OSPIRG Annual Report

Transcription

1 OSPIRG 2015 Annual Report

2 To Our Members An Update On Our Program Work In 2015 Dear OSPIRG member, I want you to feel like an actor in history. Because I truly believe you are. David Rosenfeld Executive Director When future generations look back at this moment when our democracy seemed so fragile, when we were on the verge of squandering a century of medical progress, and when we seemed stuck in an outmoded transportation system I am optimistic they will be grateful that humanity pulled through and continued to evolve for the better. If I m right about that, they will have you to thank. They may not know who you were. The history books may not speak of the incremental victories and losses we acknowledge in these pages. Jesse O Brien Policy Director But, for example, I am confident that if we do succeed in stopping antibiotic overuse on factory farms and pass these lifesaving drugs down to future generations, it can be in part attributable to this year s success in convincing McDonald s and Subway to stop buying meat raised with routine antibiotics. These things never happen just because. They happen because you and hundreds of thousands of others demand it with your voice and wallets. That makes you an actor in history, even if you don t always feel that way. Change rarely comes quickly or easily. But we know it can happen when we work together to speak with one voice. So thanks for your efforts this year. Let s keep at it! Maddie Kusch-Kavanagh Campaign Organizer Sincerely, David Rosenfeld Executive Director Ed Mierzwinski Consumer Program Director 1 Photo credits: (cover- counterclockwise, from top) Craig Mitchelldyer, Staff, Rachel Deehan, Pablo Robles, Media Compass Photo; (this page) all photos by staff.

3 NEW TRANSPORTATION TECH Technology is making it easier for more people to use our public transit systems. ALL AMERICANS PAY FOR ROADS Americans pay $1,100 in taxes annually to repair and maintain highways, regardless of how much they drive. 21st Century Transportation Oregonians are increasingly looking to alternate ways of getting around, like reliable rail and bus systems. As our transportation priorities shift, we need a system that reflects the variety of ways we want to travel now. OSPIRG Foundation took a closer look at our transportation options this year, and found that new technologies are making it possible for more people to get around without owning a car. Yet, while it s becoming easier to drive less, we also found that the general public shoulders many of the costs of driving, no matter how much or how little they drive. New Technology Options In February, OSPIRG Foundation and our partner, Frontier Group, released Innovative Transportation Index, which explains how many American cities are using technology options like car-sharing, ride-sharing and public transit navigation apps to support their transportation needs. More than 28 million people living in 19 cities including Portland have access to eight or more technology-enabled transportation services, and other cities are catching up. The report calls on policymakers and elected officials to further tap into the potential of services like these, to address transportation challenges and help those who want to drive less. Who Pays For Roads? Despite more Americans looking for alternate ways to get around, many of our transportation dollars are still covering the costs of building and maintaining highways. OSPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group s report, Who Pays For Roads?, found that general taxes paid by all taxpayers cover nearly as much of the cost of highways as the gas tax and other fees paid by drivers. In fact, U.S. households pay more than $1,100 per year in taxes and other costs imposed by driving no matter how much they drive. To solve this transportation funding crisis, policymakers need to recognize that all Americans now bear the costs of roads even those who don t use them. We need to figure out ways to pay for our roads that make sense for the increasingly varied ways Americans are getting around now. Photo credits: (above, left to right): Photo courtesy of TriMet via Flickr; Rauglothgor via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 2

4 YOU CALLED ON SUBWAY TO TAKE ACTION OSPIRG and our national federation organized a thank you event across the country at Subway stores (left) and Subway s world headquarters (right). Convincing Restaurants To Protect Lifesaving Antibiotics With mounting evidence that antibiotics are losing their effectiveness, you convinced Subway and McDonald s to act and put Oregon lawmakers on notice to do the same. In 2015, you helped protect public health by convincing Subway and McDonald s, two enormous restaurant chains, to take action to protect antibiotics. Consumer Pressure Made The Difference In October, Subway announced it would phase out antibiotics from its entire meat supply after action from OSPIRG members and supporters. With your support, OSPIRG and our national federation spoke to tens of thousands of people around the country, organized more than 500 health care professionals to co-sign a letter to Subway, and, along with a broad coalition of groups, gathered nearly 300,000 petitions urging Subway to stop serving meat from animals that were routinely fed antibiotics. 3 Photo credits: (left page, left to right) Staff; Pablo Robles, Media Compass Photo; (right page) all Staff

