accountable

Sign Petition to Demand a Just Settlement Between BP and U.S. Government

The April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig triggered the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Nearly 5 million barrels of oil gushed in the Gulf of Mexico over the course of 87 days.

As a result of the explosion and spill, 11 workers were killed and 16 more were seriously injured; Gulf Coast states have sustained approximately $40 billion in economic losses; a reported $10 billion in additional health cost will be required to manage health problems in the wake of the BP oil disaster; thousands of birds, sea turtles, marine mammals and other aquatic life have been harmed or killed; and the environment has sustained incalculable damage.

Two years later, the government and BP are reportedly on the brink of reaching a settlement that would resolve all civil and criminal damages and liabilities arising from the spill.

A settlement with BP must allow for full recovery of the Gulf Coast region and its communities. It also must deter other companies from putting profits before safety.

Sign the petition below to demand that the government holds BP accountable.

We, the undersigned, call on the government to reach an equitable and comprehensive settlement with BP by applying the following terms:

The settlement should include criminal penalties for the company.

The settlement should not include the resolution of criminal penalties for individuals, including for their roles in the Deepwater oil rig explosion that resulted in the deaths of 11 men.

A settlement must place financial responsibility on BP for future environmental and economic costs for the problems that we’re still in the process of discovering. The costs to the environment from the release of more than 5 million barrels of oil and hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemical disbursement may not be known for another generation.

Permanent sanctions must be part of the settlement. For example, the government should restrict BP’s access to future and current government oil and gas leases, and bar it from federal contracts for good.

All BP documents related to the disaster must be made publicly available and accessible.

The settlement should include penalties called for by the full spectrum of laws that exist to protect our environment, wildlife and workers. Damages associated with Clean Water Act violations alone have been estimated at $21 billion. Other laws that must be accounted for include the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

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Beyond BP

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Ask Your Senators to Cosponsor the 21st Century Trade Agreements Act Today

Demand a New Trade Model

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is veering us off a cliff. The TPP threatens to flood our shores with unsafe food and products, offshore jobs, and jack up medicine prices. Help steer our trade policy back on course and demand a new trade model. Tell your senators to cosponsor the 21st Century Trade Agreements Act today.

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

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Alert the Media About the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “Free Trade” Agreement

Help Drag the TPP “Free Trade” Agreement into the Media Spotlight

As the fourteenth round of the TPP negotiations resume in Leesburg, VA, we need to alert the major news outlets and put TPP in the headlines. Follow the steps below and help to drag TPP into the spotlight before it’s too late.

Here’s how:

1. Call or leave a comment for one or all of the major news outlets listed below.

• New York Times: (212) 556- 7652 Arthur Brisbane, Public Editor (Represents NYT reader concerns)

• Washington Post: (202) 334-7300 Patrick B. Pexton, Ombudsman

• Los Angeles Times: Leave a comment about TPP for the reader’s representative of the LA Times here.

• National Public Radio: (202) 513-3232 (comment hotline) or leave a comment for NPR ombudsman, Edward Schumacher-Matos on NPR’s open forum for listeners. (Note: You will have to log in and create an account to leave a comment)

2. Let major media outlets know that they are not covering a story that could affect our everyday lives — from food safety to offshoring jobs. Feel free to use the script below.

Hi this is __________, and I am a reader/listener of the (name of news outlet). I am really upset that there has been no coverage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). I rely on your reporters to get me the news that is important. I do not understand how you could be missing this story. The TPP is an international agreement that has been under negotiation for three years with the US and 11 other countries. It could be finished this year. It threatens to offshore millions of U.S. jobs, increase medicine prices, flood us with unsafe food imports, and empower corporations to challenge our environmental and consumer safety laws in international tribunals. There have been 600 official corporate advisors who have access to the draft text of this massive deal, but the public and Congress have been locked out. This thing is like “NAFTA on steroids” with a bunch of Asian countries. The next round of negotiations will take place from September 6th-September 15 in Leesburg, VA. Please send a reporter to these negotiations, this agreement is too important to not be covered!

3. Let us know how your call went.

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

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Write a Letter to the Editor About the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Help Drag the TPP “Free Trade” Agreement into the Media Spotlight

You can send a letter to the editor to major news outlets and demand that they cover this deal that is swiftly becoming “NAFTA-on-steroids” with the world.

Here’s how:

Select one or all of the major news outlets listed below.

• New York Times: letters@nytimes.com

• Washington Post: letters@washpost.com

• Los Angeles Times: letters@latimes.com

• National Public Radio: http://bit.ly/Mzjt2E and fill out the form.

Select a few of the talking points below:

• U.S. negotiators have been working behind closed doors for three years on a massive “trade” agreement that would offshore millions of American jobs and flood us with unsafe imported food. Now it includes ten countries, but it would be open for China and Russia to join later.

• It’s called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It is basically NAFTA all over again, only much bigger. Thanks to recent text leaks, we know that it would allow foreign corporations to attack U.S. environmental, health and safety laws in foreign tribunals and demand taxpayer compensation. It includes incentives for U.S. firms to offshore jobs.

• Obviously, TPP is something Americans need to know about. So, where is your coverage?

• Yes, TPP is being negotiated in secret with even members of Congress barred from seeing the text. But that makes it even more critical for the media to cover.

• And its big political news. President Obama is attacking Governor Romney for offshoring American jobs. But Obama is supporting this massive job-offshoring deal.

• State legislators from all 50 states have raised concern.

• Many members of Congress have signed a letter criticizing the deal and demanding access to the secret draft texts.

• The American public relies on you. TPP is a very big deal. We need to know more. TPP negotiations start again in Virginia in a few weeks. Will you have a reporter there?

Submit your letter to the editor and leave a comment letting us know that you helped drag TPP out into the media spotlight!

Here are some helpful tips to help you get your letter to the editor published.

In order to increase the likelihood of your letter being printed, please keep it 150 words. It should be sent in the body of an e-mail (no attachments) to the publication of your choice.

Thank you for helping to drag TPP into the media spotlight!

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Send a Letter to Your Senators to Cosponsor the 21st Century Trade Agreements Act

Demand an End to American Job Offshoring and Floods of Unsafe Imports

Closed-door negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” deal are speeding up. If our senators do not get a steering wheel and emergency brake over run-away negotiators, this deal will take our country off a cliff. At stake are millions more American jobs offshored and floods of unsafe imported food, and higher medicine prices.

But Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has introduced legislation that would set rules about what can and cannot be in our trade deals to make sure that they work for us, not just the large corporations now calling the shots. And the bill would reassert Congress’s role in overseeing the process to ensure our trade policy exports U.S. products — not U.S. jobs. We need your help getting more senators to support this critical bill as co-sponsors.

