Media Advisory

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

PUBLIC INTEREST LAW SUMMIT: Taking the Offensive MARCH 23 – 24, 2001 Media Advisory Contacts: Sheila Fox, Millennium III Marketing 619.298.0495 [email protected] USD Center for Public Interest Law www.cpil.org Robert C. Fellmeth, Executive Director 619.260.4806 [email protected] Julie D’Angelo Fellmeth, Administrative Director 619.260.4806 [email protected] Public Interest Advocates Plan to Take the Offensive Against Profit Interests Ralph Nader to deliver keynote address Who: University of San Diego Center for Public Interest Law What: Public Interest Law Summit: Taking the Offensive When: Friday/Saturday, March 23/24, 2001 Purpose: This unprecedented gathering of public interest advocates will formulate a plan to take the offensive against organized profit interests that have kept the public interest movement on the defensive for the past 25 years. Location: University of San Diego campus 5998 Alcalá Park San Diego, CA 92110 Friday, March 23, 2001: Noon – 2:00pm Opening Luncheon, Ralph Nader, Keynote Speaker 2:30 – 4:15pm Session - Campaign Finance Reform 4:45 – 6:30pm Session - Legislative Reform 7:00 – 9:00pm CPIL 20th Anniversary Banquet Saturday, March 24, 2001: 9:00 – 11:45am Session - Court Strategy 1:15 – 4:00pm Session - Agency Reform 4:00pm Adjournment Speakers: Session - Campaign Finance Reform: L. Scott Harshbarger, President and Chief Executive Officer Common Cause Frank Clemente, Director, Public Citizen Congress Watch Charles Lewis, Executive Director, Center for Public Integrity Nick Nyhart, Executive Director, Public Campaign E. Joshua Rosenkranz, Executive Director, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law Session - Legislative Reform: Gene Karpinski, Executive Director, U.S. Public Interest Research Group Gene Kimmelman, Co-Director, Washington D.C. Office of Consumers Union Charles R. Halpern, Chairman of the Board, Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action Harvey Rosenfield, Executive Director, Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights Session - Court Strategy: Robert C. Fellmeth, Price Professor in Public Interest Law, University of San Diego School of Law Executive Director, Center for Public Interest Law Alan B. Morrison, Director Emeritus, Public Citizen Litigation Group Nadine Strossen, President, American Civil Liberties Union Professor of Law, New York Law School Patricia Sturdevant, Executive Director and General Counsel, National Association of Consumer Advocates Theodore M. Shaw, Associate Director/Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Session - Agency Reform: Joan Claybrook, President, Public Citizen David G. Hawkins, Director of Air and Energy Program, National Resources Defense Council; Patricia M. Sullivan, Environmental Chair Jim Hightower, Former Texas Agriculture Commissioner, radio journalist and consumer advocate David A. Swankin, President and CEO, Citizen Advocacy Center Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D., Director, Public Citizen Health Research Group.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Testimony of Joan Claybrook, President, Public Citizen, Former
Testimony of Joan Claybrook, President, Public Citizen, Former Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before the Senate Committee on Competition, Foreign Commerce and Infrastructure June 3, 2004 Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Senate Competition, Foreign Commerce and Infrastructure Committee, for the opportunity to offer this written testimony on the importance of improvements in vehicle safety. My name is Joan Claybrook and I am President of Public Citizen, a national non-profit public interest organization with over 150,000 members nationwide. We represent consumer interests through lobbying, litigation, regulatory oversight, research and public education. I am testifying before you with shocking news that has, over time, sadly become hum-drum fact. Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans from 4 to 34 – killing 118 people every day of the year – the same as a major airline flight crashing each and every day. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates the direct cost in economic losses from vehicle crashes is $230 billion each year (in 2000 dollars), or $820 for every man, woman and child in the U.S.1 Dr. Jeffrey Runge, Administrator of NHTSA, predicted last year that the total dead could reach 50,000 annually in 2008. “This is a Vietnam War every year,” he said. “That’s just not tolerable.” Mr. Chairman, I agree. The Transportation, Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act, called the TREAD Act, was passed by Congress in November 2000 after a reporter in Houston, Texas, grabbed the attention of the nation with her story that Ford Explorers with Firestone tires were experiencing sudden tire blowouts, rolling over and killing the people inside.