5 Subway s announcement came on the heels of a commitment by McDonald s earlier in the year to stop selling chicken raised on medically-important antibiotics in the United States another victory you helped win. Together, these chains will put major market pressure on factory farms to stop overusing antibiotics. State Lawmakers Delay Action In Oregon Despite this encouraging progress in the marketplace, and calls to action from nearly 20,000 Oregonians, Oregon lawmakers adjourned in July without acting on a proposal to curtail the overuse of antibiotics on farm animals. A wide range of medical and farming interests, including the Oregon Health and Science University and Friends of Family Farmers, endorsed the measure. In April, a legislative panel including Sens. Laurie Monnes Anderson, Elizabeth Steiner Hayward and Chip Shields voted to advance the measure, despite opposition from some of Oregon s largest factory farms. In the ensuing months, thousands of Oregonians called on other state senators to act, and in June we called for the full state Senate to vote. Unfortunately, legislative leaders did not use their power to advance the bill. We are now working to put this issue before lawmakers when they reconvene, as well as continuing to call on more restaurants to stop serving meat raised on routine antibiotics. We rely on antibiotics to treat infections. To keep these life-saving medicines effective, OSPIRG is working to stop their overuse on factory farms. 1. State Sen. Diane Rosenbaum (front, left) stood in support of curtailing antibiotic overuse on farm animals, with OSPIRG s Maddie Kusch-Kavanaugh (right) and canvass staff. 2. OSPIRG s Dev Gowda delivered more than 30,000 petitions to McDonald s in March, just two days before the company s announcement. 3. OSPIRG Executive Director Dave Rosenfeld briefs congressional offices on our effort to curtail antibiotics overuse in Oregon

6 TALKING ABOUT SOLUTIONS OSPIRG Foundation Campaign Organizer Maddie Kusch-Kavanaugh briefs reporters about ways Oregon can reduce the influence of large donors in politics. Democracy For The People With you by our side, OSPIRG is fighting to make sure that in our democracy, the size of your wallet doesn t determine the volume of your voice. All Americans should have an equal say in our democracy. Yet, all too often, politicians listen more to the voices of an outsized few who fund their campaigns than to the people they re elected to represent. Since the Supreme Court s Citizens United decision, these mega-donors have gained even more influence in our democracy. This year, OSPIRG worked to put voters in the driver s seat of our democracy by passing measures at the local and state levels that would increase the impact of small donors in our elections, and calling for an executive order to combat secret political spending. Passing Small Donor Reforms In 2015, our national coalition won two reforms at the state and local levels, helping to pass ballot measures in Maine and Seattle that give small donors a greater voice in local elections. Seattle s Initiative-122 empowers small donors with democracy vouchers that can be donated to local candidates and lowers the cap on contributions. In Maine, the state s Clean Elections Act was improved by offering qualifying candidates increased public funding and strengthening campaign finance disclosure laws. 5 Photo credits: (left page) Rachel Deehan; (right page, clockwise from right) Staff; Wina Beals Photography; Staff

