U.S. PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP

 

June 2003

 

 

Background

 

• The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) Was Founded In 1983 To “Act As A Watchdog For The Public Interest In [The] Nation’s Capital.”  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Was Created As A Result Of The Efforts Of State PIRGs To Develop A National Political “Watchdog” Group.  The PIRGs Were Founded By Consumer Advocate And Noted Liberal Activist Ralph Nader.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Claims To “Speak For The Public Interest Against The Special Interests, On Issues In The News And Below The Surface.”  It Primarily Focuses On Issues Concerning The Environment, Consumer Relations And Education.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Claims That Its Mission Is To “Uncover Dangers To Public Health And Well Being And Fight To End Them, Using The Time-Tested Tools Of Investigative Research, Media Exposes, Grassroots Organizing, Advocacy, And Litigation.”  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Has Been Labeled “Liberal” By Many Media Outlets.  (Seth Borenstein, “House Unites On Measure Protecting Open Spaces,” The Record [Bergen County, NJ], 5/14/00; et al.)

 

• USPIRG Issues Annual Congressional Report Cards, Focusing Primarily On Environmental And Consumer Advocacy Votes.  Routinely, USPIRG Issues Its Highest Ratings To Some Of The Most Liberal Members Of Congress – Including Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), And Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). 

 

• USPIRG Also Routinely Issues Its Lowest Ratings To Noted Conservative Members Of Congress – Including Reps. Tom DeLay (R-TX), Dan Burton (R-IN), J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), Billy Tauzin (R-LA) And Eric Cantor (R-VA).

 

• Congressional Members Often Claim That USPIRG “Advocate[s] Extreme Positions On Some Issues And That … Votes For More-Balanced Environmental And Consumer Protection Legislation Often [Are] Overlooked In The Scorecards.”  (Bruce Alpert And Bill Walsh, “On The Hill,” Times-Picayune [New Orleans, LA], 6/8/03)

 

• Rep. Chris Cannon’s Spokesman Characterized USPIRG As An Organization That Employs “Fear Tactics” To Push An “Extremist Agenda.”  “A spokesman for Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, attacked PIRG as being extremist. ‘PIRG is one of those groups which employ green fear tactics to accomplish extreme goals,’ said Cannon spokesman Jeff Hartley.”  (Brent Israelsen, “That Stench? It Smells Like Money To Congress,” The Salt Lake Tribune, 10/15/97)

 

• USPIRG Has Been Roundly Criticized For Participating In A “Dishonest Scheme” Known As “Negative Checkoff,” Which Charges College Students In Several States With An Automatic Donation To The Group As Part Of Their Tuition.  “The name of that ox is PIRG - for Public Interest Research Groups, a web of liberal lobbies spun by Nader in the early 1970s. On scores of campuses in dozens of states (including some 25 schools in Massachusetts), PIRGs collect huge amounts of money through a dishonest scheme called a ‘negative checkoff.’ Each semester, students are automatically charged for a ‘donation’ to PIRG of several dollars; the charge is included in their tuition. It isn’t mandatory, but a student who is unwilling to finance PIRG’s left-wing political agenda must affirmatively refuse to pay. PIRG figures that many students - and many parents - won’t realize the fee is optional or even notice it on the bill.”  (Jeff Jacoby, “A Bid To Stop PIRG’s Scam,” The Boston Globe, 7/27/95)

 

• A Majority Of The Democrat Presidential Candidates Have High Lifetime Ratings From USPIRG.  Their Career Scores Are As Follows:

 

ü     Sen. Joe Lieberman – 85%

ü     Sen. Bob Graham – 81%

ü     Sen. John Kerry – 94%

ü     Sen. John Edwards – 74%

ü     Rep. Dick Gephardt – 76%

ü     Rep. Dennis Kucinich – 95%

 

 

Policy Stances

 

• USPIRG Supports A Ban On Oil Exploration And Drilling In ANWR.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Criticized The Bush Administration’s Decision To Relax Standards On The Arsenic Content Of Drinking Water.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Opposes The Bush Administration’s Clear Skies Proposal.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Urges Legislators To Strengthen The Clean Water Act.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Seeks To Strengthen The Endangered Species Act.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Accuses “Polluting Companies [Of] Working With The White House To Pass An Energy Bill That Won’t Produce The Clean Energy Policy Americans Deserve.”  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Claims That The “Bush Administration Is Helping Powerful Interests Release More Smog And Soot Into [The] Air.”  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Is A Strong Supporter Of Global Warming Theories.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Sponsors A Program To “Cut Polluter Pork” To The Mining, Nuclear Energy, Agriculture, Coal, Ranching, Timber, Oil And Gas Industries.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Supports Reauthorization Of Polluter Fees For Superfund.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Supports The Corporate Reform Act And Stricter Standards For Corporate Accountability.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Supported The Norwood/Dingell Patients’ Bill Of Rights Legislation.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Supports The Kennedy/Allen Prescription Drug Bill And All Efforts To Make Pharmaceuticals More Affordable For Seniors.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)

 

• USPIRG Criticizes The Supreme Court’s Buckley v. Valeo Decision That Equated Money In Politics With Free Speech.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03) 

 

• USPIRG Is A Strong Proponent Of Campaign Finance Reform.  (USPIRG Website, www.uspirg.org, Accessed 6/26/03)