[Show full text]
Public Citizen Annual Report 2007
Public Citizen Annual Report 2007 www.citizen.org President Joan Claybrook Board Members Public Citizen Inc. Adolph L. Reed Jr., Chair Joan Claybrook Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit advocacy organization David Halperin that represents people in the halls of power. For more than 35 years, Howard Metzenbaum we have successfully fought for openness and democratic accounta- Joseph A. Page, bility in government; public funding of elections; a more ethical Secretary-Treasurer Congress; clean, safe and sustainable energy; safer trucks and auto- mobiles; stronger worker safety protections; safe, effective and Public Citizen affordable prescription drugs; and fair trade. Foundation Inc. Robert C. Fellmeth, Public Citizen does not take corporate or government money, so Chair we can name names and hold those in power accountable. For that Lisa A. Blue reason, we rely on financial support from our members and founda- Joan Claybrook tions. We also rely on the sale of publications, including our block- Joseph W. Cotchett buster “Worst Pills, Best Pills” book and newsletter, as well as the Liz Figueroa continuously updated Web site WorstPills.org. Jim Hightower, Secretary-Treasurer If you would like to contribute to Public Citizen or become a Steve Skrovan member, please call (202) 588-1000 or visit our Web site at www.cit- izen.org/join. Directors David J. Arkush, Congress Watch; Marilyn Berger, Administration; Brent Berwager, Development; Angela Bradbery, Communications; Tyson Slocum, Energy; Tom Smith, Texas; Lori Wallach, Global Trade Watch; Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D., Health Research; Brian Wolfman, Litigation Editor Bridgette Blair Production Manager James Decker From the president n the 2006 congressional elec- Itions, the American public – fed up with Washington’s status quo of scandals, ethics abuses and bad policies – showed tection of consumers in medical guarantee for energy companies Republicans the door.
[Show full text]
Public Citizen Copyright © 2016 by Public Citizen Foundation All Rights Reserved
Public Citizen Copyright © 2016 by Public Citizen Foundation All rights reserved. Public Citizen Foundation 1600 20th St. NW Washington, D.C. 20009 www.citizen.org ISBN: 978-1-58231-099-2 Doyle Printing, 2016 Printed in the United States of America PUBLIC CITIZEN THE SENTINEL OF DEMOCRACY CONTENTS Preface: The Biggest Get ...................................................................7 Introduction ....................................................................................11 1 Nader’s Raiders for the Lost Democracy....................................... 15 2 Tools for Attack on All Fronts.......................................................29 3 Creating a Healthy Democracy .....................................................43 4 Seeking Justice, Setting Precedents ..............................................61 5 The Race for Auto Safety ..............................................................89 6 Money and Politics: Making Government Accountable ..............113 7 Citizen Safeguards Under Siege: Regulatory Backlash ................155 8 The Phony “Lawsuit Crisis” .........................................................173 9 Saving Your Energy .................................................................... 197 10 Going Global ...............................................................................231 11 The Fifth Branch of Government................................................ 261 Appendix ......................................................................................271 Acknowledgments ........................................................................289
[Show full text]
Safety Pioneer Joan Claybrook Receives 2012 Community Hero Award
News Release For Immediate Release: Contact: Tim Parsons October 9, 2012 410-955-7619 or [email protected] Safety Pioneer Joan Claybrook Receives 2012 Community Hero Award Joan Claybrook, President Emeritus of Public Citizen and former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has received the 2012 Community Hero award from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Community Hero Award was created by the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy to recognize distinguished injury prevention leaders and exemplary programs that contribute to improving safety in our communities. In 1966, Claybrook teamed up with Public Citizen founder Ralph Nader to successfully lobby for passage of the nation’s first auto safety laws. As administrator of NHTSA under President Jimmy Carter, she issued the first standards requiring air bags in all passenger vehicles and the first fuel-economy laws. These acts empowered government to establish safety standards for new vehicles and issue recalls for defective vehicles and parts. She went on to serve as president of Public Citizen from 1982 until 2009. “Motor vehicle safety is recognized by the CDC as one of the top ten public health success stories of the last century, and much of this success is attributable to the work of Joan Claybrook,” said Andrea Gielen, ScD, ScM, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. “We in the field of injury prevention are indebted to Joan’s tireless service, advocacy and leadership.” While at the Bloomberg School to accept her award, Claybrook spoke on “The Politics of Safety” at the annual Daniel J.