7 Meanwhile, New York City s small donor program, which gives a six-to-one match on city residents small contributions up to $175, continues to impress. In 2013, the vast majority of candidates for city office participated in this program and more than 60 percent of funds raised were from small donors living in the city all at a cost of just.06 percent of the city s budget. In addition to sending volunteers to Seattle to help pass that city s reform, OSPIRG spent the better part of 2015 meeting with dozens of local elected officials and community organizations to educate them about how small donor programs could work locally. Shining A Light On Secret Money In addition to working toward small donor programs, OSPIRG urged President Obama to sign an executive order cracking down on secret political spending by federal contractors. Under current law, corporations that do business with the federal government can spend hundreds of millions on elections without disclosing details. The proposed executive order would require federal contractors to disclose their political spending, which would affect at least 70 percent of Fortune 100 companies. OSPIRG joined a broad coalition to deliver one million petitions from Americans, including OSPIRG members and supporters, calling on President Obama to shine a light on secret political spending. To counter the influence of megadonors and corporations in our elections, OSPIRG is working to amplify the voices of regular Americans. 1. OSPIRG and our national federation helped to deliver petitions from one million Americans to President Obama, calling for an end to secret money. 2. PIRG staff and supporters worked to amplify the voices of small donors, so that politicians are more likely to listen to their constituents, rather than big donors. 3. Fifty community members joined Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, OSPIRG, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters for a discussion about how to get big money out of politics

8 ROOTING OUT WASTE OSPIRG Policy Director Jesse O Brien (left) and Executive Director Dave Rosenfeld analyze proposals by health insurers to raise premiums on consumers, looking for areas of waste that could be cut. Pushing Transparency For Health Care Costs We all know that health care still costs too much, and delivers too little for what we pay. With your help, we re trying to do something about that. Here s some of the progress you made possible in Passing New Protections In 2015, with OSPIRG s strong support, the Oregon Legislature passed the state s first comprehensive consumer protections in the area of health insurance networks. When consumers enroll in a health plan, they count on timely access to health care providers. Until now, Oregon law provided few protections to ensure that health plans offer a network that can provide covered services in a timely fashion. The new law requires insurers to provide accurate, actionable provider network information to consumers. We re working closely with state regulators to implement the law, and are making good progress. 7 Photo credits: (left page) Staff; (right page) newspaper- Jon S via Flickr, CC BY 2.0

9 Pushing Back On Secret Prices One reason health care is so expensive is that prices are often kept secret from consumers until they get the bill. This makes it difficult to shop around for a better deal, and also shields high prices from public scrutiny and competition. For these reasons, OSPIRG launched a campaign to require health care providers to disclose their prices in advance. This commonsense proposal was hotly debated in the Legislature in 2015, but it was eventually quashed following an intense lobbying effort from powerful interests. However, we have not given up and believe momentum is growing for action in the coming years. Health Insurance Rate Watch For years, with your help, we have stood up to health insurers when they try to hike their rates without adequate justification saw some of the largest rate hike proposals in years, with many major insurers citing unexpectedly high costs. OSPIRG Foundation s analysis raised questions about the rate proposals, and our members submitted thousands of public comments, but in the end, regulators allowed most of the rate hikes to take effect, concerned that continued high costs for insurers could be unsustainable without premium increases. We are also urging state regulators to push insurers to cut costs more effectively before passing them on to the rest of us. With studies showing that at least one-third of every dollar we spend on health care is pure waste, we know this is possible, but there is much more work to do. OSPIRG s Fight For Health Care In 2015 Supported a new law that requires insurers to provide accurate provider network information to consumers $$$$$ Launched a new campaign to increase transparency of health care prices by health care providers $1 Scrutinized health insurance rate hikes to make sure insurers are doing everything possible to reduce waste and boost quality of care An Expert Voice In The Media Rate increases will be bigger in 2016 than they have been for years and years and will have a profound effect on consumers here, OSPIRG s Jesse O Brien said. Some may start wondering if insurance is affordable or if it s worth the money. It s often a really unwelcome surprise and it can really blow a hole in a family s finances when you get a bill that can be thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands of dollars. -Jesse O Brien, 11/5/15 Moda Health wants to boost premiums an average 25 percent for more than 100,000 Oregonians next year, and other insurers are seeking even bigger hikes, OSPIRG s Consumer Advocate Jesse O Brien said. We re very concerned about some of these rate hike proposals that are larger than we ve seen in years.

