Special Features

January 19, 2010 The Honorable Senator Christopher Dodd Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 448 Russell Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Dodd: The Washington Post and several other newspapers report that you are considering dropping the proposal to create an independent and free-standing Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Making this kind of deal with…

Before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, December 16, 2009 Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you very much for inviting us to testify today. Today’s topic is welcome and vital. Perhaps the most astounding feature of the trillions of dollars in public supports conferred on the…

Sol Price, founder of the Price Clubs, was often seen as a moderately gruff man but with a heart of gold. He gave large sums of money to job training and other needs of inner city youth and child advocacy groups. He sought to alleviate poverty no matter who were the victims, including afflicted Palestinians.…

The House bill too weakly regulates the huge derivatives market, the too-big-to-fail hazard, the executive compensation heist and fails to either provide greater power for shareholders or financial consumers. Reigning in the private credit rating agencies is so weak as to permit substantial continuations of these Wall Street rubber stamps of securities. Moreover the legislation…

November 24, 2009 The Honorable Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, Every year, over 40,000 people die on the highways in our country. About 58,000 workers perish due to workplace-related diseases and trauma. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Occupational Safety and Health…

Among Senator Ted Kennedy’s many accomplishments in the U.S. Senate was a little-heralded but critical boost he gave to the Freedom of Information legislation in 1974. At a time when the opposition to this key bill was in need of a countervailing champion, we visited Senator Kennedy, had a very substantive meeting and secured his…

August 5, 2009 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama, We are writing again to urge you to restore the obliterated rights of victims of defective GM and Chrysler cars. Our earlier letter of July 14 has received no reply. The bankruptcy process for GM and…

Dear President Obama and Mr. Henderson, We are writing to follow up on our letter of May 26. We wish to reiterate our overriding message: Before any irreversible moves are made — including, especially, entrance into voluntary bankruptcy — the GM/task force reorganization plan should be submitted to Congress for deliberative review and decision. We…

May 26, 2009 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Fax: 202-456-2461 Mr. Frederick Henderson General Motors Corporation 300 Renaissance Center Detroit, MI 48243 Fax: 815-282-6156 Dear President Obama and Mr. Henderson, There is no question that the reorganization of General Motors, after decades of managerial failure and amidst…

MEMORANDUM GM DEAL REQUIRES CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW BEFORE BANKRUPTCY FILING TO: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Lamar S. Smith, Rep. William Delahunt FROM: Ralph Nader, Sidney Wolfe, Acting President, Public Citizen, Clarence Ditlow, Executive Director, Center for Auto Safety, Robert Weissman, Director,…