Victories

February

Students successfully fight back against misleading fine print in Corinthian Colleges’ enrollment forms, ensuring their right to hold the colleges accountable in court.

December

Public Citizen successfully pushes for the passage of the STOCK act, which prohibits congressional insider training.

July

A successful Public Citizen lawsuit to obtain documents about the safety of using a cell phone while driving helps spark a national debate about phone usage in automobiles.

April

In response to a Public Citizen complaint against a Freddie Mac lobbyist's extravagant congressional fundraising, the FEC issues the largest civil penalty in its history -- $3.8 million.

December

Public Citizen forces the Department of Transportation to issue new “hours of service” safety rules governing truck drivers.

September

Public Citizen launches a website to track special-interest contributions to President Bush's 2004 campaign.

December

Public Citizen research links political connections to regulatory actions taken by public officials to aid energy trader Enron Corp., which collapsed amid allegations of accounting fraud.

July

A Public Citizen report finds that hospitals in nearly every state violated a federal patient dumping law.

August

Public Citizen releases a publication that lists the 20,125 physicians nationwide who have been disciplined by state medical boards.

A Public Citizen report reveals more than 500 U.S. physicians disciplined for sexual abuse or misconduct, with many still practicing.

Public Citizen leads an effort to defeat damaging Fast Track trade legislation, and publishes on its website secret details of the Multilateral Agreement of Investment trade treaty.

Public Citizen successfully opposes legislation that would have mandated the transport to and permanent storage of the nation’s nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, paid for by government, not nuclear power companies.

Public Citizen launches a new division, Global Trade Watch, to protect public interest safeguards in international trade deals such as GATT and NAFTA.

Public Citizen documents the destructive effects of NAFTA on jobs, consumer protections and the environment with a major report: "NAFTA’s Broken Promises".

Public Citizen helps to enlist nearly 100 co-sponsors for single-payer health care reform bill modeled after the Canadian system.

Public Citizen successfully lobbies Congress to end taxpayer funding for the Advanced Liquid Metal (Breeder) reactor.

Public Citizen publishes the “Green Buyer’s Car Book” and a related consumer guide, providing detailed information on vehicles’ emissions, recycled components and other environmental factors.

Public Citizen releases a report exposing the influence of tobacco money on Congress and uses rallies to support meaningful campaign finance reform.

Public Citizen wins a landmark court victory that preserving the electronic records of the Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Public Citizen releases a report detailing 680 privately funded trips by senators, including all-expense trips to Puerto Rico and Florida paid for by large corporations and trade associations.

Public Citizen’s four-year campaign leads the FDA to severely restrict the use of silicone gel implants except for post-mastectomy patients.

Public Citizen exposes the threat to government health and safety standards posed by Vice President Dan Quayle’s Council on Competitiveness.

Public Citizen wins court ruling allowing a dissident Teamster group – Teamsters for a Democratic Union - to keep its list of contributors confidential.

Public Citizen plays an instrumental role in passing the federal Anti-Car Theft Act, which would reduce the incidence of motor vehicle thefts, facilitate the tracing and recovery of stolen motor vehicles, and require the federal government to create a database for used car buyers containing the mileage, title and history of theft or damage of vehicles.

Public Citizen publishes “Women’s Health Alert”, a handbook of vital health information for women.

Public Citizen plays a key role in the passage of new auto and truck safety laws requiring air bags and head injury protections, and limiting the expansion of big rigs.

The Teamsters union elects new leadership, capping nearly two decades of Public Citizen legal support for pro-reform movement.

Public Citizen publishes the first edition of "6,982 Questionable Doctors", a nationwide listing of 6,892 doctors disciplined for incompetence, negligence, substance abuse and other violations.

Public Citizen initiates a “Doctor Bribing Hotline” for doctors to report unethical or illegal attempts by pharmaceutical companies to persuade them to prescribe one medicine over another. Doctors reported offers of free dinners, airline tickets and cash.

