Wall Street Reform Scorecard: Alaska Senators Ranked

Published: May 26th, 2010

Did They Vote For Main Street or Wall Street?
A leading state public interest advocacy organization compared a series of key votes of U.S. Senators during consideration of the Restoring American Financial Stability Act this month and found that Senator Begich supported Main Street over Wall Street 91% of the time and [...]

Senate Takes Historic Step Towards Reining in Wall Street, Protecting Consumers

Published: May 20th, 2010

Senate passage of the Restoring American Financial Stability Act, S. 3217, tonight was long over-due and sets the stage for final passage of an historic reform. This bill to rein in Wall Street is a bill that Main Street will like. While the bill isn’t perfect, it includes strong measures to [...]

Amendment to gut consumer protection in Wall Street reform fails

Published: May 6th, 2010

Today the Senate soundly defeated (38-61) the dangerous amendment to the independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau included in the Senate’s Wall Street reform bill.  Kudos to Senator Begich, who joined the bipartisan vote against this dangerous amendment.  Unfortunately, Senator Murkowski sided with Wall Street instead of Main Street, in supporting the [...]

Wall Street Reform Amendment Guide Tracks Public Interest Votes

Published: April 30th, 2010

A new publication from the Alaska Public Interest Research Group released today guides Senators through the maze of amendments likely to be offered for the Restoring America’s Financial Security Act of 2010 and indicates which way to vote – “yes” or “no” – in the public interest.
The Wall Street Reform Amendment [...]

The DISCLOSE Act is a Critical First Step to Prevent a Corporate Takeover of Democracy

Published: April 29th, 2010

Thursday saw the introduction of the long-awaited Schumer-Van Hollen legislative reaction to the Supreme Court’s disastrous ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission.
The DISCLOSE (Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections) Act includes a series of strong and necessary reforms which will help protect American elections [...]

AKPIRG quoted in the Anchorage Daily News

Published: March 8th, 2010

In today’s Anchorage Daily News story about a crucial campaign finance reform initiative in the state legislature, AKPIRG’s Matt Wallace is quoted as saying of the Supreme Court’s disastrous January ruling in ‘Citizens United’:
“That decision didn’t invent the problem of big-money influence in politics — we all know that big money too often can buy [...]

AKPIRG on KTUU: Supreme Court Decision takes Big Money influence on politics from bad to much, much worse

Published: January 25th, 2010

You can read the transcript here, or just check out this clip:

Here’s some more background on the issue:
Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission
• For more than sixty years federal law has banned corporations from spending their treasury funds directly on elections.
• With it’s Jan. 21, the Roberts Court turned back the clock. Campaign [...]

Our Guest Column in the Anchorage Daily News

Published: January 25th, 2010

This guest column in the Anchorage Daily News expands on our recent blog post Murkowski and the Big Money Lobbyists, with new information regarding campaign contributions and greater detail on the Senator’s proposals regarding the EPA.
You can read the piece on the Anchorage Daily News website, or the text is below:
Murkowski EPA Attach [...]

KTUU Covers Our Toy Safety Report

Published: November 28th, 2009

AkPIRG releases annual toy safety report
by Channel 2 News staff
Saturday, November 28, 2009

According to AkPIRG’s report, some toys on shelves still contain lead — despite federal recalls of 1.3 million toys for lead paint this year alone.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Public Interest Research Group is warning parents to keep safety in mind when shopping [...]

Anchorage Daily News Covers Our Toy Safety Report

Published: November 25th, 2009

Toy risks include lead, plastics, group warns parents
REPORT: Small parts and loud sounds are also on the hazard list.
By NATASHA T. METZLER
The Associated Press
Holiday shoppers should look out for toy hazards such as small parts, loud sounds, soft plastics and lead contamination, consumer advocates warned Tuesday.

These dangers were highlighted by the U.S. Public Interest Research [...]

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Consumer Protection

Alaska PIRG has been invested in protecting consumers for more than 35 years. From cracking down on Payday Loans to protecting against price gouging and reporting on unsafe products, AKPIRG continues to stand up against powerful interests on behalf of ordinary citizens.

Paid Sick Days

Nearly 120,000 Alaskans work full-time jobs with no policy for a single day of paid sick leave. These men and women are forced to choose between a paycheck and their own health, or that of a family member when struck with an illness as simple as the common cold.

Alaska Public Interest Research Group is a non-partisan, non-profit, citizen oriented statewide organization researching, educating and advocating on behalf of the public interest. AKPIRG exists to promote the public and consumer interests, especially when inconsistent with moneyed, powerful or other special interests.