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About Iowa PIRG

For more than 20 years, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski has helped us stand up against big banks and credit card companies.

An Independent Voice For Consumers

Iowa PIRG is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security or our right to fully participate in our democratic society. 

For decades, we’ve stood up for consumers, countering the influence of big banks, insurers, chemical manufacturers and other powerful special interests.

Our team of researchers uncovers the facts; our staff bring our findings to the public, through the media as well as one-on-one interactions; and our advocates bring the voice of the public to the halls of power on behalf of consumers.

Our Mission
When consumers are cheated or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, Iowa PIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and wellbeing and fight to end them, using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation. Iowa PIRG’s mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest activism that protects consumers, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government.

Our Top Priorities
Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, Iowa PIRG stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results. 


 

STANDING UP FOR THE PUBLIC ON HEALTH CARE

As our leaders put the health care reform law into practice, we’re working to promote a more competitive health insurance marketplace that lowers costs for consumers. >LEARN MORE
 

 

A SAFER ENERGY FUTURE

More than 1 million Iowans already live within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant, and there are 104 currently operating across United States. Rather than investing in new nuclear power plants, it's time for Iowa's leaders to put our state on the path to a safer energy future. >LEARN MORE
 

 

CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLES

Corporate tax dodgers cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. That’s why Iowa PIRG is working to close the loopholes that allow ExxonMobil, Bank of America and others to shift profits overseas to avoid paying their taxes. >LEARN MORE
 


 

Iowa PIRG And The Federation Of State Public Interest Research Groups
Iowa PIRG is an independent, state-based, citizen-funded organization that advocates for the public interest and is a member of U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups.

 

Since 1970, state PIRGs have delivered results-oriented citizen activism, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRGs employ close to 400 organizers, policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and are active in 47 states, with a federal lobby office in Washington, D.C. On national issues that impact Georgians, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact—here in Georgia and for the country at large.

Iowa PIRG Staff - A Partial List
Iowa PIRG is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, Iowa PIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight.


 

SONIA ASHE

Advocate

(515) 282-4193

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

STEVE BLACKLEDGE

Regional Director

(916) 448-4516 x108

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

GARY KALMAN

Federal Legislative Office Director

(202) 546-9707 x311

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

ED MIERZWINSKI

Federal Consumer Program Director

(202) 546-9707 x314

>CONTACT
>BIO
 


 

Funded By Our Citizen Members 

Thousands of Iowa PIRG members and supporters fund our staff so we can counter the influence of powerful special interests by: 

 

• conducting research; 

• educating the public; and 

• advocating in the public interest by, for example, making our case face-to-face with elected officials. 

 

Your contribution provides the resources and the clout we need to win real results. 

 

What's New

Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Tax

Picking Up the Tab

Some U.S.-based multinational firms or individuals avoid paying U.S. taxes by transferring their earnings to tax haven countries with minimal or no taxes. These tax haven users benefit from their access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security; but they pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system and forcing other taxpayers to pick up the tab.

> Keep Reading
Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Transportation and the New Generation

Youth in Iowa and accross the country have begun to shift their transportation preference our from behind the wheel, and towards alternative options. Increased dependence on transportation alternatives like public transit, biking, or passenger rail supports re-invisioned transportation policy solutions that reflect the needs of twenty-first century Iowa.

> Keep Reading
Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Following the Money 2012

The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Transparency in government spending promotes fiscal responsibility, checks corruption, and bolsters public confidence. In the past few years, state governments across the country have made their checkbooks transparent by creating online transparency portals.  These government-operated websites allow visitors to view the government's checkbook - who receives state money, how much, and for what purposes.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Iowa Receives an "F" in Annual Report on Transparency of Government Spending

Iowa once again received an “F” when it comes to government spending transparency, according to Following the Money 2012: How the States Rank on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data, the third annual report of its kind by the Iowa Public Interest Research Group (Iowa PIRG). 

> Keep Reading
Media Hit | Safe Energy

MidAmerican gives an expensive sales pitch

Article by opinion columnist, Rekha Basu, with the Des Moines Register discussing the potential pitfalls of forceing ratepayers to front the bill for new nuclear power plants in Iowa. This article provides the "sales pitch" by MidAmerican Energy, but questions whether or not the "pitch" will or should hold the confidence of Iowa's consumers.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Iowa Receives an "F" in Annual Report on Transparency of Government Spending

Iowa once again received an “F” when it comes to government spending transparency, according to Following the Money 2012: How the States Rank on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data, the third annual report of its kind by the Iowa Public Interest Research Group (Iowa PIRG). 

> Keep Reading
Media Hit | Safe Energy

MidAmerican gives an expensive sales pitch

Article by opinion columnist, Rekha Basu, with the Des Moines Register discussing the potential pitfalls of forceing ratepayers to front the bill for new nuclear power plants in Iowa. This article provides the "sales pitch" by MidAmerican Energy, but questions whether or not the "pitch" will or should hold the confidence of Iowa's consumers.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Tracking Down Secrect Campaign Funds Spent in Super PACs

Today Iowa PIRG Education Fund and Demos released a new analysis of the funding sources for the campaign finance behemoths, Super PACs. The findings confirmed what many have predicted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs have been primarily funded by a small segment of very wealthy individuals and business interests, with a small but significant amount of funds coming from secret sources.

