Tell your two US Senators and US Representative YES to a strong whistleblower protection bill

Public Citizen is asking us to send a message to our respective two US Senators and US Representative in support of government whistleblowers. Last year, strong whistleblower protection bills were passed in both houses of Congress. Now, the Senate and the House have both passed bills by a veto-proof majority, but they must be reconciled- now it's time for Congress to finish the job by passing a final bill; emphasis should go to the House version.

When scientific research is altered or suppressed, government contractors waste millions of taxpayer dollars, or national security documents are falsified, witnesses need to know that they can blow the whistle without reprisals endangering their careers and their lives. Please go to this Public Citizen whistleblower campaign's webpage and send your message to emphasize the House version for strongest whistleblower protection (you can edit the message if you wish). If you prefer to call the Capitol Switchboard, the phone number is 202-224-3121. Thank you

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Tell your two US Senators to vote YES for full-vote Washington, DC representation

Public Citizen is asking us to call or write our US Senators in favor of having a US Representative for Washington, DC residents. Our more than half a million District of Columbia citizens have been paying federal income taxes, fighting in wars and all of the other things Americans have done over the years, but they don't have a vote in Congress!

Prominent constitutional scholars and former Congressmembers agree that they can legally have their own full-voting Congressmember. Why wait any longer? Please call both of your US Senators at the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121; or, use Public Citizen's webpage to send them a message. Then email action@citizen.org with your senators' responses. Thank you

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Call your two US Senators and ask them to support the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act

Public Citizen is asking us to call our two US Senators, and ask them to support the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S.223). It would require all senate candidates, both challengers and incumbents if office, to file their campaign finance reports electronically (as opposed to paper). Just as important, they need to support the bill without the Ensign Amendment, which is unconstitutional.

In addition to bringing technology up-to-date, it would save the American taxpayer $250,000. per year! Call both of your senators right now; you can reach them at the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Then, if you can, please leave word with Public Citizen on whether they do already support the bill without the amendment. Thank you

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Tell your US Representative and two US Senators to stop Pres. Bush's dangerous Mexican trucking campaign

Public Citizen, a Washington-based public safety advocate group, is running a grassroots internet campaign, to hold President Bush to follow the rules on trucking safety. He has time and again flaunted congressional actions and the popular will of the people by prematurely allowing Mexican freight trucks to travel across the US.

Please take a stand with Public Citizen and their supporters right now with Pres. Bush, and stop his relentless breaching of the law with his runaway Mexican trucking campaign. Take action with your US Representative and two US Senators here, or, reach their offices by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Thank you!

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Tell your US Representative and two US Senators to support government openness bills

Happy Sunshine Week!

In recognition of the importance of government openness and transparency, Public Citizen is asking us to contact our congressmembers to support a few related bills. Go to their campaign web page and send your letter, or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Tell your US Representative and two US Senators to improve transparency to our government by:

1. Supporting the immediate passage of the Presidential Records Act Amendments (H.R. 1225/S. 886) in the Senate to override a Bush Executive Order that is undermining the original purpose of the post-Watergate law.

2. Fully funding the Office of Government Information Services under the National Archives and Records Administration as the OPEN Government Act requires, instead of under the Department of Justice, which the Bush FY09 budget proposal suggests.

3. Protecting the rights of governmental whistleblowers by ensuring that the final conference bill tracks closely to the stronger House bill, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 985).

4. Limiting presidential signing statements, so that a President can’t alter legislation with a stroke of a pen, as President Bush did when he nullified Congress’s whistleblower protections for government contractors in Iraq.

5. Bring the Senate into the 21st Century and pass S. 223, which provides for electronic disclosure and prompt Internet searchability of Senate campaign contributions. Senator Ensign should stop blocking enactment of the bill with his poison pill amendment!


Thank you for helping to ensure that our government is more transparent and accountable to the public.

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Tell your Congressmembers to ask EPA head Stephen Johnson to resign

Public Citizen, a respected public safety group in Washington, DC, is asking Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Stephen Johnson to resign. We need this federal executive branch agency to actually fight for the environment. Please ask your two US Senators and US Representative to support this cause- send a letter from Public Citizen's web site, or call them directly at 202-224-3121 now. Thank you.

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Tell your US Representative and two US Senators NO to Bush administration slush fund

Public Citizen has a grassroots campaign to stop President Bush from increasing his battle to put big money interests over the public interest. Please tell your US Representative and two US Senators enough is enough, and to deny the administration abusing this extra power.

I just found out that the president is asking Congress to give him a slush fund -- he wants the ability to move funds around in the Executive Office of the President, which could mean giving the White House's regulatory office more power to put us at risk.