[Show full text]
Senator SIMON. Mr. Chairman, If I Could Just Say I Am Going to the Same Press Conference on Health Care
468 Senator SIMON. Mr. Chairman, if I could just say I am going to the same press conference on health care. The CHAIRMAN. One thing Mr. Nader understands is press con- ferences, and I am sure he will understand your need to be there. Senator METZENBAUM. Also, he understands health care. The CHAIRMAN. He understands health care, as well. As a matter of fact, I am surprised he is not going to the press conference with you. Senator COHEN. Mr. Chairman, I am told there is going to be a vote at 1:45 p.m. The CHAIRMAN. I am glad to be informed of all these things. Why don't we just begin and we will see where the schedule takes us. Mr. Nader, welcome. PANEL CONSISTING OF RALPH NADER, WASHINGTON, DC; SID- NEY M. WOLFE, CITIZEN'S GROUP, WASHINGTON, DC; LLOYD CONSTANTINE, CONSTANTINE & ASSOCIATES, NEW YORK, NY; AND RALPH ZESTES, KOGOD COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AD- MINISTRATION, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, DC STATEMENT OF RALPH NADER Mr. NADER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the com- mittee. I would like to submit my 20-page testimony and note that there are five important attachments: First, one by Professor Carstensen, of the University of Wisconsin Law School, dealing with the case of price squeeze that was so widely discussed earlier in these hear- ings, a case by Judge Breyer; second, a thorough critique by a friend of Judge Breyer, but he is a critic, Professor Tom McGarity, of the University of Texas Law School, on Judge Breyer's health and environmental safety positions; third, a critique of Judge Breyer's chapter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- tration, by Clarence Ditlow and Joan Claybrook, which illustrates that some of Judge Breyer's research is quite shoddy; fourth, a list of very stimulating questions by Prof.
[Show full text]
Billionaire's Club
United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Minority Staff Report The Chain of Environmental Command: How a Club of Billionaires and Their Foundations Control the Environmental Movement and Obama’s EPA July 30, 2014 Contact: Luke Bolar — [email protected] (202) 224-6176 Cheyenne Steel — [email protected] (202) 224-6176 U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Minority) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In his 2010 State of the Union Address, President Obama famously chided the Supreme Court for its recent campaign finance decision by proclaiming, “With all due deference to the separation of powers, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections."1 In another speech he further lamented, “There aren’t a lot of functioning democracies around the world that work this way where you can basically have millionaires and billionaires bankrolling whoever they want, however they want, in some cases undisclosed. What it means is ordinary Americans are shut out of the process.”2 These statements are remarkable for their blatant hypocrisy and obfuscation of the fact that the President and his cadre of wealthy liberal allies and donors embrace the very tactics he publically scorned. In reality, an elite group of left wing millionaires and billionaires, which this report refers to as the “Billionaire’s Club,” who directs and controls the far-left environmental movement, which in turn controls major policy decisions and lobbies on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Even more unsettling, a dominant organization in this movement is Sea Change Foundation, a private California foundation, which relies on funding from a foreign company with undisclosed donors.
