The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation to protect American communities from industrial and water facilities that use and store large amounts of highly hazardous chemicals. The House rejected efforts to gut the bill’s requirement that the most dangerous facilities implement safer technologies. The Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2868) will require …
The Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee today passed the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) by a vote of 11-1. The bill, sponsored by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry and Senate EPW Chair Barbara Boxer, sets the first-ever federal limits on global warming pollution and invests in energy efficiency, …
Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act passing Senate Committee Read More »
Vermont’s energy path is at a cross-road. Vermont Yankee, the state’s sole nuclear power plant, is scheduled to close down in 2012. Currently, the Vermont Legislature is considering whether or not to grant a 20 year license extension to continue operation of the plant through 2032. That choice was discussed at the Shelburne Town Hall …
The debate in Washington, D.C., about health care reform comes down to this: If the insurance companies win, we lose. Insurance companies have a total stranglehold over health care. They are spending $641,000 a day to oppose reform because they benefit by keeping the system as it is…by denying claims, raising premiums, co-pays and …
In July, Ed Mierzwinski, VPIRG’s senior fellow for our federal consumer program, testified at the House Financial Services Committee in strong support of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). We’re working to pass broad new protections for consumers that will minimize the chance that reckless behavior by Wall Street banks and insurance giants can ever …
VPIRG has joined a chorus of product safety advocates from across the country in urging the Obama administration to replace Nancy Nord, head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Caving in to pressure from manufacturers, Nord, a Bush administration appointee announced earlier this year a one-year delay in the enforcement of a new federal …
Vermonters from VPIRG, Vermont AFL-CIO, American Cancer Society and Vermont Interfaith Action gathered to thank Senator Bernie Sanders for leading the charge for health care reform, and encouraged his continued resolve even as the Obama administration may be wavering. We thank Sen. Sanders for being a champion on this critical issue, and to urge him …
VPIRG teamed up with the Central Vermont Humane Society to announce the launch of www.HealthyStuff.org, a new, user-friendly website that shows you which consumer products — including those or your pet — contain toxic chemicals. Created by the Ecology Center, www.HealthyStuff.org provides consumers with 15,000 independent test results on over 5,000 common items including pet …
Nearly half of pet products tested found to contain toxic chemicals Read More »
This is a critical time for health care reform. Extremists have turned to disturbing tactics to promote opposition to reform, and our own Governor Jim Douglas has spoken out against a critical element of reform – the choice of a public plan. VPIRG recently hit the airwaves with TV ads with a clear message: Vermonters demand real health …
Another employee at Vermont Yankee was either drinking on the job or showed up after drinking and failed a random fitness-for-duty test (this time before 10 AM.) How are we supposed to trust Vermont Yankee? The Vermont legislature will decide whether to allow Entergy (tipsy employees and all) to continue to operate Vermont Yankee nuclear …