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.

If you can, please help by making a year-end donation today.

A member of Public Citizen’s board has offered to match anything you contribute right now dollar-for-dollar.

DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR MATCH — DONATE NOW
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!

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.
 
 
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