Public Citizen | Congress Watch

Medical malpractice is so common, and litigation over it so rare, that between three and seven Americans die from medical errors for every one who receives a payment for any malpractice claim, a report released by Public Citizen indicates. LEARN MORE and read our press release.

Millions of new home purchasers each year are forced into binding mandatory arbitration by deceptive “warranties,” and those warranties may violate the law in as many as 17 states, Public Citizen has found. These warranties are particularly insidious because consumers often do not learn of their details until after moving into their new houses. The process is inherently secretive, and arbitration firms routinely flout the few laws that require them to disclose basic information about their cases. LEARN MORE and be sure to visit FairArbitrationNow.org.

The last thing Congress should do in the name of health care reform is reduce patient safety, but proposed amendments to the health care legislation under consideration would do just that by reducing liability for medical malpractice. Read our statement and our coalition letter sent to lawmakers.

On May 14, Congress Watch Advocacy Director Angela Canterbury testified in support of the the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. We believe that as our country faces challenges of historic proportions, one reform can save billions of taxpayer dollars and help fulfill the imperative for more transparency and accountability: authentic whistleblower protections for all federal employees. Learn more about whistleblower protections, read her written testimony, then take action.

If you've ever bought a cell phone, computer or car, chances are you unwittingly signed away your right to hold the manufacturer accountable in court for wrongdoing. That's because of fine print tucked in your purchase contract that requires you to go to arbitration instead of court. Forced arbitration clauses also are buried in employee handbooks, nursing home admissions forms and more. A new poll shows that Americans widely oppose these clauses and want Congress to act.

In August 2007, the Bush administration broke from historical precedent in declaring that the White House's Office of Administration (OA) is not a government agency subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Public Citizen and other organizations have written a letter to the White House requesting that they restore treatment of OA as an agency subject to FOIA. READ the letter.

The Federal Reserve has operated without sufficient transparency or accountability to the American people. Americans across the nation, regardless of their opinion on the bailouts, want to know where that money has gone and exactly how much has been spent. Public Citizen and others have sent a letter to Congress encouraging support for H.R. 1207, "The Federal Reserve Transparency Act" which would eliminate the restrictions on U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits of the Federal Reserve. READ the letter.

The Fair Elections Now Act, sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Reps. John Larsen (D-CT) and Walter Jones (R-NC), presents an exciting new approach to financing campaigns. This bipartisan bill creates an alternative to big special interest money in politics by allowing congressional candidates to run campaigns on public funds and unlimited small contributions from ordinary citizens. Learn what you can do to support the bill here.

Whistleblowers are the best defense against waste, fraud and abuse. Federal workers shouldn't have to risk their careers to make our government more honest and accountable. It's time to strengthen protections for whistleblowers and our tax dollars. Get the latest news and take action!

In the first court challenge to a series of recent dismissals of campaign finance enforcement cases, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Federal Election Commission's dismissal of a matter involving the pro-business group Americans for Job Security (AJS). We charge that AJS should be treated as a regulated political committee by the FEC. READ our complaint.

Industry groups are attempting to repeal some of the safety standards we strengthened with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. These protections must be implemented - not rolled back! Learn the facts and take action on www.ToyingWithSafety.org.

If credit card companies continue to make up the rules, estimates predict that consumers will owe over 1.2 trillion dollars on their credit cards by 2012. We've seen what happens in the financial sector when businesses seeking short-term profit are allowed to run wild. The Credit C.A.R.D Act (S. 414) can help put an end to the cycle of increasing debt by protecting consumers from unfair practices. Call your members of Congress at (202)224-3121 and tell them to support it.

In 2001, Bush signed Executive Order 13233 which allowed presidents to withhold documents and records without explanation INDEFINITELY. Presidents shouldn't be able to undermine the law with the stroke of a pen. Congress must pass the Presidential Records Act Amendments to ensure presidential records are properly conveyed to their rightful owner - the American people. Read our letter to Senator Joseph Lieberman and get the latest updates on our Watchdog Blog.

The Open the Government Coalition sponsored an interactive webcast between citizens, activists, journalists, technology experts, and members of the government transition team about how we can achieve a more open government. The speakers received live questions and comments from participants watching the webcast around the world. Watch the webcast here.