[Show full text]
1Sky * Advocates for Environmental Human Rights * Alabama
1Sky * Advocates for Environmental Human Rights * Alabama Environmental Council Alabama First * Alabama Rivers Alliance * Alaska Community Action on Toxics * Altamaha Riverkeeper * American Bottom Conservancy * American Rivers * Appalachia - Science in the Public Interest * Appalachian Center For the Economy and the Environment * Appalachian Voices * Arkansas Public Policy Center * Assateague Coastal Trust * B.E. Cause Group * Black Warrior Riverkeeper * Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Program * Bristlecone Alliance * Cahaba Riverkeeper * Carbon Action Alliance * Carrie Dickerson Foundation * Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, Inc. * Center for Biological Diversity * Center for Coalfield Justice * Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies * Center for Energy Matters * Center for Healthy Environments and Communities * Chattooga Conservancy * Chesapeake Climate Action Network * Citizens Against Longwall Mining * Citizens Against Ruining the Environment * Citizens' Environmental Coalition * Citizens for Clean Power * Citizens for Dixie's Future * Citizen Power * Citizen Advocates United to Safeguard the Environment, Inc. * Citizens Coal Council * Civil Society Institute * Clean Air Carolina * Clean Air Council * Clean Air Task Force * Clean Air Watch * Clean Power Now * Clean Water Action * Clean Water for North Carolina * Clean Wisconsin * Coal River Mountain Watch * Coastal Conservation League * Coastal Women for Change * Concerned Citizens of Giles County * Congaree Riverkeeper * Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
[Show full text]
Speaker Bios
SPEAKER BIOS Dr. Greg Gulbransen Dr. Greg Gulbransen, a practicing pediatrician in Oyster Bay, New York, was moving his wife’s SUV a few feet – backing it from the street into a spot on the driveway when he unintentionally struck his two-year-old son, Cameron Gulbransen, on October 19, 2002. Since Cameron’s death, Dr. Gulbransen has become a national advocate for educating the public about the dangers of blindzones and working to prevent these tragic crashes. The 2008 law was named in Cameron’s memory, Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act, Pub. L. 110-189. Susan Auriemma Susan Auriemma of Manhasset, New York, is the mother of Kate Auriemma whom she unintentionally injured in a backover crash in May, 2005 when Kate, her youngest, was 3 years old. Since then, Ms. Auriemma has become a leader in highlighting the dangers of backover incidents and the potential for them to happen to anyone. By continuing to share her story, Ms. Auriemma hopes that other families will not have to experience these traumatic events. Joan Claybrook Joan Claybrook is President Emeritus of Public Citizen and former Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ms. Claybrook has testified frequently before Congressional committees, and speaks to the media, private groups and educational institutions on behalf of public interest policies. Major issues Ms. Claybrook works on include auto, truck and highway safety, ethics, lobbying and campaign finance reform, and access to the courts and business regulation. Did you want to add anything here about airbags? Janette Fennell Janette Fennell is the Founder and President of KidsAndCars.org.
[Show full text]
Lameduckhunt.Org Prelude to New Trade Blog
Public Citizen News 2006 Annual Report 5 Public Citizen’s p r o t e c 2006 t i n a n n u a l r e p o r t g y o Public Citizen Defends Citizen Interests, u r Challenges Unethical Congress in 2006 h or ethically challenged politicians and the e influence-peddlers trying to woo them, 2006 Fwill be remembered as the year the party a ended. After more than a decade of mounting cor- l ruption from one-party, Republican rule, lobbyists t and lawmakers alike were indicted, convicted and carted off to prison for ethics abuses. h However, a growing chorus of public outrage , over these abuses of power still did not hold much sway in Washington, D.C., last year. The leadership s on Capitol Hill offered only tepid reform bills to curb the influence of money in politics. The White a House and federal agencies continued to attack f hard-won government safeguards and tailor regu- e lations to benefit corporate interests. Public Citizen was in the fray, as it had been for t 35 previous years, defending the rights of citizens y and championing their interests in the halls of power. The organization showcased the worst of the worst in Congress and motivated citizens to a band together to express their displeasure with the n corporate raiding of the federal Treasury. Public Citizen also took the Food and Drug d Administration (FDA) to task on its 100th birthday for the agency’s conflicts of interest with the drug industry and for the unsafe medicines and treat- d ments – such as Vioxx and silicone breast implants e Clockwise, from top: 1) Public Citizen Photo/Bridgette – that the FDA has allowed onto the market.
