Public Citizen is a non-profit, progressive

consumer rights Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

advocacy group and think tank based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, with a branch in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Lobbying efforts

Public Citizen advocates before all three branches of the

United States federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...

. Its five divisions include: Congress Watch; Energy;

Global Trade Watch Global Trade Watch (GTW) is a consumer advocacy organization that focuses on trade policy. Founded in 1995 by attorney Lori Wallach, GTW is a division of U.S.-based think tank Public Citizen. GTW advocates for a greater public role in internatio ...

; the Health Research Group; and

Public Citizen Litigation Group Public Citizen Litigation Group is a public interest law firm in the United States.The group is the litigation arm of the non-profit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen. Its attorneys work on cases involving health and safety regulation, ...

, a nationally prominent public interest law firm founded by Alan Morrison and known for its Supreme Court and appellate practice. Broadly speaking, Public Citizen favors robust corporate accountability and strong government

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

, particularly in the areas of

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

, healthcare, and

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...

. The organization's priorities range from campaign finance reform to drug and auto safety and financial reform. The unifying theme is an effort to curb the impact of

corporate power In social science and economics, corporate capitalism is a capitalist marketplace characterized by the dominance of hierarchical and bureaucratic corporations. Overview A large proportion of the economy of the United States and its labour marke ...

on American democracy. For example, Public Citizen has been a public voice on matters related to drug policy and pricing, exemplified by advocacy surrounding

Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and C ...

and

remdesivir Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, Text was copied from this source which is © European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication developed by the ...

, and the potentially cheaper alternative

GS-441524 GS-441524 is a nucleoside analogue antiviral drug which was developed by Gilead Sciences. It is the main plasma metabolite of the antiviral prodrug remdesivir, and has a half-life of around 24 hours in human patients. Remdesivir and GS-441524 ...

Organization and history

Founded by

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...

in 1971,Nader Forms Unit to Seek Donations
. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. June 2, 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 2017-09-21. Public Citizen is funded by dues and contributions from its members and supporters, foundation grants, and publication sales and does not accept government or corporate funds.

Disassociation from Ralph Nader

In the aftermath of

Ralph Nader's 2000 presidential campaign The 2000 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer and attorney, began on February 21, 2000. He cited "a crisis of democracy" as motivation to run. He ran in the 2000 United States presidential election as the ...

, Public Citizen disassociated itself from its founder. Progressive magazine ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'' wrote about the so-called "rank-and-file liberals” who faulted Nader's U.S. presidential run in 2000 for taking votes away from

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

, thus ensuring

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

’s victory. ''Mother Jones'' also pointed out that Nader’s association with Public Citizen was causing fundraising problems. ''Mother Jones'' cited a letter by Public Citizen to its readership with the disclaimer: "Although Ralph Nader was our founder, he has not held an official position in the organization since 1980 and does not serve on the board. Public Citizen—and the other groups that Mr. Nader founded—act independently."

People associated with Public Citizen

, founder * Joan Claybrook, first Executive Director *

Donna Edwards Donna Fern Edwards (born June 28, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2017. The district included most of Prince George's County, as well as part of Anne Arundel County. She is a member of the ...

, former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

*Robert Weissman, Executive Director *

Mark J. Green Mark Joseph Green (born March 15, 1945) is an American author, former public official, public interest lawyer, and Democratic politician from New York City. Green was New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner from 1990 to 1993 and New York Ci ...

, former

New York City Public Advocate The office of New York City Public Advocate (President of the City Council) is a citywide elected position in New York City, which is first in line to succeed the mayor. The office serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government ...

* Lori Wallach, Director,

* Sidney M. Wolfe, Director, Health Research Group *

Phil Radford Philip David Radford (born January 2, 1976) is an American activist who served as the executive director of Greenpeace USA. He is the founder and President of Progressive Power Lab, an organization that incubates companies and non-profits that b ...

, Former Organizer, Global Trade Watch; currently democracy, clean energy and environmental leader * Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food and Water Watch *Lisa Gilbert, Congress Watch Director

References

External links