The Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG) is a public

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

prominent in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

politics. Founded by politician and consumer advocate

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

and future Congressman

Toby Moffett Anthony John (Toby) Moffett, Jr. (born August 18, 1944) is an American former politician from the state of Connecticut. A Democrat, he served in the United States House of Representatives as the member from Connecticut's 6th congressional distri ...

in 1970, CCAG seeks to promote social, economic, and

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

. Past leadership included Miles S. Rapoport, who led the group from 1979 to 1984. The organization has done extensive campaigning for

clean elections A publicly funded election is an election funded with money collected through income tax donations or taxes as opposed to private or corporate-funded campaigns. In 1974, following the Watergate scandal, the U.S. Congress revised the Federal Ele ...

consumer protection 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 ...

universal healthcare Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured right to health, access to health care. It is genera ...

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

, and against government corruption and

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. It is Connecticut's oldest and largest non-profit public interest group, with over 20,000 citizen members within the state. Some of CCAG's past legislative victories include obtaining expiration dates on dairy products in 1972, passage of the nations second "bottle bill" (five cent returnables on bottles and cans) in 1978, blocking the Interstate 84 expansion to Rhode Island in 1983, passage of the HUSKY (Health Care for Uninsured Kids and Youth) medical program in 1997, and the 2005 passage of the Citizens Election Program. They are not affiliated with any political party and have no set ideology, but regularly endorse electoral candidates and political movements. The organization is currently based in the West End of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, and regularly runs a team of

canvassers Canvassing, also known as door knocking or phone banking, is the systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals, commonly used during political campaigns. Canvassing can be done for many reasons: political campaigning, grassroot ...

References

External links

CCAG Website
Consumer rights organizations Civic and political organizations of the United States Organizations established in 1970 Organizations based in Connecticut 1970 establishments in Connecticut {{nonprofit-org-stub