[Show full text]
July 21 ,2020 Honorable Edward Markey
July 21 ,2020 Honorable Edward Markey United States Senate Washington, D. C. 20510 Dear Senator Markey: We are writing as national and state consumer and public interest leaders and advocates who have spent our careers advancing public health, safety, consumer and environmental protection policies in Congress, the Executive Branch, the Courts and the State of Massachusetts. We want to thank you for your lifetime of instrumental work in Massachusetts and in the U.S. Congress, writing laws and forcing issuance of regulations for social justice, public health, safe and affordable transportation, environmental sustainability, a fair marketplace, investor protection, public access to electronic communications, public access to the courts, and personal privacy. A group of us analyzed your record and we have attached our list of your most notable achievements. In all these areas, you are one of the greatest leaders and legislators in Congress. In addition, we appreciate your latest work advocating for healthcare as a right, for preserving the advances under the Affordable Care Act while pressing for Medicare for All, and your focus on emergency measures for families ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the cutting-edge “Green New Deal” you proposed with freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has given new hope to a generation of young activists demanding that the existential threat of the climate crisis be addressed immediately and urgently. This is a realistic plan, defined by your determination to transform our job-shrinking fossil fuel economy into a job-building renewable fuel economy. These are just some recent examples of your advocacy of innovative solutions to deeply embedded problems regardless of the powerful, aggressive special interests that may oppose your remedies.
[Show full text]
August 23, 2002 the Honorable Thomas A. Daschle the Honorable
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW (ACORN) CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA CONSUMERS UNION THE FEMINIST MAJORITY INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BOILERMAKERS INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, UAW LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL RIGHTS LUTHERAN OFFICE FOR GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, ELCA NAACP RALPH NADER NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN NOW LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES NATIONAL WOMEN’S LAW CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSISTANCE CORPORATION OF AMERICA PUBLIC CITIZEN OWL, THE VOICE OF MIDLIFE AND OLDER WOMEN RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER OF REFORM JUDAISM SELF-HELP CREDIT UNION TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA U.S. PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP August 23, 2002 The Honorable Thomas A. Daschle The Honorable Trent Lott Majority Leader Minority Leader United States Senate United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert The Honorable Richard A. Gephardt Speaker Minority Leader United States House of Representatives United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 RE: DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS URGE OPPOSTION TO HARSH, UNBALANCED BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE REPORT Dear Senator Daschle, Senator Lott, Representative Hastert and Representative Gephardt: One of the first items of business Congress is likely to deal with in September—and one of the most important for working Americans—will be the bankruptcy conference report. At a time when the recent wave of corporate scandals has shaken the economy, led to massive layoffs and ravaged pension and 401(k) plans, passage of this conference report would make it harder for families hit by financial misfortune to get back on track.
[Show full text]
September 24, 2013 President Barack Obama 1600 Pennsylvania
September 24, 2013 President Barack Obama 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 President Obama: We are pleased to hear reports that Canadian officials may be considering new policies to mitigate global warming pollution from the oil and gas sectors. Increased regulation of these sectors is long overdue in both Canada and the U.S. in order to protect our communities and climate. However, on behalf of our millions of members and supporters nationwide, we oppose any deal-making in return for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Our rationale is simple. Building Keystone XL will expand production in the tar sands, and that reality is not compatible with serious efforts to battle climate change. While the tar sands industry makes claims of reducing the intensity of their emissions profile, in fact the absolute carbon pollution from the tar sands is rapidly increasing. The Harper government previously promised to take action to cut pollution across industry, but never followed through with its 2008 plan. Carbon pollution from the tar sands is now projected to be twice as high in 2020 as envisioned under that plan. Simple arithmetic shows that the only way to reduce emissions from the tar sands is to cap expansion where it is now and reduce production over the coming years. That means rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, a project that would enable the expansion of tar sands production. The tar sands pipeline and the carbon emissions it would generate are not in the national interest. After yet another year of record temperatures, terrible drought, dangerous wildfires and worsening storms, the solution must be to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, not to double down on our dependence on the highest carbon fuels.
[Show full text]