Public Citizen | Congress Watch

Congress Watch champions consumer interests before the U.S. Congress. We seek to preserve citizen access to the courts to redress corporate harm and negligence. We also work to ensure that Congress represents citizens by exposing the harmful impact of money in politics and fighting for an improved democracy.

Public Citizen Launches an Obama Transition Watchdog Blog
Becoming44.org, launched at the end of election week, will aggregate the latest information from media and advocacy organizations and provide commentary by Public Citizen experts and allies on President-elect Barack Obama’s priorities and appointments.Visit today!

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.

Voters First Pledge 2008
Congressional candidates should sign the Voters First Pledge to make elections fair by creating an alternative to the money chase in congressional elections. See who took the pledge and take action today!

As the federal government readies to approve possibly the most reckless bailout in this country's history, Public Citizen and Consumer Watchdog urged Congress to proceed carefully and incorporate consumer safeguards in any financial plan. 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.

When courageous people risk their careers to bring about a more honest and accountable government, they should be protected. We are closer than ever to extending protection to brave government employees. Both the House and the Senate have passed bills to protect the rights of government whistleblowers. Now, these two bills need to be reconciled and passed into law. The bill must not be weakened in the process! Get the latest news and take action!

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!

Over the past seven years, the Bush administration has abused the state secrets privilege by going to extremes to keep the administration's work in the shadows. Lawmakers must protect Americans' right to an open and accountable government and curb government corruption by supporting the State Secrets Protection Act of 2008. Read the press release and our letter of support for the the State Secrets Protection Act of 2008.

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.

More than half a million people live in the capital of the United States without voting representation in Congress. Without senators of their own to call, citizens in the District of Columbia need our support to win their voting rights. Over forty organizations signed a letter to Senator Reid, urging him to move the DC Voting Rights Act (S. 1257) before the elections in November. Two other letters have been sent demanding that Congress respect DC's right to pass their own local gun laws. T ake action now!

We helped improve the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the first legislative update in more than a decade. But new legislation would go even further to ensure that exemptions to the law cannot be passed without notice and public debate. Read our group letter in support of the OPEN FOIA Act. Also, get the latest updates on the Watchdog Blog.

U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have introduced the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008, which would expand the information available on USASpending.gov and make the data more accessible and readable. Read the summary of the bill and our letter of support.

Court cases can reveal dangerous activities and deadly products that corporations otherwise try to keep secret, but sometimes the public never learns these facts. Sen. Herb Kohl's (D-Wisc.) Sunshine in Litigation Act will help ensure that judges consider the public's health and safety when deciding whether to keep court procedings secret. Tell your senators to support the public's right to know. In addition, Public Citizen and 33 other groups urged the White House to let the public review and comment the rules governing the designation of Sensitive But Unclassified (or Controlled Unclassified Information -- CUI).

More than ever, our elections are about which candidate can raise the most money from corporate interests. Under this flawed arrangement, candidates find themselves beholden to special interests, and those without access to wealthy donors cannot afford to run for public office. It's time to change the system. It's time to bring full public financing to our elections. You can help reform the system by supporting the Fair Elections Now Act.

Presidential Records Act

In 2001, Bush signed Executive Order 13233 which allows presidents to withhold documents and records without explanation INDEFINITELY. What’s more, the order extends the authority to control the records to presidential family members and vice presidents. Public Citizen took it to court and won a partial victory. Now Congress must pass the Presidential Records Act Amendments to fully nullify the Bush Order and return the presidential records to the people. Get the latest updates on our Watchdog Blog. Take action!

What's in Your Wallet?

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! Fortunately, The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 will solve these problems. Help spread the word to friends and family. Public Citizen has teamed up with Americans for Fairness in Lending to organize movie nights all across the country. Sign up!


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