Promoting Young Voter Participation

Two million more 18- to 24-year olds voted in 2008 than in the last presidential election in 2004, part of a record overall voter turnout. The Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project did its part by deploying organizers to Iowa State University and to 99 other college campuses in 16 states to help turn out voters.

Keeping Our Families Safe From Dangerous Products

Those who violate product safety laws will face stiff fines and penalties and hazardous products will be removed from store shelves more quickly, under a landmark law championed by Iowa PIRG in 2008.

Holding Elected Officials To Higher Ethical Standards

A new, independent office will police ethical scandals in Congress, under a plan endorsed by Iowa PIRG. Our federal legislative director, Gary Kalman helped make the case for the new Office of Congressional Ethics. The report details independent panels that enforce ethics in Iowa and 22 other states.

Paving The Way For 21st Century Transportation

Passenger rail travel will improve and our country will begin investing in a new generation of high-speed rail thanks to an Iowa PIRG-backed law that authorizes $13 billion in spending over the next five years. Public transit already provides more than 23 million rides in Iowa every year, and this step will begin to shift us away from wasteful new highway projects.

Closing Contractor Loopholes

When private contractors, including Halliburton spin-off Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR), tried to avoid paying taxes by setting up foreign subsidiaries, Iowa PIRG, in federation with state PIRGs across the country, backed a new law to close that loophole and another law requiring contractors to pay back taxes before being awarded new contracts.

Standing Up For Taxpayers And Homeowners

When Congress rushed to pass the $700 billion bailout for Wall Street banks, our staff warned that the hastily conceived law lacked basic protections for taxpayers and assistance to homeowners. Later, we worked to hold bankers and regulators accountable for fully disclosing how they spent the tax dollars they received.

Holding Drugmakers Accountable For Safety

The FDA reform bill adopted by Congress in 2007 included several Iowa PIRG-backed provisions that force drug companies to post all clinical trial results, good and bad—an antidote to such notorious cases as Vioxx, Paxil and Avandia. It also increases penalties for drug companies that rush unsafe drugs to market.

Confronting Data Dealers On Identity Theft

In the wake of failures in data security on the part of data dealers and credit card companies, Iowa PIRG crafted model legislation that has been enacted in 40 states. We also helped pass a law that provides one free credit report each year.