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

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Democracy Is For People

A Campaign for a Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United

Sign up to collect signatures.

Please provide the following information

Learn More

• “What Would an Amendment Say?” and More Frequently Asked Questions
• “The Story of Citizens United v. FEC” and Other Related Videos
• The Citizens United Supreme Court Ruling Explained

The Keystone XL Pipeline is Neither in Our National Nor Global Interest

Send a letter to the State Department insisting that climate impacts be considered in the pipeline review

The State Department is conducting a new environmental review of the northern portion of the Keystone pipeline, but it’s not clear that it will consider the climate change impacts of developing the tar sands — a fossil fuel that the Environmental Protection Agency estimates emits up to 82 percent more greenhouse gases then conventional crude.

The comment period for the Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement ended on July 30, 2012.

Thank you!

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Tar Sands: Dirtiest Fuel in the World.

Energy Vox Blog

Derail the Trans-Pacific Partnership

No backroom deals for the 1%

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” agreement talks resume this September in Leesburg, Virginia. Once again, negotiations will take place with the public locked out and the texts held in tight secrecy, meanwhile over 600 corporate advisors have regular access to the negotiating texts. On the table is a veritable smorgasbord of extreme new corporate rights to slam the 99%. Tell Ron Kirk to release the text of the TPP draft texts to ensure that public health and access to life-saving medicines aren’t on the bargaining table.

Sign the TPP Petition below

Dear U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk: Americans deserve the right to know what U.S. trade negotiators are proposing in our name. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” agreement is likely to impact jobs, wages, agriculture, migration, the environment, access to medicine, consumer safety, banking regulations, indigenous rights, Internet freedom, government procurement and more. A pact this far-reaching should be negotiated in the most transparent and participatory manner possible. Please publicly release all the TPP proposals now. Sincerely,

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Find Out If Your Representative Has the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Draft Text

Email Your Member of Congress for the TPP Text Today

The 13th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” agreement talks just ended. It is becoming “NAFTA on steroids” — millions more jobs offshored, floods of unsafe food and products, Internet freedom undermined, higher medicine prices, and Buy America banned.

Six hundred official corporate advisers have the draft TPP text. But does your member of Congress? Find out today and email your representative for the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

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• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

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Petition Obama Administration to Make Trade Work for Working Families

Watch, Laugh, Take Action

Tell the Obama administration and U.S. negotiators to make trade policy work for working families. Sign the petition today!

Our U.S. trade team is negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP FTA). This would be the biggest trade agreement in U.S. history. If not done right, it could lead to more U.S. jobs being outsourced, the erosion of workers’ rights and Buy America provisions, and undermining of U.S. environmental and consumer safety protections.

We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of past trade policy.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on you to ensure the TPP FTA:

1. Creates jobs in the United States and does not promote offshoring;

2. Improves working conditions and strengthens workers’ rights at home and abroad;

3. Allows governments to prioritize spending taxpayer funds locally; and

4. Protects the rights of sovereign governments to make policies in the public interest, including policies with respect to clean air and water, affordable medicines and food safety.

Turn Up the Pressure

Post a comment on the Office of the United States Trade Representative's facebook page. Tell United States Trade Representative, Ron Kirk to make trade policy work for working families.

Learn More

• Read about the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Global Trade Watch

Join Our Social Networks

Call Your Representative Today

Tell Your Representative to Support a Constitutional Amendment

Reach each of your representatives by calling 1-888-291-9824 for the U.S. Capitol switchboard. Ask the operator to connect you with your representative.

Ask your member of Congress to endorse our Declaration for Democracy — a broad statement indicating support for an amendment to undo Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, as well as related court cases, that have allowed corporations and the super-wealthy to control our elections and our democratic process. Amendment language is very important, but first we need to get members of Congress to show support for the idea of an amendment as a strategy for change. The Declaration is a great first step for your member of Congress to take.

If your member of Congress has already expressed support for an amendment, thank him or her for supporting our call for an amendment. Ask your representative to deepen his or her support by encouraging his or her colleagues to endorse the Declaration for Democracy as well.

After you make your calls, please let us know how they went with a brief note in the comment box below. We will use your input to strategize for our campaign moving forward. Thanks so much for your activism!

After You Call, Use the Box Below to Enter Your Representative’s Name and Tell Us Where He or She Stands

Where Representatives Stand

Based on amendment co-sponsorship, signatories to the Declaration for Democracy and MoveOn Sign-on Statement, and public statements:

Support

• Ackerman, Gary (D-NY)
• Bass, Karen (D-CA)
• Berman, Howard L. (D-CA)
• Bishop, Sanford (D-GA)
• Blumenauer, Earl (D-OR)
• Capps, Lois (D-CA)
• Capuano, Michael E. (D-MA)
• Chu, Judy (D-CA)
• Cicilline, David N. (D-RI)
• Clarke, Yvette (D-NY)
• Cohen, Steve (D-TN)
• Connolly, Gerald E. "Gerry" (D-VA)
• Conyers Jr., John (D-MI)
• Cooper, Jim (D-TN)
• Cummings, Elijah (D-MD)
• DeFazio , Peter A. (D-OR)
• DeLauro, Rosa (D-CT)
• Deutch, Ted (D-FL)
• Edwards, Donna (D-MD)
• Ellison, Keith (D-MN)
• Engel, Eliot (D-NY)
• Eshoo, Anna G. (D-CA)
• Farr, Sam (D-CA)
• Fattah, Chaka (D-PA)
• Filner, Bob (D-CA)
• Frank, Barney (D-MA)
• Fudge, Marcia (D-OH)
• Graves, Tom (D-GA)
• Green, Gene (D-TX)
• Grijalva, Raul M. (D-AZ)
• Hahn, Janice (D-CA)
• Hastings, Alcee L. (D-FL)
• Heinrich, Martin (D-NM)
• Higgins, Brian (D-NY)
• Himes, James (D-CT)
• Hinchey, Maurice D. (D-NY)
• Hirono Mazie K. (D-HI)
• Hochul, Kathleen C. (D-NY)
• Holt, Rush (D-NJ)
• Honda, Michael M. (D-CA)
• Hoyer, Steny (D-MD)
• Jackson Jr., Jesse L. (D-IL)
• Jackson Lee, Sheila (D-TX)
• Johnson Jr., Henry C. "Hank" (D-GA)
• Jones Jr., Walter B. (R-NC)
• Kaptur, Marcy (D-OH)
• Keating, William R. (D-MA)
• Kucinich, Dennis (D-OH)
• Langevin, James E. (D-RI)
• Larson, John B. (D-CT)
• Larson, Rick (D-WA)
• Lee, Barbara (D-CA)
• Lujan, Ben Ray (D-NM)
• Maloney, Carolyn B. (D-NY)
• Markey , Ed (D-MA)
• McDermott, Jim (D-WA)
• McGovern, James P. (D-MA)
• McNerney, Jerry (D-CA)
• Michaud, Michael (D-ME)
• Miller, George (D-CA)
• Moran, James P. (D-VA)
• Murphy, Christopher (D-CT)
• Napolitano, Grace F. (D-CA)
• Neal, Richard (D-MA)
• Norton, Eleanor Holmes (D-DC) (nonvoting)
• Olver, John W. (D-MA)
• Pallone Jr., Frank (D-NJ)
• Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA)
• Pingree, Chellie (D-ME)
• Price, David E. (D-NC)
• Rangel, Charles B. (D-NY)
• Reyes, Silvestre (D-TX)
• Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D-CA)
• Rush, Bobby L. (D-IL)
• Ryan, Tim (D-OH)
• Sarbanes, John (D-MD)
• Schakowsky, Janice (D-IL)
• Schrader, Kurt (D-OR)
• Sherman, Brad (D-CA)
• Slaughter, Louise McIntosh (D-NY)
• Smith, Adam (D-WA)
• Stark, Pete (D-CA)
• Sutton, Betty (D-OH)
• Tierney, John F. (D-MA)
• Van Hollen, Chris (D-MD)
• Waxman, Henry (D-CA)
• Welch, Peter (D-VT)
• Wilson, Frederica (D-FL)
• Woolsey, Lynn (D-CA)
• Yarmouth, John (D-KY)