Federal regulation requiring driver-side air bags or passive seat belts in all cars takes full effect after a 20-year Public Citizen battle with auto makers.

Public Citizen wins a ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia requiring FTC regulation of smokeless tobacco products.

Public Citizen successfully campaigns to have offensive R.J. Reynolds cigarette ads withdrawn.

Public Citizen sues the Bush administration for the release of Oliver North’s diaries from the Iran-Contra affair.

The FDA orders tampon manufacturers to implement a standardized system of absorbency ratings to help reduce Toxic Shock Syndrome. This followed a decade-long effort by Public Citizen.

Public Citizen publishes the first edition of “Worst Pills, Best Pills”, a consumer guide to dangerous and ineffective drugs and their safer alternatives, selling 2 million copies over the next 10 years.

Public Citizen leads a successful effort in Congress to strengthen a pesticide law.

Public Citizen publishes “Citizen’s Guide to Radon Home Test Kits”.

Public Citizen wins the U.S. Supreme Court case Virginia v. Friedman, regarding Virginia’s bar admission criteria for non-residents.

Public Citizen issues a report evaluating the decisions of Judge Robert Bork on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, helping to block his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Public Citizen helps persuade Congress to pass legislation restricting the time banks can hold checks.

Public Citizen publishes the first “Nuclear Lemons” report, a nationwide listing of reactors with the worst safety records and other problems.

The Supreme Court in “Bowsher v. Synar” rules in favor of Public Citizen lawsuit, declaring that the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit reduction law violates the Constitution’s separation-of-powers doctrine.

Public Citizen and Democracy Project publish “Freedom From Harm: The Civilizing Influence of Health, Safety and Environmental Regulation”, explaining the importance of regulations in protecting consumers.

Public Citizen plays an instrumental role in the 1986 Tax Reform Bill, especially in lowering taxes for low-income Americans.

Public Citizen successfully petitions the FDA to require a Reye's Syndrome warning on aspirin labels following a campaign that lasted several years.

Public Citizen publishes “Retreat from Safety: Reagan’s Attack on America’s Health”, a book exposing Reagan administration efforts to roll back health and safety regulations.

Public Citizen opens a field office in Austin, Texas, after successfully defeating an effort by Southwest Bell to drastically raise phone prices.

The FDA strengthens warning labels for the anti-inflammatory drugs Butazolidin and Tandearil after Public Citizen cites serious adverse reactions.

Public Citizen pressure defeats special antitrust provisions for beer distributors and preserves a law prohibiting American companies from paying bribes to foreign officials to win business contracts.

Public Citizen wins a historic separation-of-powers case in “Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha” before the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down legislative veto, affecting more than 200 statutes.

Based on a report by Ralph Nader on consumer cooperatives, Public Citizen founds Buyers Up to help consumers save money on heating oil.

Public Citizen participates in a landmark Supreme Court decision overturning President Reagan's revocation of auto safety standards for automatic restraints such as air bags.

Public Citizen wins a legal victory compelling the Department of Labor to commence rulemaking to control the hazardous workplace gas ethylene oxide.

Public Citizen leads a successful effort to block passage of a far-reaching regulatory rollback bill.

Public Citizen persuades Congress not to exempt doctors, lawyers and other professionals from Federal Trade Commission oversight.

Public Citizen leads the defense against congressional attacks on the Freedom of Information Act.

A Public Citizen study of the OSHA enforcement reveals a 50 percent drop in citations of serious violations under the Reagan administration.

Public Citizen helps thwart President Reagan’s attempts to dismantle the Clean Air Act and to diminish authority of Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Public Citizen urges the FDA to ban misleading advertising for the popular tranquilizer drug Valium, and the company withdraws the ads.

Public Citizen publishes “A Worker’s Guide to Winning at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission” and helps counter anti-regulatory efforts.

Public Citizen publishes the best-selling “Pills That Don't Work”, a consumer guide to ineffective drugs.