10 PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM UNSAFE TOYS OSPIRG Foundation released our 30th annual Trouble in Toyland report in November A DIRTY DECEIT Marcus Moench and Elisabeth Caspari, members of our affiliate CoPIRG, are calling on VW to pay for cheating emissions tests on clean cars. Protecting Consumers Thanks to your support, OSPIRG and OS- PIRG Foundation stood up for consumers in 2015, from ensuring our children s toys are safe to supporting the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Thirty Years Of Toy Safety In November, OSPIRG Foundation released our 30th annual Trouble In Toyland report. For the last 30 years, we ve taken a close look at the safety of toys sold at toy retailers, drug stores and dollar stores. Our reports have led to more than 150 recalls and other regulatory actions. This year s report found 22 potentially hazardous toys, including some with choking risks, toxic chemicals and excessive noise. We are calling on policymakers to protect our families by enforcing existing rules and enacting new regulations to ensure dangerous toys are taken off store shelves. Making VW Pay In September 2015, news broke that international car maker Volkswagen (VW) had cheated on emissions tests for years, selling clean diesel vehicles fitted with defeat devices that emitted as much as 40 times the legal limit of smog-forming pollutants. OSPIRG Foundation kicked off a campaign calling for VW to be held accountable and to pay back the consumers who unknowingly bought these dirty cars. Our national federation held events at VW dealerships, with members who bought the cars joining our call. Defending The CFPB In the four years since the CFPB opened its doors, it has helped more than 17 million consumers and returned more than $10 billion to consumers. OSPIRG helped fight for the creation of the CFPB, and in 2016, helped defend the bureau from attacks by powerful special interests. In 2015, OSPIRG Foundation released the sixth in our series of reports on the CFPB s Public Consumer Complaint Database, Mortgages and Mortgage Complaints. The report reviewed complaints about mortgages and highlighted the inclusion of consumer stories in the database. 9

11 YOU SPOKE OUT Our national coalition delivered 8,500 petitions to the Department of Justice, calling on them to deny BP tax deductions for wrongdoing. CALLING OUT TAX AVOIDANCE OSPIRG s Brittany Cronin speaks to reporters about new data showing that multinational corporations avoid paying taxes. Stopping Corporate Tax Avoidance Many of America s largest corporations use sophisticated schemes to shift their U.S. earnings to subsidiaries in offshore tax havens countries with minimal or no taxes in order to reduce their state and federal tax liability by billions of dollars. These schemes force individuals, small business owners and medium-sized domestic companies to pick up the tab in the form of cuts to public programs, higher tax rates, or taking on more public debt. In the spring of 2015, OSPIRG worked with lawmakers and allied organizations to fend off an attack on a landmark law in Oregon. This law was designed to keep up to $40 million per budget cycle in Oregon rather than stashed in overseas tax havens like the Cayman Islands. OSPIRG s Brittany Cronin traveled the state in the fall of 2015, releasing research to the media and recruiting education and faith leaders to join our call to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden to more aggressively fight to close federal corporate tax loopholes. Companies Write Off Billions When corporations commit wrongdoing that hurts the public, they typically settle allegations out of court. However, too often, some portion of those settlements are considered tax deductible, effectively allowing corporations to write-off wrongdoing as a business expense, leaving taxpayers on the hook for the difference. In October 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and BP reached a proposed $20.8 billion settlement for the company s 2010 oil spill, allowing BP to write off $15.3 billion of that payment as a business expense. More than 8,500 of you helped OSPIRG call on the DOJ to deny tax deductions for the company s misconduct in the final settlement, and OSPIRG Program Associate Michelle Surka testified at a hearing on the settlement in November. Photo credits: (left page, left to right) Office of Rep. Piluso, Staff; (right page, left to right) Sean Kennedy; Staff 10

12 OSPIRG Oregon State Public Interest Research Group 1536 SE 11th Ave., Ste. A Portland, OR (503) NONPROFIT ORG. U.S.POSTAGE PAID BROCKTON, MA PERMIT NO. 430 Address Service Requested 2015 Annual Report OSPIRG Stay up to date on our campaigns: facebook.com/ospirg twitter.com/ospirg