Ask your Senator for a Copy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Draft Text

Get your copy today

The TPP has been under negotiation for three years. U.S. negotiators announced many chapters are nearly completed. And Congress and all 50 state legislatures will have to conform ALL of our laws to the TPP’s expansive rules. So, every U.S. Senator must have a copy of the TPP draft text, right? Contact your Senator to ask for your copy today!

Here’s what to do:

1. Call 1-888-291-9824 to be connected to the Capitol switchboard.

2. Ask to be connected with your Senator.

3. When a staff member answers the phone, you can use this script: Hi, my name is ______ and I am a constituent of Senator _______. I would like to be sent a copy of the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership “free trade” agreement.

4. Let us know how your call went!

Leave a Comment to Let Us Know That You Called

Turn Up the Pressure

Post a comment on the Office of the United States Trade Representative's facebook page. Tell United States Trade Representative, Ron Kirk to release the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

Learn More

• Read about the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Global Trade Watch

Join Our Social Networks

Call Your Representative

Find out if your member is in the dark about TPP.

Tell your representative to take a stand against closed door negotiations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and sign on to the Miller-DeLauro letter today.

Here’s what to do:

1. Call 1-888-291-9824 to be connected to the Capitol switchboard.

2. Ask to be connected with your representative.

3. When a staff member answers the phone, you can use this script: Hi, my name is ______ and I am a constituent of Representative _______. I would like for him to be a cosponsor on the Miller-DeLauro letter and support openness and transparency in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

4. Let us know how your call went! Please take a moment and fill out this form.

Leave a Comment to Let Us Know That You Called

Turn Up the Pressure

Post a comment on the Office of the United States Trade Representative's facebook page. Tell United States Trade Representative, Ron Kirk to release the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

Learn More

• Read about the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Global Trade Watch

Join Our Social Networks

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Keep Public Spaces Free of Commercialism

Tell your stories about the sale of advertising or naming rights in your community

Faced with budget shortfalls, cities and states are offering public spaces up to corporate America’s marketers, hoping for a quick buck. Across the country, plans are in the works to sell advertising on bridges, tunnels, fire trucks, schools and just about every other type of public space. Sites that belong to the public—that embody public values and reflect shared histories—are becoming nothing more than billboards.

Even though public officials often claim that they desperately need the added revenue, these schemes rarely bring in significant revenue. For example, advertising in schools often generates just a tiny fraction of one percent of district budgets.

Is your city for sale? Is your state up for grabs to the highest bidder? Post your stories about the sale of advertising or naming rights in your community’s public spaces, such as parks, roads, bridges, schools, emergency vehicles, etc.

Once you’ve shared your story, find out how you can take action in your community to resist this dangerous trend.

Add your story below

Be sure to include the name of the city, state, or other public entity to which you are referring.

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Learn More

• Learn how to take action in your community
• Read the recent New York Times article,“Your Ad Here, on a Fire Truck? Broke Cities Sell Naming Rights”
• Watch a recent segment on NBC about public spaces for sale
• Learn about Commercial Alert’s past actions on this issue and follow recent news

Petition Obama Administration to Make Trade Work for Working Families

Watch, Laugh, Take Action

Tell the Obama administration and U.S. negotiators to make trade policy work for working families. Sign the petition today!

Our U.S. trade team is negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP FTA). This would be the biggest trade agreement in U.S. history. If not done right, it could lead to more U.S. jobs being outsourced, the erosion of workers’ rights and Buy America provisions, and undermining of U.S. environmental and consumer safety protections.

We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of past trade policy.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on you to ensure the TPP FTA:

1. Creates jobs in the United States and does not promote offshoring;

2. Improves working conditions and strengthens workers’ rights at home and abroad;

3. Allows governments to prioritize spending taxpayer funds locally; and

4. Protects the rights of sovereign governments to make policies in the public interest, including policies with respect to clean air and water, affordable medicines and food safety.

Turn Up the Pressure

Post a comment on the Office of the United States Trade Representative's facebook page. Tell United States Trade Representative, Ron Kirk to make trade policy work for working families.

Learn More

• Read about the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Global Trade Watch

Join Our Social Networks

Democracy Is For People

A Campaign for a Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case called Citizens United v. FEC that corporations have a “right” to spend unlimited money influencing elections.

Corporations are not people. Democracy is for people.

Add your name to our petition for a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling and reclaim our democracy.

We will send you updates by email about the campaign and Public Citizen’s other work to fight corporate power.

Learn More

• “What Would an Amendment Say?” and More Frequently Asked Questions
• “The Story of Citizens United v. FEC” and Other Related Videos
• The Citizens United Supreme Court Ruling Explained

Healthcare Providers’ Pledge

Keep Infant Formula Marketing Out of Offices and Clinics

All major healthcare provider organizations recognize the benefits of breastfeeding and the risks of formula feeding for both infants and mothers. Moreover, there is an overwhelming consensus that clinicians should recommend and support exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life to new mothers.

Research demonstrates that marketing of infant formula in doctors’ offices and clinics, including the distribution of samples, coupons, and other gifts, negatively affects the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding. The presence of these materials in healthcare settings sends the message to patients that providers endorse formula feeding over breastfeeding.