Public Citizen releases a progress report on the Three Mile Island reactor cleanup, “TMI: One Year in Retrospect”. The report documents safety mishaps at other nuclear power plants and lists accidents involving transportation of nuclear materials.

Pressure by Public Citizen leads to an FDA recall of Rely tampons, linked to toxic shock syndrome.

A Public Citizen petition leads to an EPA ban on the use of DBCP, a pesticide proven to cause sterility in men and cancer in laboratory animals.

Public Citizen publishes a first of its kind directory called “Cutting Prices: A Guide to Washington Area Surgeons’ Fees”, listing fees by named surgeons for 12 common surgical procedures in Washington area.

Congress passes Public Citizen’s National Consumer Cooperative Bill authorizing $300 million in seed money for consumer cooperatives.

Public Citizen publishes the first edition of “Getting Yours: A Consumer’s Guide to Obtaining Your Medical Records” to help consumers gain access to their health records.

Public Citizen mobilizes citizens who persuade President Carter to halt the construction of the Clinch River breeder reactor in Tennessee.

Public Citizen files a class-action suit on behalf of 1,100 women who were given a synthetic form of estrogen called DES, which increases the risk of breast cancer, without their knowledge in the 1950s as part of a University of Chicago medical experiment. The case was not certified as a class, but the 1982 settlement was extremely favorable, including not only a payment but free exams and medical treatment.

The FDA bans Red Dye No. 2 after Public Citizen’s four-year campaign against the carcinogenic food dye.

Public Citizen wins Va. State Board. of Pharmacy v. Va. Citizens Consumer Council, a landmark Supreme Court ruling that the First Amendment applies to commercial speech, overturning a Virginia law that prohibited pharmacists from advertising prescription drug prices.

Public Citizen uncovers a secret deal between the FDA and the Upjohn Company to conceal the contamination of anti-diabetes drug Tolinase with cancer-causing nitrosamine.

Public Citizen forces the Senate Finance Committee to delete 20 special-interest tax giveaways from the 1976 Tax Reform Act.

Public Citizen successfully lobbies for the Sunshine Act, requiring senior government officials to keep records and public logs, and for expanding provisions in the Freedom of Information Act.

Public Citizen wins Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, a U.S. Supreme Court decision subjecting lawyers to federal antitrust laws, making standard fee-setting agreements illegal.

Public Citizen publishes “Through the Mental Health Maze: A Consumer’s Guide to Finding a Psychotherapist” and “Taking the Pain Out of Finding a Good Dentist”.

Public Citizen petitions the FDA to require safety testing for Dalkon Shield and other intrauterine contraceptive devices.

Public Citizen persuades Congress to pass major improvements to the Freedom of Information Act and override President Gerald Ford’s veto.

Ralph Nader creates Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project to mobilize opposition to nuclear power and promote energy conversation and renewable sources.

Public Citizen is instrumental in passing legislation giving the NHTSA subpoena power and authority to order a recall of unsafe cars and to set safety standards for school buses.

Ralph Nader and Joan Claybrook establish Public Citizen’s Congress Watch as Public Citizen’s lobbying and legislative arm.

Shortly after Public Citizen urges action, the FDA bans the Pertussin medicated vaporizer in the wake of the deaths of 18 children.

In response to a petition by Public Citizen and the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, the DOL set an emergency temporary standard for 10 cancer-causing chemicals. The department issued the emergency standard the following year.

Ralph Nader and Alan Morrison establish the Public Citizen Litigation Group to litigate on behalf of consumers.

Public Citizen plays a key role in the creation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Public Citizen convenes a conference of truck drivers to seek safety reforms. The Professional Drivers Council for Safety and Health is formed.

Public Citizen petitions FDA to ban the use of Red Dye No. 2 as food coloring, citing links to cancer and birth defects.

Ralph Nader and Dr. Sidney Wolfe establish the Health Research Group to investigate public health threats and press for reforms. This launched Public Citizen, an organization dedicated to protecting health, safety and democracy.