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About TexPIRG Education Fund

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

Independent Research and Education

TexPIRG Education Fund is an independent, non-partisan group that works for consumers and the public interest. Through research, public education and outreach, we serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.

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

STOPPING THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON FACTORY FARMS

More than 93% of doctors are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms, yet factory farms still use up to 70% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. We're working to protect our medicine. 
 


 

CHANGING OUR TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES

Americans are driving less and less. It's time to change the way we think about how we get around.
 


   

RECLAIMING OUR DEMOCRACY

Our democracy is based on the principle of one person, one vote, but our research shows the increasing dominance of big money in our elections. That's why we're working to reclaim our democracy. 
 

With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, the TexPIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. The TexPIRG Education Fund works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer citizens meaningful opportunities for civic participation.

For information about a specific report, please contact the author. If you are a foundation interested in supporting the TexPIRG Education Fund's work, or if you have general inquiries, please contact us here.

For information about a specific report, please contact the author. If you are a foundation interested in supporting the TexPIRG Education Fund's work, or if you have general inquiries, please contact us here.

TexPIRG Education Fund and 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, 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 office in Washington, D.C. On national issues, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact.

TexPIRG Education Fund Staff
TexPIRG Education Fund is an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation. TexPIRG Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization working to protect consumers and promote good government. Find out more about our staff

 

What's New

Blog Post | Consumer Tips, Food, Solid Waste

How to minimize food waste this 4th of July | Danielle Melgar

Planning ahead and getting creative with leftovers reduces food waste for a fun, sustainable celebration.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Release: New policy in effect erasing paid medical debt from credit reports

Consumer tips on how to check your credit report accuracy

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Tips

How to make sure your credit reports don’t include paid medical debt | Patricia Kelmar

Medical debt, even when it is paid off, remained on credit reports for up to seven years. That's about to change. Here's how to make sure paid medical debt doesn't lower your credit score.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Buying a car should be less confusing - and the FTC can help | R.J. Cross

It's easy to spend thousands more on a car than you meant to, especially when dealerships use tricks and traps to lock you into bad deals. The FTC has proposed new rules to help.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

STATEMENT: Senate confirms Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee; agency now at full strength

The U.S. Senate confirmed commission nominee Mary Boyle on Wednesday, nearly a year after she was nominated by President Biden, by a vote of 50-48. 

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Release: New policy in effect erasing paid medical debt from credit reports

Consumer tips on how to check your credit report accuracy

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

STATEMENT: Senate confirms Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee; agency now at full strength

The U.S. Senate confirmed commission nominee Mary Boyle on Wednesday, nearly a year after she was nominated by President Biden, by a vote of 50-48. 

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips

Statement: CPSC warns public to stop using infant rockers after deaths

 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Tuesday took an unusual step to warn the public about infant rockers that haven’t been recalled.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips

Statement: Safe Sleep for Babies Act signed into law

After decades of danger and more than 200 infant deaths, President Joe Biden signed the  Safe Sleep for Babies Act into law on Monday.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund and NRDC

Consumer advocacy groups launch campaign to get Columbia Sportswear to phase out toxic ‘forever chemicals’

 

U.S. PIRG Education Fund and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) launched a campaign on Tuesday calling on outdoor gear and apparel brand Columbia Sportswear to phase out the use of PFAS in its products and supply chains. Last month, the company received low marks in a scorecard report released by the advocacy groups. The report found that Columbia Sportswear has failed to adopt policies that ban PFAS chemicals or provide up-to-date, publicly available information on any ongoing efforts to phase out these toxic chemicals from their products.

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Pages

Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Stranded

When you rely on a powered wheelchair to get around, any delay in repair imposes a burden on your mobility and financial security. It can even become a matter of life and death. Yet, as “Stranded,” a new report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund found, a constrained market for wheelchair service and repair in the U.S. makes delays, of weeks or even months, common. 

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund, NRDC and Fashion FWD

Going Out of Fashion

PFAS use in apparel and other consumer products is coming under increased scrutiny from lawmakers. However, apparel manufacturers and retail stores don’t need to wait for the law to catch up to the proliferation of toxic PFAS. They can get out in front of the regulatory curve and protect their customers and the planet from PFAS pollution by immediately adopting policies to end the use of PFAS in clothing, footwear, and accessories. Indeed, some already have. 

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips

Dark Patterns: A step-by-step guide to protect your privacy on your phone

Apps and social media are a part of everyday life. They help us stay connected to the world around us. But it can be easy to overlook the risk involved with making personal information accessible online, especially when that information can be recorded, bought and sold by the companies running the apps.