In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics adopted a resolution to “advise pediatricians not to provide formula company gift bags, coupons, and industry-authored handouts to the parents of newborns and infants in office and clinic settings.”

Furthermore, the Surgeon General’s 2011 Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding highlights the need to “ensure that the marketing of infant formula is conducted in a way that minimizes its negative impacts on exclusive breastfeeding." The Call to Action also states that we must “ensure that health care clinicians do not serve as advertisers for infant formula.”

By pledging to keep their offices free of infant formula marketing materials, healthcare providers can do what is best for their patients’ health and avoid unwittingly serving as formula marketers.

Add your name below to sign the pledge

I, the undersigned, am committed to providing healthcare for my patients that is based on the best available scientific evidence, not marketing or advertising.

Recognizing the well-established importance of breastfeeding for the health of mothers and babies, I recommend breastfeeding to my patients, unless there are medical reasons for not doing so. While decisions regarding children’s feeding must ultimately be made by families, as a healthcare provider I recommend the option that is most advantageous for my patients’ health.

I recognize that the presence of any marketing or promotional materials provided by commercial infant formula makers in healthcare settings has been demonstrated to undermine the advice I give to my patients. Therefore, in the best interest of my patients, I pledge not to provide commercial samples, coupons or any other promotional materials produced by the infant formula industry to my patients. I pledge to keep my office free of any advertisements for infant formula.

*If you are not a healthcare provider, please do not sign. Please send your provider a link to this page.

Note: When you sign this pledge, we will keep you updated on any developments in this campaign.

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TPP: Out of the Shadows!

Our elected officials have begun to take notice about the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. Sixty nine members of Congress sent the White House a letter opposing the plan for TPP to ban buy America procurement policies. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) published a leaked TPP chapter which exposed new threats to Internet freedom. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation requiring access for congressional staff to TPP texts.

But we need to escalate congressional attention to this outrage.

Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and George Miller (D-Calif.) are now circulating a major sign-on letter on TPP.

It says: Stop the secrecy If you take a minute to urge your representative to join his or her colleagues on this letter today, we can get 100 members of Congress on this letter before the next round of TPP talks in early July.and change direction of these talks before it is too late.

This will show trade negotiators from all TPP countries that the writing is on the wall: Their secret is out, and the American people demand a turnaround — no backroom deal for the 1%.

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Join Our Social Networks

Help Make Trade Fair in the Empire State

Call your lawmakers today to support Assembly bill A-708 and Senate bill S-2398

Here's what to do:

1. Call 1-518-455-2800 to be connected to the NY Assembly switchboard.

2. Ask to be connected with your representative. If you don't know who your state legislators are click here for your state senator and here for your state representative.

3. When a staff member answers the phone, you can use this script:

“I’m a constituent, and I’m calling to ask Representative/Senator ________ to help bring Senate bill 2398 and Assembly bill 708 to the floor for a vote before the legislative session ends. Will Representative/Senator ________ support this legislation and help to improve trade policy in New York?

4. Let us know how your call went! Leave a comment below to tell us what happened.

Turn Up the Pressure

Post a comment on the New York State Senate facebook page. Tell them to bring S-2398 to the floor for a vote. 

Learn More

• Read more about about our state and local campaigns are affected by trade.

Global Trade Watch

Join Our Social Networks

Call Your Representative

Help bring TPP out of the shadows

Tell your representative to take a stand against closed door negotiations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and sign on to the Miller-DeLauro letter today.

Here’s what to do:

1. Call 1-888-291-9824 to be connected to the Capitol switchboard.

2. Ask to be connected with your representative.

3. When a staff member answers the phone, you can use this script: Hi, my name is ______ and I am a constituent of Representative _______. I would like for him to be a cosponsor on the Miller-DeLauro letter and support openness and transparency in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

4. Let us know how your call went!

Leave a Comment to Let Us Know That You Called

Turn Up the Pressure

Post a comment on the Office of the United States Trade Representative's facebook page. Tell United States Trade Representative, Ron Kirk to release the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

Learn More

• Read about the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Global Trade Watch

Join Our Social Networks

Protect Domestic Laws

Sign the Petition to Dr. Kim: No More Trade Pact Tribunals Attacking Our Laws

Sign the Petition Below

Dear Dr. Kim, Congratulations on your appointment as head of the World Bank. Many people around the world look forward to your reshaping that organization so that it promotes the goals and values that undergird your decades of excellent work fighting for public health and against poverty. We know there are many pressing issues for you to address in your new role. We urge you to prioritize dealing with ICSID – the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. This is a facility housed at the World Bank where many of the infamous “investor-state” corporate attacks on domestic health, environmental and other public interest laws are initiated. Under the investment “arbitration” system of ICSID, individual corporations are empowered to skirt domestic laws and courts and directly sue governments to demand cash compensation if they think that their investor privileges granted under trade agreements or investment treaties are undermined. The foreign investor protections included in some recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and their enforcement through investor-state arbitration at ICSID threaten to undermine countries’ domestic justice systems and fundamentally shift the balance of power between investors, states and other affected parties in a manner that undermines key public interest policies. ICSID’s damage is expanding. Rather than being an option of last resort, the use of this regime is increasing dramatically. In a recent decision, an ICSID tribunal allowed half of Canadian mining firm Pacific Rim’s attack on El Salvador’s environmental laws to move forward. Given the extraordinary facts of this case, the only reasonable outcome should have been total dismissal of Pacific Rim’s attack. That this attack was even possible spotlights the dangers of extreme investor rights in FTAs and BITs and their private enforcement at ICSID. Since 2000, just under ICSID, 173 cases have been resolved and an additional 128 filed. To put this in perspective, as recently as 1999, only 69 ICSID cases had been launched. Today, there are 370-plus such cases underway, an increase of 436% – and that is only the number of Investor-State cases at ICSID. Over $675 million has been paid out under U.S. FTAs and BITs alone, 70% percent of which pertained to challenges to governments’ natural resource and environmental policies - not to traditional expropriations. Tobacco companies have also used Investor-State dispute settlement to challenge government tobacco control policies enacted to implement obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. We call on you to announce that one of your first initiatives as president of the World Bank will be an open and transparent review of the role of ICSID and its place within the World Bank. There is no place for these damaging corporate tribunals at a World Bank committed to promoting democracy, public health and fairness. Sincerely,

Learn More

• Learn more about investor-state cases.
• Don’t forget to take action!

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Watch, Laugh, Take Action!

View the video and take action!

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Join Our Social Networks

Tiny Fee on Wall Street Would Make a Huge Difference on Main Street

Wall Street Speculation Tax Could Raise $350 Billion to Save Vital Programs and Reduce the Deficit

The Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act proposed by Rep. Peter Defazio (D-Ore.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would raise more $350 billion over 10 years through a miniscule fee — 0.03 percent — on Wall Street transactions.

