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News Release | Florida PIRG | Transportation

U.S. House addresses high gas prices by investing close to $2 billion in public transportation

Responding to record-high gas prices and the rising use of public transportation, the House of Representatives today passed HR 6052, the Saving Energy through Public Transportation Act, by a vote of 322 to 98 which authorizes 1.7 billion dollars to transit agencies across America to expand services and reduce fares. It is projected that over $80 million would be directed towards projects in Florida. “We applaud this legislation for its rare combination of practicality and vision,” said Florida PIRG consumer advocate Brad Ashwell.

News Release | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Florida Small Businesses Support High-Speed Rail

Today Florida PIRG presented Rick Scott with a letter signed by central Florida small businesses, showing their support for high-speed rail. Businesses owners asked the governor to accept federal funding to move forward with the Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail project. Governor Rick Scott has delayed his decision to accept the money until he has reviewed the results of a feasibility study which is expected to be completed within a matter of days.

News Release | Transportation

High Speed Rail is on "The Right Track"

Last month, the Obama administration announced that 31 states will receive a portion of $8 billion in funding to build and plan for high speed rail under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. From Tampa he announced that Florida will receive $1.25 billion. This report analyzes the potential of high speed rail in nine different regions, including Florida, and presents eleven public-interest recommendations for how to spend high speed rail investments in the future. According to data cited in the report, the completion of a national high-speed rail network would reduce car travel by 29 million trips and air travel by nearly 500,000 flights annually.

Report | Florida PIRG | Transportation

The Right Track

America’s highways and airports are increasingly congested. Our nation’s transportation system remains dependent on oil. And our existing transportation infrastructure is inadequate to the demands of the 21st century. Intercity passenger rail can help America address each of these challenges. Most major industrialized countries have (or are now building) well-functioning intercity rail systems.

Report | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Squandering the Stimulus

Energy experts generally agree that the era of cheap gas is over. Scientists likewise agree that road-based global warming pollution must be reduced. But lawmakers have not taken enough steps to help Americans consume less at the pump. overall government policies continue to encourage more driving at the expense of alternatives, leaving Americans poorer, stuck in worsening traffic, and emitting dangerous levels of global-warming pollution.

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News Release | Florida PIRG | Transportation

U.S. House addresses high gas prices by investing close to $2 billion in public transportation

Responding to record-high gas prices and the rising use of public transportation, the House of Representatives today passed HR 6052, the Saving Energy through Public Transportation Act, by a vote of 322 to 98 which authorizes 1.7 billion dollars to transit agencies across America to expand services and reduce fares. It is projected that over $80 million would be directed towards projects in Florida. “We applaud this legislation for its rare combination of practicality and vision,” said Florida PIRG consumer advocate Brad Ashwell.

News Release | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Florida Small Businesses Support High-Speed Rail

Today Florida PIRG presented Rick Scott with a letter signed by central Florida small businesses, showing their support for high-speed rail. Businesses owners asked the governor to accept federal funding to move forward with the Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail project. Governor Rick Scott has delayed his decision to accept the money until he has reviewed the results of a feasibility study which is expected to be completed within a matter of days.

News Release | Transportation

High Speed Rail is on "The Right Track"

Last month, the Obama administration announced that 31 states will receive a portion of $8 billion in funding to build and plan for high speed rail under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. From Tampa he announced that Florida will receive $1.25 billion. This report analyzes the potential of high speed rail in nine different regions, including Florida, and presents eleven public-interest recommendations for how to spend high speed rail investments in the future. According to data cited in the report, the completion of a national high-speed rail network would reduce car travel by 29 million trips and air travel by nearly 500,000 flights annually.

News Release | Florida PIRG | Consumer Protection

Florida PIRG Applauds Obama for Cordray Recess Appointment

Today, President Obama will take a bold and important step to protect consumers from financial tricks and traps by announcing a recess appointment of his well-qualified nominee, Richard Cordray, to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The appointment bypasses Senate opponents who have pledged to block any director unless the bureau is first weakened in a manner approved by Wall Street.

News Release | Florida PIRG | Consumer Protection

Annual Survey Finds Toxic or Dangerous Toys on Store Shelves

Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, according to the Florida Public Interest Research Group’s 26th annual Trouble in Toyland report. The report, released this morning, reveals the results of laboratory testing on toys for lead and phthalates, both of which have been proven to have serious adverse health impacts on the development of young children. The survey also found toys that pose either choking or noise hazards.