Public Citizen and other organizations strongly support Obama's Ethics Executive Order

The Washington culture of lobbyists, special interests and campaign contributions combine to exercise undue influence over government decisions, at the great expense of the citizens of our country. Public Citizen and other organizations wrote President Obama to express strong support for his groundbreaking Ethics Executive Order, with its unprecedented revolving door and "reverse" revolving door requirements. It is a major first step in the battle to fix Washington. Read the letter here.

For far too long there has been too little oversight of financial products like credit cards, mortgages and car loans. Public Citizen supports legislation to establish a Financial Product Safety Commission that would protect and educate consumers, as well as improve the value of financial products. Learn more about the bill and our work for more accountability.

The Senate has passed the DC Voting Rights Act and the House of Representatives will likely take it up soon. However, an amendment that would gut DC’s local gun control laws was also passed and attached to the bill. We must act quickly to stop this dangerous and unnecessary gun-slinging measure from becoming law. Two other letters have been sent demanding that Congress respect DC's right to pass their own local gun laws. T ake action now!

The Securities Exchange Commission has no authority to stop members of Congress, their staff and federal employees from using non-public information to make insider trades on the stock market. Public Citizen is calling on Congress to eliminate this accountability loophole. Read more about our campaign to end insider trading in Washington and see our letter in support of a bill to ban it. You can also help us convince congress to pass the 'Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge' Act.

Public Citizen Calls on Transportation Secretary LaHood to Allow States to End “Pay-to-Play” in Government Contracts

On February 25, Public Citizen sent a second letter urging Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to end the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) practice of withholding highway funds from states that attempt to curb corruption by enacting “pay-to-play” reforms. We are calling on LaHood to rescind the previous administration’s policy and allow states to ban the practice of exchanging cash for contracts. Read the press release here.

Obama’s Rumored Choice for Justice Department Post Has Long History of Working Against Consumer Rights

We have just released a report revealing that President Obama’s reported choice to head the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) main policymaking unit has a long record of championing laws to shield corporations from accountability at the expense of ordinary Americans. Read the report and our letter to President Obama here.

In light of the government’s commitment of an estimated $8.5 trillion of taxpayer money to financial rescue initiatives with no transparency and little oversight, Public Citizen has joined a coalition of over 70 groups in asking that Congress put the publics interest first. The groups released a set of recommendations that include a cap on credit card and mortgage interest rates, public equity in firms receiving bailout funds, and rules that would prevent lobbyists and firms from cashing in on the massive taxpayer handout. Learn more and read the full letter.

How to Change Washington
A central theme of the 2008 presidential race was the need to fix Washington. President-elect Obama, for example, said during the campaign, "to fix health care we have to fix Washington." In order to change poltics as usual, the fundamental problems caused by the undue influence of contributions on government decisions must be effectively addressed. While other issues on our reform agenda are important, the way Washington works is not going to change until we reform the nation's campaign finance laws. Read our coalition statement to learn more.

We trust nursing homes to make sure our loved ones are in a safe environment, but many elderly residents are neglected. Instead of focusing on providing the best care to their residents, nursing homes are busy immunizing themselves from accountability by inserting binding mandatory arbitration clauses into the fine print of their admission papers. Take action!

As it stands now, it takes weeks for the public to obtain the Senate’s “analog” paper campaign disclosure forms. This means that in the final, critical weeks of a campaign, well-heeled donors can anonymously provide funding for last minute negative attack ads for candidates. This is unfair to voters and taxpayers who support a cumbersome system. Take action!

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has painted a grossly inaccurate picture of the empirical evidence on binding mandatory arbitration, a comprehensive study issued by Public Citizen reveals. In this type of arbitration, consumers lose their right to settle disputes in court and instead are routed to a private, secretive system that favors the company. Learn more here.

Public Citizen released its report, The Arbitration Trap: How Credit Card Companies Ensnare Consumers. Binding Mandatory Arbitration clauses are being inserted into credit card contacts. Merely by signing your name on the dotted line, you forfeit your constitutional right to a trial by jury. All disputes are settled by a for-profit arbitrator, appeal is nearly impossible, and our research shows the cards are stacked against you. Learn more and take action!


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