PUBLIC CITIZEN: you deserve to feel good about this

Some high-profile politicians are praising the work you and Public Citizen do together:

“If Public Citizen had not been created 50 years ago, it would have to be created today — so in need are we of ... everything Public Citizen has accomplished to keep America healthier, safer, more just, more democratic.”
— Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“The vision of this organization — you’ve been doing it for 50 years — is standing up for the most marginalized members of the human family.”
— Sen. Raphael Warnock

“Public Citizen always drives toward making change. Not just talking about change, but actually making change.”
— Sen. Elizabeth Warren

“Abraham Lincoln ... spoke of government of the people, by the people, and for the people — which is what Public Citizen fights for every single day of the year.”
— Rep. Jamie Raskin

These members of Congress were among the many dignitaries who attended our recent gala celebrating Public Citizen’s first 50 years of holding Big Business and Uncle Sam accountable.

I wanted to share those remarks with you because you deserve to feel good about the positive impact you have as part of this shared project called Public Citizen.

I also want to highlight just a few examples of what we’ve accomplished together in the first half of 2023 and our top priorities for the remainder of this year.

BIG WINS SO FAR THIS YEAR

• Our campaign for lower drug prices gave Medicare power to negotiate with Big Pharma, which will save consumers and taxpayers on the order of $100 billion.

• We led the way in organizing nearly 100 nationwide events demanding accountability on the two-year mark of the January 6 insurrection. And we have continued calling for Donald Trump, other insurrectionists, and their supporters to be held accountable.

• We have represented in court the families of people who lost loved ones in nursing homes due to outrageous misconduct, defeating efforts by nursing home chains to escape accountability.

• Working with insulin users, we broke the insulin cartel, plummeting the price of a product discovered a century ago and paving the way to end the outrage of more than a million people rationing access to a lifesaving drug.

• We organized one of the first convenings in Washington, D.C., policy circles on the threats posed by artificial intelligence. And we petitioned the Federal Election Commission to adopt rules that would outlaw the use of deceptive deepfakes in elections.

TOP PRIORITIES FOR SECOND HALF OF 2023

• We are gaining sponsors in Congress for Medicare for All, building the movement so we can one day finally provide health care as a right in the United States.

• We are growing nationwide support for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, pushing for two more state resolutions to add to the 22 states that have already called for an amendment.

• We are campaigning to pressure Toyota to embrace electric vehicles and stop lobbying against clear car requirements and climate action.

• We are advocating in states and cities all across America for robust rules to defend election workers and protect elections from sabotage.

• We are standing up to Big Tech, demanding aggressive regulation of artificial intelligence before it quickly spins out of control and enables disinformation and commercial deception on a scale never before known.

If donating today is not a good fit, that’s okay. I hope you’ll understand that I need to ask now and again so that we have the real-world financial resources to carry out all the essential work you and Public Citizen are doing together.

Thank you for being part of Public Citizen.

For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 

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