This is the office that is responsible for children dying and getting brain damage in the 1980s from Reye's Syndrome, because it kept the FDA from putting a simple warning label on aspirin. And it's been playing this dangerous game time and time again ever since then, putting us all at risk in ways we don't always know about, because it's so powerful but very secretive.

I just took action to tell Congress to say NO to the slush fund for Bush's White House -- and you can, too, at
http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=23409&track=slushTAF

It think it's just outrageous he thinks he can get away with this!

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Tell your US Senators to vote FOR Consumer Product Safety Reform Act of 2007

Public Citizen wants us to tell our US Senators to vote FOR on a bill to reform the Consumer Protect Safety Commission (CPSC) - and protect us from defective and dangerous products. They are expect to vote on it next week. If you are having difficulties with the webpage, or would like to call them instead, the Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.

Although the Consumer Product Safety Reform Act of 2007 (S. 2663) will give the CPSC much-needed muscle, it could be stronger than it is. For example, the maximum fine for violating the Act has been reduced from $100 million to $10 million, or $20 million in "aggravated" circumstances, a pittance for multibillion-dollar corporations. However, the current bill makes valuable improvements over current law that must be defended.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your senators to vote FOR the Consumer Product Safety bill and strong, consumer-friendly amendments and AGAINST amendments that put industry interests before consumers! Thank you

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Tell your US Senators YES to the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act

Public Citizen is asking us to contact both of our US Senators to end subsidies to the oil and gas industry and incentivize renewable energy. The House just passed its part of the bill's legislative process-- now it's the Senate's turn to take it up. It's called the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act (H.R.5351). Take action today; if you would like to call them instead, the Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. Thank you

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Tell your U.S. Representative to restore intent of 2007 Ethics bill

Public Citizen has an email your representative campaign concerning the recent U.S. House ethics committee's guidelines on convention parties. These lobbyist-paid "honor" parties for lawmakers have given undue influence on those representatives when they return to the Capitol to vote. The 2007 Ethics bill corrected this, but recently the House ethics committee ruled against the intent of this new law. If you agree, please contact your U.S. Representative and tell them to have the House use the Senate ethics committee's correct banning of these convention parties. Thank you.

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U.S. Department of Justice fails for 15 years to administer used car database for public

Public Citizen has announced that they and two other consumer groups are sueing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for failing to administer a database of defective vehicles. The lawsuit asks the court to find the DOJ in violation of a 1992 law for not having established the database or even the regulations setting it up. The suits ask the court to order the DOJ to issue the regulations within 30 days of finding the agency in violation.

Under the 1992 law, junk and salvage yard operators are required to file monthly reports to the database operator. Each report is supposed to contain a list of the vehicle identification numbers of all junk and salvage vehicles obtained during the previous month. The law also requires insurance companies to file similar reports. But the DOJ has yet to establish regulations that would tell insurance companies and junk and salvage yards how to report their information.

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Consumer Product Safety Commission unresponsive to dangerous and defective company product reports

Public Citizen has released a report on the lax public notifications of product defects by the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission). This is yet another example of an administration that has politicized its public service. Based upon similar backass services from a host of Executive branch agencies, I must assume that politicization is endemic throughout the system under Bush's watch.

Here is Public Citizen's description of its newest report on consumer product safety issues and the federal government:

U.S. Consumer Protection Officials Wait Months to Notify Public of Dangerous, Defective Products, Public Citizen Study Finds

Despite a law requiring manufacturers to provide the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) with “immediate” notification of dangerous products, the agency typically delays nearly seven months after learning of dangerous, defective products before telling the public. A new Public Citizen study, Hazardous Waits: CPSC Lets Crucial Time Pass Before Warning Public About Dangerous Products, reveals that companies fined for tardy reporting took an average of 993 days – 2.7 years – between learning of a safety defect in their products and notifying the CPSC. Perhaps as shocking, the CPSC then took an average of 209 additional days before disclosing the information to the public – even though each case concerned a product defect so dangerous that the item was recalled.

• Read the press release
• Read the report
• Read a summary of the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Consumer Product Safety Reform/Modernization Act
• Read an in-depth comparison of the House and Senate bill

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Presidential candidate John McCain receiving many lobbyist bundlers to finance his campaign

Public Citizen has issued a press release on the rise of the unethical practice of lobbyist bundlers supporting presidential candidates. There are already more of them than in all of 2004, the last presidential election year. Perhaps more striking is the fact that the leading candidate receiving this questionable campaign finance help is none other than U.S. Senator John McCain (Repub.).

McCain has often been on the front lines of reform in Congress, as an author or co-author of campaign finance-related bills. And now, as the second leading presidential candidate in lobbyist bundling receipts, former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani (Repub.) is likely to end his candidacy and endorse McCain later today; the senator may subsequently receive even more lobbyist bundlers.