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Result | Consumer Protection

KIDS’ SCHOOL LUNCHES NOW SAFER

For years, America’s schoolchildren have been eating beef, chicken and other foods that would have been rejected as substandard even by fast food chains. Thanks in part to our advocacy, the U.S.D.A. has stopped buying such low-quality meat for school lunches.

Result | Health Care

Young People Now Covered

This year, the federal health care reforms that Florida PIRG worked to win have started to pay off for young people. In the past, teens saw their premiums soar or were denied coverage when they turned 19, even if they’d been insured their whole lives. Now, they can remain on their parents’ plans until age 26.

Report | Florida PIRG | Transportation

The Right Track

America’s highways and airports are increasingly congested. Our nation’s transportation system remains dependent on oil. And our existing transportation infrastructure is inadequate to the demands of the 21st century. Intercity passenger rail can help America address each of these challenges. Most major industrialized countries have (or are now building) well-functioning intercity rail systems.

Report | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Squandering the Stimulus

Energy experts generally agree that the era of cheap gas is over. Scientists likewise agree that road-based global warming pollution must be reduced. But lawmakers have not taken enough steps to help Americans consume less at the pump. overall government policies continue to encourage more driving at the expense of alternatives, leaving Americans poorer, stuck in worsening traffic, and emitting dangerous levels of global-warming pollution.

Report | Florida PIRG | Transportation

Do Roads Pay for Themselves

Highway advocates and many who oppose public transit projects often claim that roads “pay for themselves,” with gasoline taxes and other charges to motorists covering – or nearly covering – the full cost of highway construction and maintenance.

Report | Florida PIRG | Financial Reform

Representation Without Taxation

Marking the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case—which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on elections—this report takes a hard look at the lobbying activities of profitable Fortune 500 companies that exploit loopholes and distort the tax code to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

Report | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland

The 2011 Trouble in Toyland report is our 26th annual survey of toy safety. In this report, we provide safety guidelines for consumers when purchasing toys for young children and provide examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

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Blog Post | Tax

What Do Jon Stewart, Elizabeth Warren, and Barack Obama Have In Common? | Phineas Baxandall

All three of them spoke out this week against corporate tax dodging.

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama called for an economy where “everyone plays by the same set of rules” and where companies can’t avoid taxes by shifting profits overseas. That same night, Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren went on the Daily Show and called out 30 corporations that a recent Florida PIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice study found paid more to lobby Congress than they did in federal income taxes. When Warren told this to John Stewart on the Daily Show, it made the usually unflappable comedian’s jaw drop. Check out the video!

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Zappos' customers may have been zapped by identity theft; meanwhile big Internet sellers zap small Internet guys, just like the big boxes do to local, independent stores | Ed Mierzwinski

Over at his Red Tape Chronicles, MS-NBC's Bob Sullivan warns that Internet marketer "Zappos says hacker may have accessed info on 24 million customers."

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Blog Post | Budget

Problems With Privatized Law Enforcement's New Frontier | Phineas Baxandall

One in five Americans lives in a jurisdiction that outsources traffic ticketing this way, according to a newly released report from the Florida Public Interest Research Group, titled "Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead; The Risks of Privatizing Traffic Law Enforcement and How to Protect the Public." And a report released by the Justice Department suggests this trend may accelerate under the twin pressures of budget pressure and intense lobbying.

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YOUR TAX DOLLARS BECOME TWINKIES

Billions of taxpayer dollars have subsidized the ingredients in junk food. We're calling on Congress to end agribusinesses handouts.

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STOP TAX DODGERS

Corporate tax avoidance cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. We're working to close the loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying the taxes they owe.

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BUILDING A BETTER HEALTH CARE MARKETPLACE

Now the fight for health care reform is in Florida.

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DANGEROUS TOYS ON STORE SHELVES?

Find out what to watch out for — from toxic chemicals to choking hazards — in our “Trouble In Toyland” report.

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PRIORITY ACTION

Some of the nation’s best-known companies — including GE, Google and Goldman Sachs — have avoided paying the taxes they owe, costing us $100 billion last year.

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Your donation supports Florida PIRG’s work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.

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