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Report | TexPIRG Education Fund

Why Farmers Need Right to Repair

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Food

Food recalls: 2021 Trends and What They Mean for You

There were 270 food and beverage recalls in 2021 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That marked a 27 percent decrease from 2020. But fewer recalls doesn’t necessarily mean safer food. 

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Consumer Tips, Food, Solid Waste

How to minimize food waste this 4th of July | Danielle Melgar

Planning ahead and getting creative with leftovers reduces food waste for a fun, sustainable celebration.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Tips

How to make sure your credit reports don’t include paid medical debt | Patricia Kelmar

Medical debt, even when it is paid off, remained on credit reports for up to seven years. That's about to change. Here's how to make sure paid medical debt doesn't lower your credit score.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Buying a car should be less confusing - and the FTC can help | R.J. Cross

It's easy to spend thousands more on a car than you meant to, especially when dealerships use tricks and traps to lock you into bad deals. The FTC has proposed new rules to help.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Public Health

Update: American Medical Association recognizes health dangers of gas stoves | Lisa Frank

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Food

UPDATE: Help us raise visibility for National Pollinator Week! | Danielle Melgar

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Pages

Blog Post | Transportation

Electrify METRO Coalition Letter | Bay Scoggin

Dear Chair Patman,

We write you today to urge METRO to transition its buses to a clean, all-electric fleet.

We applaud the work METRO employees do every day, safely carrying thousands of people, including many who cannot or do not wish to drive, to work, school and more. METRO buses and light rail are playing a critical role in reducing traffic and air pollution. Furthermore, we appreciate the efforts METRO has taken to convert buses to hybrid technology, limit idling, and initiate an electric bus pilot program. 

However, most METRO buses are still powered by diesel—a dirty fossil fuel that gives off toxic emissions—endangering the health of the people who ride them and contributing to global warming. 

The good news is we have the technology to start building cleaner, healthier cities and neighborhoods. Dramatic declines in battery costs and improvements in performance, including expanded driving range, have made electric buses a viable alternative to diesel-powered and other fossil fuel buses. 

Replacing all of METRO’s diesel-powered transit buses with electric buses could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 43 million pounds each year. 

Electric buses can also be more affordable than fossil fuel buses in the long run, since they have 30 percent fewer parts, no exhaust systems, their braking systems last longer, and they don’t require oil changes or fossil fuels. Over the lifetime of the bus, an electric transit bus can avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating costs over an equivalent diesel or natural gas bus, from lower fuel and maintenance costs. 

We urge you to no longer purchase any more diesel buses. Putting new diesel buses on the road today will pollute our city for at least twelve more years. Instead, as buses are ready to be retired, please replace them with clean electric ones.

The Houston region is receiving $32 million from the Volkswagen Settlement funds, but that money is yet to be dispersed. This is a great opportunity for METRO to start transitioning to clean electric buses. 

 

We look forward to working with you to one day give all Houstonians the opportunity for a “whisper-quiet, green ride.”

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Release: New policy in effect erasing paid medical debt from credit reports

Consumer tips on how to check your credit report accuracy

Blog Post

How to minimize food waste this 4th of July

Planning ahead and getting creative with leftovers reduces food waste for a fun, sustainable celebration.

Blog Post

Buying a car should be less confusing - and the FTC can help

It's easy to spend thousands more on a car than you meant to, especially when dealerships use tricks and traps to lock you into bad deals. The FTC has proposed new rules to help.

Blog Post

How to make sure your credit reports don’t include paid medical debt

Medical debt, even when it is paid off, remained on credit reports for up to seven years. That's about to change. Here's how to make sure paid medical debt doesn't lower your credit score.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

STATEMENT: Senate confirms Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee; agency now at full strength

The U.S. Senate confirmed commission nominee Mary Boyle on Wednesday, nearly a year after she was nominated by President Biden, by a vote of 50-48. 

Solid Waste

PIRG hosts webinar with MythBusters' Adam Savage on Right to Repair

Our national network and the Right to Repair team organized a summit featuring keynote speaker Adam Savage from MythBusters. He shared his thoughts with us on the movement and we discussed our current progress on the Right to Repair campaign.

 

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Your tax-deductible donation supports TexPIRG Education Fund's work to educate consumers on the issues that matter, and to stand up to the powerful interests that are blocking progress.

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You can also support TexPIRG Education Fund’s work through bequests, contributions from life insurance or retirement plans, securities contributions and vehicle donations. 

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TexPIRG Education Fund is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.