The fee also would slow down some of the most dangerous and volatile high-speed trading on Wall Street — the sort of high-speed, automated trading that led to the May 2010 “flash crash,” when the Dow plunged nearly 1,000 points in just a few minutes.

We can raise serious revenue to reduce the deficit and keep vital services like Medicare and Social Security off the chopping block — while also reining in Wall Street’s recklessness.

Urge Congress to support the Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act.

Please type your zip code into the box below. Then, please take a moment to add your own words to the email message that appears. This greatly increases the likelihood that your message will make a difference. We also urge you to follow up your message with a call. Let us know how your call went with an email to action (at) citizen (dot) org.

Share on Crowdshout

Crowdshout is a new app for smartphone users that makes activism easier. Download Crowdshout for Android.

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• Video: Capitol Hill Briefing on Financial Transactions Tax
• Huffington Post: Wall Street Transaction Tax Would Raise $350 Billion

Financial Reform Initiatives

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California Assembly Judiciary Committee Hearing on Assembly Joint Resolution 22

Sign Up to Attend the Hearing on Tuesday, March 20, at 10 a.m. in the Sacramento State Capitol Building, Room 4202

On Tuesday, March 20, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on Assembly Joint Resolution 22, which calls upon Congress to refer to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and restore constitutional rights and democracy to the people.

Sign up if you are able to attend this hearing. (If you live in the Bay Area, carpools will be leaving from MacArthur BART at 7:45 a.m.)

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A People’s Movement

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations have a “right” to spend unlimited money influencing elections.

Corporations are not people. Democracy is for people.

We are building a movement to pass an amendment to counteract the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United.

Visit DemocracyIsForPeople.org to learn more.

Learn More

• How can I get more involved in the campaign?
• The Citizens United Supreme Court Ruling Explained
• “What Would an Amendment Say?” and More Frequently Asked Questions
• “The Story of Citizens United v. FEC” and Other Related Videos

Stop Corporate Welfare in Texas

Urge your State Legislators to Oppose a Bailout for Energy Future Holdings (Formerly TXU)

Wall Street investors bet against Texas energy sources and lost. Now Energy Future Holdings is heading toward bankruptcy and is likely going to be looking for a bailout.

Make sure that the Texas Legislature knows that the people of Texas do not support another corporate handout.

At a time when so many families are struggling to provide for themselves, it's not fair to make ratepayers foot the bill for a hedge fund's bad business decision.

Add your name to our petition opposing a bailout for Energy Future Holdings.

Dear Texas Legislators,

We strongly urge you to oppose any bailout for Energy Future Holdings or its subsidiaries. The investors that engaged in the leveraged buyout that lead to the financial woes of the company did so with full knowledge of the risk they were taking. At a time when Texas families are struggling to provide for themselves, it is wrong to make them foot the bill for wealthy investor's bad business decisions. We urge you to take any steps necessary to protect the interests of the State of Texas and its people in case Energy Future holdings or any of its subsidiaries go bankrupt, but not to give them a bailout. Don't manipulate the market.

I'm adding my name to the list of Texans who oppose public and ratepayer-funded bailouts of Wall Street and private equity firms.

Signed,

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Stop Underhanded Marketing by Nestlé in Newark and Michigan

Tell Mayor Booker and Governor Snyder: Infant Formula and Junk Food Maker is No Nutritional Expert

Can one of the world's largest producers of infant formula be trusted to promote breastfeeding and healthy eating in our communities? That’s what Nestlé wants us to believe. It’s partnering with the city of Newark and the state of Michigan on initiatives meant to fight childhood obesity.

But Nestlé is clearly interested in bolstering its bottom line, not children’s health. A company that makes products that contribute to childhood obesity is hardly a good source of nutritional expertise for cities struggling to get kids on track for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Let’s stop Nestlé’s initiatives in Newark and Michigan before similar programs from Nestlé start showing up in other communities.

Send an email to Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder urging them to protect the health of kids, not the profits of multinational corporations.

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• Read Public Citizen's letter to Governor Snyder
• Read Public Citizen's letter to Mayor Booker
• Read our blog post about Nestlé in Newark and Michigan
• Time's blog post on Nestlé in Newark

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Pledge to Gather Petition Signatures in Your Community

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission allows corporations to spend as much as they want to influence our elections. Instead of working for the people, our government increasingly seems to be defending corporate greed. We, the People, must take a stand.

Sign up below to pledge to gather signatures in your community. You can help us document the growing national support for a constitutional amendment to undo Citizens United v. FEC and restore free speech and fair elections to the people.

Don't worry if you've never petitioned before. Check out our petitioning how-to guide to learn all you need to know to get started.

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A People’s Movement

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations have a “right” to spend unlimited money influencing elections.

Corporations are not people. Democracy is for people.

We are building a movement to pass an amendment to counteract the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United.

Visit DemocracyIsForPeople.org to learn more.

Learn More

• The Citizens United Supreme Court Ruling Explained
• “What Would an Amendment Say?” and More Frequently Asked Questions
• “The Story of Citizens United v. FEC” and Other Related Videos

Resolve to Amend in North Carolina

Help Get a Vote in the State House on Getting Money Out of Politics

This week, North Carolinians are mounting a challenge to the corrosive influence that money has in our political process.

Activists throughout the state working with our allies the North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections (NCVCE) coalition are mounting a major advocacy effort starting today, May 23, 2012, to push for statewide campaign finance reform.

A key piece of their effort will be the introduction of a resolution that, if passed, would have the North Carolina State Legislature call on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision, challenge corporate constitutional rights and refute the notion that money equals speech.

State Representative Verla Insko and state Senator Ellie Kinnaird are the key sponsors of the resolution, and together with NCVCE they’ve launched this push for a resolution as part of their reform initiative.

Help them get off to a great start!

You can help today by contacting your legislators and letting them know you support your fellow North Carolinians, and want to see the state legislature take up this resolution this session.

This is a big opportunity for North Carolina to show leadership by taking on this critical threat to our democracy.

Use the form below to send a quick message to your state representative or Senator. Ask him or her to support S. 772 and ask their leadership to move the bill out of Committee and send it to the full legislature for a vote. Feel free to personalize this message, letting them know why you believe it is so important for Massachusetts to lead the charge toward a constitutional amendment that can ensure our democracy is realized and restored for all of us.

Please type your zip code into the box below. Then take a moment to add your own words to the email message that appears. This greatly increases the likelihood that your message will make a difference.

Learn More

NCVCE Press Release on Resolution

Government Reform Initiatives

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Sign the Petition: Tell PBS to Stop Marketing for Chick-fil-A on Martha Speaks

Public Television Should Not Promote Fast Food to Children

Fast food chain Chick-fil-A has distributed 56 million kids meals in bags co-branded with PBS’s popular Martha Speaks children’s show.