> Keep Reading
Media Hit | Safe Energy

Regulators Critize Nuclear Plant Cost Idea

Iowa utility regulators shared critisisms of Iowa's nuclear CWIP legislation, HF 561, that echoed the concerns of consumer advocacy groups like Iowa PIRG and AARP. 

> Keep Reading
News Release | Iowa PIRG Ed Fund | Democracy, Tax

Wells Fargo One of the 'Dirty Thirty'

With the second anniversary approaching of the Supreme Court case Citizens United rapidly approaching – it is clear that the floodgates to corporate political spending are open, and that Fortune 500 Companies are taking full advantage. A report released today by Iowa PIRG Education Fund and Citizens for Tax Justice reveals 30 of our nations most profitable corporations that spent more to lobby Congress than they did in taxes.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Result | Consumer Protection

President Confirms Director Cordray To Head the CFPB

Iowa PIRG applauds President Obama for standing up for consumers by making a recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The President’s action means that the CFPB indisputably now has all its powers to protect the public from unfair financial practices, whether by banks or other financial firms, such as payday lenders and credit bureaus.

> Keep Reading
Result | Safe Energy

Protecting Iowans from the financial risk of nuclear power

Iowa PIRG stopped Iowa leaders from allowing MidAmerican Energy to charge ratepayers in advance for the development, licensing and construction of new nuclear power plants in Iowa.

> Keep Reading
Result | Budget, Tax

New Transparency in Government Spending for Iowans

Iowa PIRG put pressure on decision makers to provide Iowans with transparent information about government spending - allowing us to hold government officials accountable when it comes to the public purse.

> Keep Reading
Result | Transportation

Keeping Iowa on Track with Passenger Rail

Iowa PIRG helped Iowans stay on track to updating our transportation system with new passenger rail from Iowa City to Chicago.

> Keep Reading
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.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Tax

Picking Up the Tab

Some U.S.-based multinational firms or individuals avoid paying U.S. taxes by transferring their earnings to tax haven countries with minimal or no taxes. These tax haven users benefit from their access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security; but they pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system and forcing other taxpayers to pick up the tab.

> Keep Reading
Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Transportation and the New Generation

Youth in Iowa and accross the country have begun to shift their transportation preference our from behind the wheel, and towards alternative options. Increased dependence on transportation alternatives like public transit, biking, or passenger rail supports re-invisioned transportation policy solutions that reflect the needs of twenty-first century Iowa.

> Keep Reading
Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Following the Money 2012

The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Transparency in government spending promotes fiscal responsibility, checks corruption, and bolsters public confidence. In the past few years, state governments across the country have made their checkbooks transparent by creating online transparency portals.  These government-operated websites allow visitors to view the government's checkbook - who receives state money, how much, and for what purposes.

> Keep Reading
Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Auctioning Democracy

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs have been primarily funded by a small segment of very wealthy individuals and business interests, with a small but significant amount of funds coming from secret sources.

> Keep Reading
Report | Democracy, Tax

Representation without Taxation

Marking the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United vs. FEC 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 work to distort the tax code to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Today, CFPB to announce overdraft fee investigation, unveil "penalty box" disclosure, possibly end $39 lattes. | Ed Mierzwinski

Would you knowingly agree to pay a $35 fee each time you used your debit card at point of sale, simply to allow you to purchase a $4 latte with only $2 in your account? Even the banks didn't think so, that's why they made “standard overdraft protection” a feature of your checking account that you didn't need to choose.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Iowa PIRG Applauds CFPB Proposal to Regulate Biggest Credit Bureaus | Ed Mierzwinski

Last summer over 10,000 PIRG members submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging strict regulation of credit bureaus and credit scoring firms. We applaud the CFPB for its proposal today to subject the nation’s largest credit bureaus and credit scoring firms to full scrutiny as “larger participants” (CFPB pdf) in the financial marketplace."

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Encouraging news on HUD/state AG settlement with big mortgage servicers | Ed Mierzwinski

The terms of the settlement, which was announced this morning, are at the page http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com. We are reading it now. Original: If I am reading the overnight news stories correctly (NY TIMES and Politico and Boston Globe), it appears that negotiators have clarified that the well-publicized settlement between HUD and state AGs and the nation's 5 largest mortgage servicers will not release the big banks from claims related to their activities with the mysterious entity known as MERS that aided and abetted their illegal foreclosures. If so, this is a big deal in ultimately holding the big banks fully accountable.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

CFPB's Cordray to Highlight Achievements/Goals Today In Senate | Ed Mierzwinski

The Senate Banking Committee will hold an oversight hearing today at 10 am (live video) on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's semi-annual report to Congress. The witness will be CFPB director Rich Cordray, who received a PIRG-backed recess appointment from the President on January 4th. Expect some CFPB opponents on the committee to boycott; others to show up.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

President’s Recess Appointment Gives Watchdog Teeth It Needs To Protect Consumers From Wall Street or Payday Lender Financial ShenanigansSonia Ashe

Kudos to President Obama for standing up for consumers this week by making a recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The President’s action means that the CFPB now has all its powers to protect the public from unfair financial practices, whether by banks or other financial firms, such as payday lenders and credit bureaus.

> Keep Reading

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