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Where do the Republican presidential candidates stand?

All of the Democratic candidates for president support public financing of elections. We see Republicans supporting public financing in Congress and state legislatures all over the country. How about the Republican presidential candidates?

The presidential "bully pulpit" can move Congress on issues, especially in the new president's first months in office. Let's ask those Republicans still in the primaries where they stand. Public Citizen, a public interest organization promoting Clean Elections, is running a campaign to do just that:

The Republican candidates talk about changing Washington but have refused -- so far -- to support policies that bite the hands that feed their campaigns.

Tell the GOP presidential candidates that real change means supporting policies that put voters ahead of big money in presidential and congressional elections.

After we collect signatures on this petition, we'll fax each of the Republican presidential candidates a letter on February 4th, the day before Super Tuesday on February 5th, to urge them to support public financing.

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Freedom of Information Act passes-- requesting info from federal government now easier

Watchdog blog from Public Citizen reports on the legislative history of the recent FOIA bill signed into law by President Bush on December 31st.

For more than 40 years, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has been the
pillar of the framework for transparent government – the primary advocacy
instrument for deterring and exposing unchecked executive power. However,
since 9/11, FOIA has been hobbled by a doctrine of secrecy executed with
administrative delays and ploys to keep government records “in the shadows.”
The OPEN Government Act, signed into law on December 31, is the
first legislative update to FOIA since 1996 and a reassertion of checks and
balances. Now it will be easier for people to get information from their
government. The law provides for an online tracking system for requesters,
a government-wide office to deal with disputes and concerns, penalties for
offices that take too long to respond, a limit to agency “search” and
“duplication” fees, and reimbursement of attorney fees in some situations where
requesters must go to court.

All Things Reform has FOIA databases for your reference in the left-hand column.

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Tell your Congressmen YES to restoring presidential public financing

Public Citizen has launched a netroots campaign for public financing of elections. The "Presidential Funding Act of 2007" (HR 776 and S 436) brings the presidential public finance program, which started in the mid-1970's, up to date. Although it has worked for a few decades, it needs to be restored in its ability to support those candidates who wish to avoid the day-to-day big money fundraising that many of today's candidates go through. If you agree, please take action here or go directly to your Representative's and two Senators' websites through this service. Here's what Public Citizen says in its new drive:

White House: NOT for Sale!
The 2008 presidential candidates are engaged in never-ending race for campaign contributions – relying more than ever on bundlers and big donors, who attain special access and plum appointments as reward for their support. It was not always like this. For years, the presidential public funding system worked to level the playing field by setting limits on campaign spending and prevented candidates from becoming indebted to major contributors. Since the Bush/Gore race in 2000, it has failed as an alternative to big special interest money because it has not kept up with the costs of modern campaigns. Champions of fair elections in both houses of Congress have introduced the “Presidential Funding Act of 2007” to update the system. This legislation would make the funding system a viable alternative in today’s political environment. Please take a minute to add your own words to the letter below and tell your members of Congress to co-sponsor and help pass the fix for funding presidential elections.

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Tell your Senators to RECALL Nancy Nord of the CPSC

Public Citizen has issued a netroots alert for the recall ("firing") of Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) interim Chairwoman Nancy Nord. I am much too happy to support this campaign, as Nord is totally blind to the ethical breeches she has committed already in her "leadership" role. Here is more alert information from Public Citizen; if you agree, please take action from this website or send your message on your own to your two US Senators:

While parents were in panic over the lead paint on their children's toys (like "Robot 2000"), what was the head of the government agency in charge of protecting us doing? Traveling - on the dime of the very industries she is supposed to be regulating.
Nancy Nord, the interim Chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has not shied away from that fact that she accepts lavish trips from the industries she regulates and even claims that it is perfectly ethical.
The CPSC is charged with monitoring thousands of products that we use everyday, including toys, but has been systematically gutted by lack of funding and industry-friendly political appointees. A proposed bill, the CPSC Reform Act of 2007, would help fix that. It would more than double the agency's funding, give it new powers to punish those who sell dangerous products, and offer protection to government whistleblowers who courageously report wrongdoing within the agency.
Guess who isn't a fan?
Nord. She is also opposed to a bill that would make her agency more effective and better protect consumers from dangerous products. Could her position having anything to do with a recent free trip to New Orleans? Or maybe she is just more interested in protecting industry profits than consumers.
You can tell your senators to "RECALL" Nancy Nord and to PASS the CPSC Reform Action of 2007 with additional ethics reforms to prevent staff from accepting industry-sponsored travel.
Posted by Daniel De Bonis on November 09, 2007 at 05:48 PM

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