Dear PIRGIM member,
President Obama is off to a good start. So far, he’s been talking about and, more importantly, getting to work on the most critical items on our agenda. But whether or not we’ll get the change we need hinges on what happens in the next few months.
He’s called for more accountability for banks. He pushed through PIRGIM-backed provisions in his economic recovery package that will provide more than $17 billion to improve public transportation. The recovery package also included a vital increase in Pell Grant funding to help defray the skyrocketing cost of higher education.
But the biggest battles are yet to come.
Wall Street CEOs are digging in to stop any new oversight of their financial dealings. Big insurance and drug companies are marshaling their forces to weaken or neutralize key provisions of the Obama health care plan. Powerful interests across the country are pushing to make sure future transportation dollars go to new roads and highways, not public transit.
Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to make sure the public has a strong voice in all these early decisions by the Obama administration. Together, we’ll continue to make our voice heard in Lansing and in Washington, D.C.
Sincerely,
Steve Blackledge