PBS’s agreement with Chick-fil-A allowing it to directly target kids is a bad move. Children shouldn’t be targets of advertising, especially for products that contribute to childhood obesity. To make matters worse, WGBH, the PBS station that produces Martha Speaks, is trying to win a Cynopsis advertising industry award for its campaign.

We’re big fans of public broadcasting. It provides parents and kids with an alternative to commercialized television stations. But PBS can do better than allowing a children's show to be a marketing vehicle for fast food. That's nothing to celebrate.

Our petition calls for PBS and WGBH to take the following two actions:
1. PBS should end its partnership with Chick-fil-A.
2. WGBH should withdraw from the Cynopsis awards.

Let’s keep PBS as a refuge for kids from the commercial networks.

Add Your Name to the Petition Below

We, the undersigned, call on PBS Kids and WGBH to end its partnership with Chick-fil-A. We call on WGBH to withdraw from the Cynopsis Kids Marketing Awards. Advertising unhealthy foods to kids has serious health consequences; it’s nothing to celebrate. We demand that PBS and WGBH stop allowing Chick-fil-A to use the popular kids TV show Martha Speaks to directly target children.

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• Read a case study about the Chick-fil-A and Martha Speaks partnership
• The Cynopsis Kids Marketing Awards
• Learn about Commercial Alert's past PBS-related actions

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Sign Up to Help Pass Initiative 70 in Washington, D.C.

Help Stop Legalized Corruption in D.C. Elections

Initiative 70 is a resident-led ballot measure to clean up Washington, D.C., politics by banning corporate contributions to candidates for mayor, City Council and other elected offices.

Fill out the form below to sign up to collect signatures Wednesday, July 4 at the Barracks Row Parade, or if you’re interested in volunteering this coming weekend. We’ll be collecting signatures at the Barracks Row Parade from 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. We’ll meet at the Eastern Market Metro Stop at 9:15 a.m.

You need to be registered DC voter to collect signatures. You can register or check your status on the D.C. Board of Elections website.We need to collect the physical signatures of 5% of D.C.’s registered voters to make sure that ballot Initiative 70 qualifies for the November election. That means we need about 28,000 signatures by early July.

Note: Filling out this form does NOT add your name to the official petition to put Initiative 70 on the ballot, for which a physical signature is required.

Contact Aquene at 617-378-2579 with any questions.

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A People’s Movement

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations have a “right” to spend unlimited money influencing elections.

Corporations are not people. Democracy is for people.

We are building a movement to pass an amendment to counteract the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United.

Visit DemocracyIsForPeople.org to learn more.

Learn More

• “What Would an Amendment Say?” and More Frequently Asked Questions
• “The Story of Citizens United v. FEC” and Other Related Videos
• The Citizens United Supreme Court Ruling Explained

Stop Underhanded Marketing by Nestlé in Newark and Michigan

Tell Mayor Booker and Governor Snyder: Infant Formula and Junk Food Maker is No Nutritional Expert

Can one of the world's largest producers of infant formula be trusted to promote breastfeeding and healthy eating in our communities? That’s what Nestlé wants us to believe. It’s partnering with the city of Newark and the state of Michigan on initiatives meant to fight childhood obesity.

But Nestlé is clearly interested in bolstering its bottom line, not children’s health. A company that makes products that contribute to childhood obesity is hardly a good source of nutritional expertise for cities struggling to get kids on track for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Let’s stop Nestlé’s initiatives in Newark and Michigan before similar programs from Nestlé start showing up in other communities.

Send an email to Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder urging them to protect the health of kids, not the profits of multinational corporations.

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• Read Public Citizen's letter to Governor Snyder
• Read Public Citizen's letter to Mayor Booker
• Read our blog post about Nestlé in Newark and Michigan
• Time's blog post on Nestlé in Newark

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Take a Picture of the TPP Truth!

Expose the Truth, Spread the Word

Print out a copy of our new TPP flyer (What you don’t know will your hurt you) and put it up in a prominent spot in your hometown or wherever your travels may take you. Take a picture of yourself next to the displayed flyer and send it to us. If you can get in a landmark that identifies your town, all the better!

Flyer (sizes): LETTER | LEGAL

The most creative pictures will make it into our TPP video exposé.

Send us your picture at bharper@citizen.org. You can also post it on our Facebook or Tweet your picture at @PCGTW.

Please note: By sending or posting your picture, all submissions become a property of Public Citizen and you affirm that you are the individual in the picture.

Willing to pass these flyers out in your area? Or post them up in your community? Let us know below:

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• Get more information on TPP.
• Don't forget to take action!

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Democracy on the Line in Massachusetts

Help the Amendment Campaign Get a Vote in the State House

The Massachusetts State Legislature is currently considering a state legislative resolution , which calls on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment that would to make it clear that democracy is for people, not corporations. State resolutions like these help pave the way for the proposal of a constitutional amendment by showing broad political support at the state level.

Please contact your state legislator today to urge them to support the bill.

This is a big opportunity for Massachusetts to show it is leading the way. Other state legislatures are moving similar resolutions forward as we speak, but Massachusetts still has the opportunity to be one of the first to stand up and be counted.

We need your help. Please send a message to your state legislator today.

Use the form below to send a quick message to your state representative or Senator. Ask him or her to support this resolution when it comes before the full legislature for a vote. Feel free to personalize this message, letting them know why you believe it is so important to for Massachusetts to lead the charge toward a constitutional amendment that can ensure our democracy is realized and restored for all of us.

Please type your zip code into the box below. Then take a moment to add your own words to the email message that appears. This greatly increases the likelihood that your message will make a difference.

Government Reform Initiatives

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Thanks for Taking Action

Now Join Our Action Team to Stop Infant Formula Marketing in Healthcare Facilities

Last week, our Action Team members got a first crack at sending Mayor Booker and Governor Snyder messages, urging them to cut ties with Nestlé. Join the team so you can get a headstart on putting an end to practices that harm families and commercialize our health care facilities.

As part of our team, you’ll be the first to know how you can take action in your community to help ensure that healthy families come before corporate profits.

We need people like you to write op-eds and letters to editors in local publications, to call and email hospitals, to pressure infant formula makers, and to raise awareness in communities.

Let’s team up to make sure families have at least a few commercial-free days to welcome their newborns.

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• Read the letter calling on hospital executives to end formula marketing in their facilities.
• See which hospitals received the letter.
• Sign Public Citizen’s petition, calling on the three major formula companies to stop distributing samples to new moms in hospitals.
• Read a recent New York Times op-ed on infant formula samples in hospitals

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Stop Taxpayer Handouts to Fossil Fuel Industry

Sign on to Support the End Polluters Welfare Act

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Keith Ellison launched a new piece of legislation that would repeal $113 billion of tax-breaks, handouts and subsidies for the fossil fuel industry over the next 10 years.

