The Trump administration wants to zero out funding for coronavirus testing, even as cases continue to spike, and the death toll grows. Tell your senators to demand that funding for testing be included in the next stimulus bill.
The Trump administration wants to zero out funding for coronavirus testing, even as cases continue to spike, and the death toll grows. Tell your senators to demand that funding for testing be included in the next stimulus bill.
Public Health
Responding to the COVID crisis
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, now more than ever, we need to work together to ensure that our government has a coordinated, strategic response to safeguard the public’s health, protect consumers from emerging dangers and ensure people can still participate fully in our democracy.
Consumer Protection
As the pandemic goes on, consumer complaints continue at a record pace
A U.S. PIRG Education Fund analysis has found that since March 2020, public consumer complaints at the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have skyrocketed, setting a new monthly record each month. During this period, one in five complaints concerning mortgages, student loans or vehicle financing has mentioned the coronavirus crisis.
Transportation
Austin approves big expansion in clean, electric public transit
The Austin City Council and Capital Metro board of directors have unanimously approved the TexPIRG-backed Project Connect System Plan, which would dramatically expand the city's light rail transit system, its fleet of zero-emission electric buses and the routes those buses take.
Transportation
House transportation bill prioritizes fixing infrastructure, sustainable investment
Federal lawmakers have put forward the INVEST in America Act — a nearly $500 billion transportation spending bill which prioritizes repairing existing infrastructure over new highway projects, and contains key provisions for more sustainable investments.
We can't do it without you.
TexPIRG is your advocate for the public interest, speaking out for healthier, safer, more secure lives for all of us.
News & Research
News Release
TexPIRG is calling on Governor Abbott to hit the reset button on the state’s response to containing the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as cases surge to concerning levels. More than 1,000 health professionals nationwide, including 43 from Texas, have now signed an open letter to America’s decision makers urging them to shut it down, start over, and do it right this time to contain COVID-19 and save lives.
News Release | TexPIRG
Gov. Greg Abbott has extended in-person early voting for this fall’s presidential election by one week, starting on Tuesday, October 13. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, large public gatherings, like those often seen at polling places, create opportunities for the virus to spread. Expanding early voting opportunities is one way that states can reduce crowding at the polls on Election Day.
Many states have expanded vote-by-mail opportunities in response to the pandemic. Texas still requires that voters have an approved excuse to get a mail-in ballot, and COVID-19 is not among the approved excuses.
In response, TexPIRG Director Bay Scoggin made the following statement:
“Governor Abbott kicked a field goal when what we needed was a touchdown. The governor’s decision to extend early voting is good for the health of Texans and the health of our democracy, but it doesn't go far enough to limit the dangerous choice between our constitutional right to vote and our health."
News Release | TexPIRG
Amid uncontrolled spread of the novel coronavirus in Texas, TexPIRG and top health experts delivered a letter Wednesday to Governor Abbott, calling on him to shut back down, start over with new policies to thwart COVID-19 and do it right.
News Release | U.S. PIRG
John Lewis was an American hero.
Most people knew him as a champion of civil rights, whether as a young man marching for freedom on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in 1965 or serving as the “conscience of the Congress” for the past 33 years. Yet John Lewis was also a dependable ally on public interest issues, a tenacious advocate of voting reform and open government, consumer protection and a healthy environment.
Blog Post
Few people living today remember what it was like to live through a world war, but that’s what we’re in, and we’re going to have to sacrifice if we want to save ourselves and each other. Just as the greatest generation did, we need to step up to what history has delivered.
RESOURCE
Coronavirus update
In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, we’ve taken steps for all of our staff to work remotely for safety reasons. But rest assured, we’ll keep advocating for you as we work for a healthier, safer world.
Learn more about how we can work together to address the COVID-19 pandemic.