Maybe you’ve been getting emails from Public Citizen for years.

Or maybe you heard about us for the first time more recently.

Either way, you might be wondering:

“In the 50-plus years since Public Citizen was founded, what have you done?”

“How did Public Citizen’s 500,000 supporters make a difference this year?”

“What’s in store for 2024?”

Let’s dive in.

OVER 50 YEARS OF CITIZEN-DRIVEN PROGRESS

We’ve been around since Richard Nixon was president. (Who would’ve thought back
then that someone would one day disgrace the presidency more than he did?)
Literally millions of people have been part of Public Citizen’s essential and
historic work throughout the past half century.

Here are a few examples of real, lasting progress that Public Citizen activists
and supporters like you have made possible over the years:

Airbags In Every Car
That was us. We battled Detroit for decades. We didn’t stop until we won. And
now nobody would buy — and no company would try to sell — a new car without
airbags.

Getting Dangerous Drugs Off the Market
Through expert and diligent work in the courts and in federal agencies, we have
forced some two dozen unsafe medications to be taken off the market, saving
countless lives. And we have pressured the FDA to require stronger warning
labels for numerous other medicines.

Freedom of Information Act
Thanks to our advocacy, Congress made the Freedom of Information Act into a
vital open records tool that has allowed the American people to find out about
government surveillance, unsafe foods and medicines, FBI spying on Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., and much, much more.

Superfund Sites
We played a critical role in the passage of the landmark Superfund law to clean
up sites contaminated with hazardous waste and to allow the EPA to recover costs
from those responsible.

Exposing the Enron Scandal
Our research revealed possible favors by politically connected government
regulators to Enron — a name now synonymous with willful corporate fraud and
corruption.

Banning Red Dye #2
This carcinogenic, and now infamous, food coloring was banned because of our
four-year campaign to pressure the FDA — which was (and still is) far too cozy
with corporate America — to do its job and protect consumers.

Releasing Nixon’s White House Tapes
We led the litigation that ultimately resulted in the release of 4,000 hours of
Richard Nixon’s secret tape recordings from the White House. Then we led the
litigation that disclosed Nixon’s secret grand jury testimony. (We keep at this
stuff.)

Money in Politics
From the moment the Supreme Court handed down its absurd Citizens United ruling in 2010 — allowing billionaires and Big Business to spend unlimited sums
interfering with elections — we have been a leader in the nationwide movement
for a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling and protect our democracy
from the scourge of money in politics.

Again, those are just a handful of highlights. This list could fill a book.*

WHAT YOU AND PUBLIC CITIZEN DID THIS YEAR

Of course, as impactful as our work has been over the past 50-plus years, the
work we’re doing together — to fight corporate power, to hold government
accountable, to defend democracy — never stops.

Here’s a small sampling of what Public Citizen — that’s you, me, and 500,000
supporters all across America — accomplished in 2023:

* The U.S. government is now putting in place Medicare drug pricing reforms and
other rules that will save taxpayers and consumers more than $100 billion
(that’s billion with a b). And it’s happening thanks to our advocacy.

* Donald Trump will be prosecuted in connection with the January 6 insurrection
— a prosecution that likely would not have occurred without the persistent
grassroots pressure that we helped mount.

* In response to our petition, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration continues to work on a rule to protect workers — especially
farm workers — from excessive heat.

* A proposal for a dangerous fossil fuel facility in Florida was abandoned in
the face of local advocacy we supported and after our legal interventions.

* Michigan passed a law outlawing political deepfakes. At least two dozen other
states are poised to do so, and the Federal Election Commission is
considering action at the national level. We’re leading the charge to prevent
the deepfake sabotage of our democracy.

* We won lawsuits ensuring that the families of meatpacking workers who died
from COVID-19 can hold accountable the businesses where their loved ones were
exposed.

I could go on and on.

WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO TOGETHER IN 2024

Here are some of our priorities for the coming year:

* Mobilize to protect election workers from intimidation and to head off any
effort to sabotage the 2024 election.

* Continue our decades-long campaign to win Medicare for All. America is the
only rich country on Earth that leaves millions and millions of its citizens
at the mercy — or lack thereof, more accurately — of private, for-profit
insurance companies. We will not stop until every American has affordable,
quality health care.

* Intensify our campaign to get insurers to stop fueling the climate crisis
with their backing of fossil fuel projects even as climate impacts lead them
to deny coverage to whole geographic areas.

* Continue our push for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme
Court abomination known as Citizens United — with 22 states, 800 cities and towns, and the overwhelming majority of the
American public on board.

* Block Republican attempts to privatize and cut Medicare.

* Press the Department of Justice to get far more serious about investigating
and prosecuting corporate crime, which takes a truly immeasurable toll on our
society — monetarily and in terms of injury and death — even as so-called
street crime dominates headlines and Republican fear-mongering.

* And much, much more. We are going to be VERY busy.

So there you go — examples of big things that everyday people have been able to
do over the past half century, highlights of what we achieved this year, and a
few areas where we’re going to focus our collective power in 2024.

All by working together as part of this shared project called Public Citizen.

And in case you don’t know, Public Citizen accepts no funding from Big Business
or Uncle Sam. Our independence and integrity simply aren’t for sale. Never have
been. Never will be.

That means everything we do depends on individual supporters chipping in when
they can to help make sure we have the real-world resources to continue fighting
corporate power, holding government accountable, and defending democracy.
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If you can, please help by making a year-end donation today.
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A member of Public Citizen’s board has offered to match anything you contribute
right now dollar-for-dollar. [[link removed]]

DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR MATCH — DONATE NOW
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Better still, sign up as a Monthly Donor today and your contribution will be
matched dollar-for-dollar each and every month for one full year!
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If donating is not a good fit, I understand. I hope you’ll accept that I need to
ask now and again — especially at this time of year — so that we have the
resources to carry out all the essential work you and Public Citizen are doing
together.

Thank you for reading this note and for being part of Public Citizen.

For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

*As you may have seen in earlier messages, I’ve recently co-authored a book, The Corporate Sabotage of America’s Future and What We Can Do About It . The book is designed to educate, to provoke outrage, and to build hope — by
demonstrating the public consensus around controlling corporate power; by
showing what can be done; and by underscoring how the great progress in our
nation’s history has always been driven by people joining together, building
power, and winning victories that seemed impossible. If you contribute $100 or more today, we’ll send you a copy of the book as
thanks. [[link removed]]


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