Corporate polluters don't deserve our money, and the planet can't afford it. We’ll never get to renewable energy if we keep handing gobs of money to oil and coal and gas.

The bill introduced on May 10, 2012, would strip away these outrageous subsidies. As you can imagine, the fossil fuel industry is going to fight back hard, so we need to come out as strong as possible.

Sign on to add your name to this push for support.

I'm adding my name to the list of Americans behind the End Polluter Welfare Act, which will stop government subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. These polluters don't deserve $113 billion more of our money. Signed,

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Dirty Energy Money Campaign

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Derail the Trans-Pacific Partnership

No backroom deals for the 1%

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” agreement talks resume this September in Leesburg, Virginia. Once again, negotiations will take place with the public locked out and the texts held in tight secrecy, meanwhile over 600 corporate have regular access to the negotiating texts. On the table is a veritable smorgasbord of extreme new corporate rights to slam the 99%. Tell Ron Kirk to release the text of the TPP draft texts to ensure that public health and access to life-saving medicines aren’t on the bargaining table.

Sign the TPP Petition below

Dear U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk: Americans deserve the right to know what U.S. trade negotiators are proposing in our name. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) “free trade” agreement is likely to impact jobs, wages, agriculture, migration, the environment, access to medicine, consumer safety, banking regulations, indigenous rights, Internet freedom, government procurement and more. A pact this far-reaching should be negotiated in the most transparent and participatory manner possible. Please publicly release all the TPP proposals now. Sincerely,

Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don’t forget to take action!

Attend a Call to Create or Build Your Team

Sign up attend a call to learn how you can create or build a Democracy Is For People Team to work locally to support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, take democracy off the auction block and preserve constitutional rights for people not corporations.

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California Senate Elections and Constituitonal Amendments Committee Hearing on Assembly Joint Resolution 22

Sign Up to Attend the Hearing on Tuesday, May 8, at 1:30 p.m. in the Sacramento State Capitol Building, Room 3191

On Tuesday, May 8, the California Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee will be holding a hearing on Assembly Joint Resolution 22, which calls upon Congress to refer to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and restore constitutional rights and democracy to the people.

Sign up if you are able to attend this hearing. (If you live in the Bay Area, carpools will be leaving from MacArthur BART at 11:30)

Fight Corruption

Tell Your Members of Congress to Support the Restore Public Trust Act

To restore confidence in government, we need Congress to pass sweeping ethics legislation without loopholes carved out for special interests.

The Restore Public Trust Act (H.R. 4054) and companion legislation in the Senate would stop Wall Street from secretly collecting insider information from Congress, and it would strengthen the nation’s anti-corruption laws.

By stopping Wall Street from secretly gathering insider information from our federal legislators, this bipartisan legislation will close the loophole in the recently passed STOCK Act, transforming this good reform bill into a great one.

Urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Restore Public Trust Act.

Please type your zip code into the box below. Then, please take a moment to add your own words to the email message that appears. This greatly increases the likelihood that your message will make a difference. We also urge you to follow up your message with a call. Let us know how your call went with an email to action (at) citizen (dot) org!

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• NPR: Congress Cracks Down on Insider Trading
• Blog Post About the STOCK Act's Passage
  

Government Reform Initiatives

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California Senate Elections and Constituitonal Amendments Committee Hearing on Assembly Joint Resolution 22

Sign Up to Attend the Hearing on Tuesday, May 8, at 1:30 p.m. in the Sacramento State Capitol Building, Room 3191

On Tuesday, May 8, the California Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee will be holding a hearing on Assembly Joint Resolution 22, which calls upon Congress to refer to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and restore constitutional rights and democracy to the people.

Sign up if you are able to attend this hearing. (If you live in the Bay Area, carpools will be leaving from MacArthur BART at 11:30 a.m.) 

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Root Out Corruption in the Oil Market

Sign petition to the Department of Justice

The Department of Justice Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group was established to root out fraud and manipulation in the oil market that could be contributing to high gas prices.

To date, it has failed to produce any findings to the public.

We need the working group to root out anti-competitive and collusive behavior by the big banks and other oil sector actors that result in higher prices for families and report back to the American people.

Sign on to the petition below to tell the Department of Justice: Root out corruption in the oil market.

We, the undersigned, call on the Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group to stop fraud and market manipulation in the oil and gas sector. Agencies represented on the working group have existing authority to root out fraud and market manipulation by financial speculators and other oil sector stakeholders.

Use your existing authority and legal tools to investigate the role of illegal practices on rising gas prices. Further, make the status and findings from the Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group investigation accessible to the public.

High gas prices are harming working American families and hampering our economic recovery. You have the mandate and authority to protect consumers from the criminal practices of financial institutions and other oil market actors.

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Background

In response to a huge spike in gas prices last spring, President Obama announced the creation of a new working group instructed to root out fraud and manipulation in the oil market that could be contributing to high gas prices.

The Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group is housed under the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force within the Department of Justice.

In an April 2011, memo to the working group, Attorney General, Eric Holder requested that the agencies collectively exercise their authority to crack down on illegal activity in the oil market.

In March 2012, President Obama asked Attorney General Eric Holder to "reconstitute" the task force.

Public Citizen is calling on the working group to exercise its authority to protect consumers from the criminal practices of financial institutions and other oil market actors and provide a status of its investigation for public review.

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Stop Alcohol Advertising on Public Property in Massachussets

Tell the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means to Support House Bill 851

The evidence is clear: alcohol advertising has a significant influence on kids, driving up underage drinking. It’s bad for the health and safety of young people.

There’s no place for alcohol advertising on Massachussets state property.

Tell the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means to support House Bill 851, which would prohibit alcohol advertising on state property.

Momentum is building. In December the SAFE MA (Supporting an Alcohol Advertisement-Free Environment in Massachusetts) collaborative was successful in pushing the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight to favorable vote HB851 out of committee. And in January, the MBTA agreed to stop allowing alcohol advertising on its properties.

Now it’s up to the Ways and Means Committee to move the bill forward. Tell them to do the right thing and stop alcohol advertising on state property.

Don’t let alcohol industry lobbyists have the final say. Send Representative Brian Dempsey, Chair for the House Committee on Ways and Means, an email telling him to act now.

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Learn More

• Visit SAFE MA’s (Supporting an Alcohol Advertisement-Free Environment in Massachusetts) Facebook page.
  
• Text of HB 851
  
• Read the facts about underage drinking in Massachussetts
  
• Read Alcohol Justice's fact sheet on alcohol marketing and youth.

