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OSPIRG Executive Director Dave Rosenfeld stands up for Oregon consumers, to lower health care costs and watchdog unjustified health insurance premium increases.
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH & EDUCATION
OSPIRG Foundation 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 MISSION
With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, OSPIRG Foundation offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. OSPIRG Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation.
OUR TOP PRIORITIES
Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing and litigation, OSPIRG Foundation stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results.
STANDING UP FOR THE PUBLIC ON HEALTH CARE
As our leaders put the health care reform law into practice, we’re working to promote a more competitive health insurance marketplace that lowers costs for consumers.
PUTTING PUBLIC HEALTH AHEAD OF BIG AG
One in three school-age kids are overweight or obese, yet our government is wasting $16 billion each year on subsidies for sugar-laden, high-fat foods.
CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLES
Corporate tax dodgers cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. That’s why OSPIRG Foundation is working to close the loopholes that allow ExxonMobil, Bank of America and others to shift profits overseas to avoid paying their taxes.
THE FEDERATION OF STATE PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUPS
OSPIRG Foundation is an independent, state-based, citizen-funded organization that advocates for the public interest and is a member of U.S. PIRG Education Fund.
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 that impact our state, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact — here at home and for the country at large.
OSPIRG Foundation Staff
OSPIRG Foundation is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, OSPIRG Foundation speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest. Find out more about our staff
What's New
Consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding vehicle loans and leases have increased sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by OSPIRG and Frontier Group. The analysis suggests that consumers in Oregon and across the United States are facing abusive and deceptive practices from the automobile lending industry.
The maker of Humira, the world’s best-selling drug, faces a new legal challenge over alleged anticompetitive tactics. Monday, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) filed an amicus brief in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that AbbVie’s strategies of reverse payment settlements and creating “patent thickets” have delayed the entry of biologically similar generic drugs (biosimilars) onto the market, costing Americans billions of dollars.
The CDC implemented the eviction freeze on Sept. 4 to reduce the number of people on the streets who could get infected with and spread the COVID-19 virus. Landlords and other groups filed lawsuits attempting to strike down the halt on evictions, so the future of the policy remains uncertain.
The FDA doesn’t have the authority to stop retailers from selling dangerous over-the-counter products such as toxic hand sanitizer. Our safety system is broken, and we need to fix it.
This FTC settlement must be a wake-up call to phone service providers so they do more to protect consumers. If not, the FTC must be vigilant in going after companies that enable the immoral practice of preying on consumers. And the FCC should require providers to block spoofed calls that we all know are scams.
Support us
Your tax-deductible donation supports OSPIRG Foundation’s work to educate consumers on the issues that matter, and the powerful interests that are blocking progress.
Learn More
You can also support OSPIRG Foundation’s work through bequests, contributions from life insurance or retirement plans, securities contributions and vehicle donations.