The Trump administration wants to zero out funding for coronavirus testing, even as cases continue to spike, and the death toll grows. Tell your senators to demand that funding for testing be included in the next stimulus bill.
The Trump administration wants to zero out funding for coronavirus testing, even as cases continue to spike, and the death toll grows. Tell your senators to demand that funding for testing be included in the next stimulus bill.
Public Health
Responding to the COVID crisis
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, now more than ever, we need to work together to ensure that our government has a coordinated, strategic response to safeguard the public’s health, protect consumers from emerging dangers and ensure people can still participate fully in our democracy.
Solid Waste
Apple slowly expands Independent Repair Provider Program
Apple has announced it will add more than 140 companies to its independent repair program, which will allow them to purchase Apple parts and tools. While a welcome step in the right direction, more needs to be done to ensure consumers truly have the right to repair.
Democracy
CDC guidelines offer roadmap to the safest elections for the most voters
Updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention serve to limit crowding at polling places and call for expanded voting options, including vote-by-mail ballots and opportunities for voting beyond Election Day.
Consumer Protection
CFPB green-lights predatory payday loans amid COVID-19 pandemic
The CFPB has finalized a rule pulling back on payday lending protections that were set to go into effect in 2019. The protections would have required lenders to check if their customers were able to repay high interest rates before borrowing.
We can't do it without you.
MoPIRG is your advocate for the public interest, speaking out for healthier, safer, more secure lives for all of us.
News & Research
Blog Post
In the spring, we shut down our lives and our economy in hopes of reducing the spread of COVID-19 enough to be able to manage it through widespread testing and contact tracing. In spite of that shutdown, today the virus is raging virtually uncontrolled. We didn’t stick with it until the job was done.
News Release | U.S. PIRG
John Lewis was an American hero.
Most people knew him as a champion of civil rights, whether as a young man marching for freedom on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in 1965 or serving as the “conscience of the Congress” for the past 33 years. Yet John Lewis was also a dependable ally on public interest issues, a tenacious advocate of voting reform and open government, consumer protection and a healthy environment.
Blog Post
Few people living today remember what it was like to live through a world war, but that’s what we’re in, and we’re going to have to sacrifice if we want to save ourselves and each other. Just as the greatest generation did, we need to step up to what history has delivered.
Blog Post
U.S. PIRG is calling on municipal, state and federal policymakers to mandate face masks in all indoor public spaces, as well as in outdoor locations where it’s hard for people to socially distance six feet apart.
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fundn
Proprietary medical device repair harms hospitals, could threaten patients, during COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is putting incredible stress on the U.S. medical system, including the equipment that is essential to diagnose and treat patients, such as ventilators. As that equipment is pressed into round-the-clock use, biomedical repair technicians face increasing pressure to maintain and repair all that equipment. However, in too many cases, manufacturers limit access to the essential tools and information these repair experts need. A new report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Hospital Repair Restrictions, details the challenges that medical professionals face as a result of device manufacturers setting up barriers to repair, and outlines steps to take to help hospitals.
RESOURCE
Coronavirus update
In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, we’ve taken steps for all of our staff to work remotely for safety reasons. But rest assured, we’ll keep advocating for you as we work for a healthier, safer world.
Learn more about how we can work together to address the COVID-19 pandemic.