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Sign Up for Action Alerts on Oil Speculation

Oil companies and financial traders make money by speculating on oil trades, driving the cost of gas up along with their profits.

Last year, excessive speculation added about $30 per barrel to the cost of oil.

We can stop Wall Street from driving up oil prices.

Sign up below to receive action alerts from Public Citizen's campaign to rein in oil speculators.

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Gas Prices: Beyond Supply and Demand

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Too Big to Fail = Too Big to Exist

Watch the Video, Then Sign the Petition to Break Up Bank of America

 

Petition to Financial Regulators:

We, the undersigned, call on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Financial Stability Oversight Council to break up Bank of America. Under section 121 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, you have the authority to break up “too big to fail” banks into smaller, simpler and safer institutions.

If Bank of America in its current form were to fail, it would devastate the U.S. economy. You must act preemptively to make sure that never happens. We cannot wait and find out whether another financial crisis strikes. If that happens, it will be too late to act.

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Why We Must Act

In its current form, Bank of America poses a grave threat to our economy. It is massive, complex and unstable — too big to manage and too big to regulate. Its assets are equal to roughly one-seventh of the U.S. gross domestic product. If Bank of America goes down, a sizable chunk of our economy will go down with it.

Federal financial regulators have the authority to break up dangerous “too big to fail” banks into smaller, simpler and safer institutions — institutions that won’t tank our economy if they go bust. More than $1 trillion in federal assistance has already gone toward propping up this sprawling behemoth.

It’s time to stop propping up and start breaking up.

Learn More

• “How Will a Break Up Affect Consumers?” and more Frequently Asked Questions
• Background, Analysis and Our Legal Petition to Break Up Bank of America

Government Reform Initiatives

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Expose the Truth, Spread the Word

Print out a copy of new TPP flyer (What you don’t know will your hurt you) and put it up in a prominent spot in your hometown or wherever your travels may take you. Take a picture of yourself next to the displayed flyer and send it to us. If you can get in a landmark that identifies your town, all the better!

If you're in New York, Atlanta or Los Angeles, check the email we sent you for specific places in your city where you can take your picture and raise the profile on TPP.

Flyer (sizes):  LETTER  |  LEGAL

The most creative pictures will make it into our TPP video exposé.

Send us your picture at blopez@citizen.org. You can also post it on our Facebook or Tweet your picture at @PCGTW.

Please note: By sending or posting your picture, all submissions become a property of Public Citizen and you affirm that you are the individual in the picture.

Willing to pass these flyers out in your area? Or post them up in your community? Let us know below:

(Note: The box may say "sign petition," but this is not a petition. We apologize for the mischaracterization.)

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Learn More

• Get more information on TPP.
• Don't forget to take action!

Stop the Spread of Billboards in Miami

Tell City and County Officials to Enforce the Sign Code

Distracting and annoying electronic billboards have already proliferated throughout Miami. Now the city wants to add even more of these garish billboards on city-owned property.

These billboards detract from the city’s natural beauty and subject residents and visitors to excessive advertising.

The city is even proposing to put such billboards on the side of the Miami Children’s Museum. Is it asking too much for the city not to plaster commercial ads on the side of a building meant to educate and entertain children?

These billboards are not only a nuisance. They are also in violation of the county sign code, according to the Miami-Dade County Attorney.

It’s time to call on city and county officials to protect Miami residents and visitors from the crass commercialism of outdoor advertising.

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• Read Commercial Alert's letter on LED billboards, sent to Miami elected officials.
  
• Miami Herald: Miami’s LED billboards not allowed under Miami-Dade sign laws, county attorney says
  
• Miami Herald: Growth of LED billboards puts Miami, county at odds

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Pass Oil Spill Legislation

Nearly three years after the BP Deepwater Horizon rig explosion Congress has yet to act.

It’s been more than two years since the tragic oil rig explosion that killed 11 men and initiated the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

But to date, no comprehensive oil spill legislation has reached President Obama’s desk.

Urge your representatives to take the lead on passing legislation that reflects the recommendations of the oil spill commission.

Use the form below to tell your representatives to immediately act to better protect American workers, taxpayers and our marine resources.

Please type your zip code into the box below. Then take a moment to add your own words to the email message that appears. This greatly increases the likelihood that your message will make a difference.

 

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Learn More

Report: Two years later: the tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (pdf).

Energy Vox Blog

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Thank You

The fight against TPP is just getting started.

Many of you requested more information on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "free trade" agreement. Below, you'll find an array resources on TPP so you can learn and then spread the word to your friends, family and fellow activists.

• Map: See which foreign corporations near you could use new investor rights under TPP.
• TPP Power Point Presentation
• TPP threats to the environment
• TPP threats to essential services
• TPP threats to public health
• Read the key facts about TPP

If you still think you need a little more training on TPP, sign up for Lori's webinar. Once you sign-up, we'll contact you with all the details.

Sign up for a TPP webinar:

(Note: The box may say "sign petition," but this is not a petition. We apologize for the mischaracterization.)

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• Get more information on TPP.
• Don't forget to take action!

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Strengthen and Adopt Proposed Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Resolutions

Petition to the Pedernales Electric Cooperative in Texas

The proposed improvements to the renewable energy and energy efficiency goals will save Pedernales Electric Cooperative and its members money, while creating jobs and moving us toward energy independence. The resolutions should be strengthened to capture even greater benefits.

Add Your Name to the Petition Below

The proposed energy efficiency goal of reducing annual growth in electricity demand by 20% by 2015 is a good start, but would still leave the co-op lagging behind investor owned utilities and many municipal utilities. Not only will individual members benefit, but the co-op will avoid costs associated with upgrading infrastructure to meet increased demand in the years to come. PEC should maximize benefits to members by investing more in energy efficiency. A 30% reduction by 2013 is required by state law for investor owned utilities. The Board should adopt an additional energy efficiency goal of reducing annual growth by 30% by 2017.

The proposed goal of obtaining at least 30% of peak electricity demand by 2020 from renewable energy sources is a good goal that could be strengthened. The Board should establish policies to encourage development of distributed renewable energy generation. I also support a community solar program that allows members to invest in solar energy projects as a group. Buying in bulk is cheaper and community solar would allow all members the opportunity to benefit from solar energy projects. These measures would increase investment in renewable energy generation within PEC communities, creating local jobs.

As a Pedernales Electric Cooperative member, I support greater investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Bills will be lowered; local jobs will be created; and the co-op will become more self-sufficient. I urge you to strengthen and adopt the proposed energy efficiency and renewable energy resolutions.

RSVP to Attend a Special Public Citizen Call

Sign up attend a call to learn more about how you can get involved locally in the campaign to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and make a big difference nationally.

 

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