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House Commission Tackles Ethics Enforcement
To address the ethics scandals that shook Congress last fall, the House adopted strong new ethics standards at the start of the year. Rep. Michael Capuano (Mass.) was selected to chair the Ethics Enforcement Task Force, which aims to revamp enforcement of these rules. The task force is expected to offers its recommendations this summer.
MASSPIRG advocates creating independent enforcement of ethics, as well as other reforms to ensure that Congress is held accountable. In an op-ed that ran in area papers, MASSPIRG’s Executive Director Janet Domenitz made the case for an independent ethics enforcement office, citing the 23 states which use a similar model to oversee their legislatures.
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Taking On Toxic Toys To Protect Public Health
On Monday May 7, MASSPIRG Executive Director Janet Domenitz testified at a hearing of the Joint Committee on Natural Resources in support of a bill that would eliminate some of the toxic chemicals used in products for small children.
Sen. Karen Spilka filed the bill, SB 545, An Act To Protect Children From Toxic Toys. The bill would eliminate the use of two types of chemicals—phthlates and Bisphenol A—from products for children under three years of age.
Exposure to phthlates, chemicals used to make plastic flexible, poses risks to human development and fertility, along with other health problems. Bisphenol A is an estrogen-mimicking, hormone-disrupting chemical. Lobbyists for the chemical industry showed up in droves to oppose the bill, which is still pending in the Committee.
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Exposing College Loan Lender Practices
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MORE TRANSPARENCY WITH STUDENT LENDING COMPANIES—Mass Student PIRG Program Director Saffron Zomer speaks to WBZTV 38 Boston, calling for more transparency in college loan lender practices. |
In the wake of revelations about the student loan industry’s unscrupulous practices, MASSPIRG’s campaign to increase student aid and cut excessive lender subsidies is getting new attention at the state and federal levels.
Investigations have revealed cases of undisclosed financial relationships and perks provided by private lenders wanting a place on colleges’ preferred lender lists. These revelations in other states have prompted Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to announce her own investigation. The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education also responded by adopting a Code of Ethics for Massachusetts institutions, which it believes will simply formalize the practices currently followed. MASSPIRG students plan to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend the Senate mark up of the Higher Education Access Act, that will increase student aid and cut the excessive lender subsidies that are at the root of the problems which plague the loan industry.
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Fighting To Keep Cable Under Local Control
In June, MASSPIRG Consumer Advocate Eric Bourassa testified in opposition to legislation filed by telecommunications giant Verizon that would remove or restrict elements of local control over the cable franchise process.
Currently, in return for allowing cable companies the use of public rights-of-way, municipalities negotiate a number of commitments from the cable provider that benefit consumers. It is because of these franchise agreements that providers must offer cable services to every member of a community, and cannot discriminate based on a neighborhood’s demographics or income profile. Many of these benefits include financial and technical support for local public, educational and government channels.
Other protections include customer service standards that require cable companies to credit consumers for service outages, answer customer service calls in a timely manner, and offer discounts to senior citizens.
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Cell Phone Users’ Bill Of Rights
MASSPIRG urged members of the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee to support consumer protections for cell phone customers at a May 15 public hearing at the State House. The bill—The Cell Phone Users’ Bill of Rights (SB 1982, HB 3389)—was filed jointly by Rep. Steve Walsh (Lynn) and Sen. Karen Spilka (Ashland).
Complaints to the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees the wireless industry, continue to come in at a rate of 25,000 a year for the last 3 years.
“[Cellular providers] act like they can charge customers whatever they want, whenever they want, even improperly, and not be held accountable,” asserted Michelle Chisholm, of Norfolk, a former Nextel customer who switched to Sprint before the two companies merged, who testified before the committee.The bill would improve disclosure of fees and coverage areas, limit contracts to one year, provide an avenue for consumers to dispute charges, and provide better information on service quality.
The bill would improve disclosure of fees and coverage areas, limit contracts to one year, provide an avenue for consumers to dispute charges, and provide better information on service quality.More.
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