January 5, 2026: Washington, DC – The National Consumers League applauds Mayor Mamdani and the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for taking bold executive action to combat hidden junk fees, subscription tricks, and traps.
December 16, 2025: Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL), joined by 29 nonprofit, consumer, civil rights, faith-based, and civic organizations, urged congressional leaders to reject H.R. 5179, the District of Columbia Attorney General Appointment Reform Act, today. The organizations warn that the bill would dangerously undermine the independence of the District’s chief law enforcement office and expose nonprofits and consumers to politicized enforcement.
December 12, 2025: Washington, DC – Yesterday, in an Executive Order, President Trump directed his administration to block state-enacted safeguards around artificial intelligence, including the restriction of federal funding to states the White House targets and the creation of a “Litigation Task Force” to challenge states’ consumer protections. NCL wholly opposes these efforts as unregulated AI products create significant risks to the public, from serious issues regarding safety and mental health, to unauthorized uses of consumer data and creative works.
December 8, 2025: When cities crack down on short-term rentals, the headlines often scream “Airbnb vs. Hotels!” — but the story is bigger than a platform feud. Behind the zoning rules and permit limits lies a high-stakes battle over who gets to control the lodging market, and whether “consumer protection” is just a cover for keeping competition out. A recent lawsuit in the Deep South may seem local, but it highlights a national trend with real consequences for travelers, homeowners, and communities alike.
December 5, 2025: Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) is deeply concerned by today’s vote from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to eliminate the long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
December 4, 2025: Washington, DC – Today, the National Consumers League’s Child Labor Coalition is very pleased to announce a significant victory in our fight to strengthen child labor laws in Ohio. Governor Mike DeWine has vetoed SB 50, legislation that would have weakened Ohio’s child labor protections by allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. on school nights.
December 2, 2025: Washington, DC – The Trump administration today released a proposed rule to weaken fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that the proposed standards would achieve a fleet average fuel economy of 34.5 miles per gallon by model year 2031, a dramatic decrease from the 50.4 miles per gallon that the Biden era standards were projected to achieve.
November 21, 2025: Washington, DC — As holiday shopping kicks into high gear, the National Consumers League (NCL) is warning Americans to beware of the wave of scams designed to cash in on the season of giving. “Scammers know the holidays are the perfect storm—consumers are busy and spending more online looking for deals,” said John Breyault, NCL’s Vice President of Telecommunications and Fraud Policy. “They count on you being distracted. Before you click that link or grab that ‘flash deal,’ take a breath and verify it’s real. A few extra seconds of skepticism can save you hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars.”
Washington, DC — Today, on World Children’s Day, Representative Raul Ruiz (CA-25) reintroduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE Act) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) strongly supports this essential legislation, which modernizes outdated federal child labor laws and extends long-overdue protections to child farmworkers—among the nation’s most vulnerable laborers.
November 14, 2025: Washington, DC — The National Consumers League (NCL) applauded the Justice Department’s creation of a new federal Scam Center Strike Force to crack down on cryptocurrency-related fraud. NCL, through its Fraud.org campaign, has long urged stronger action to hold both scammers—and the communication and financial networks they use—accountable for the hundreds of billions lost to fraud each year.
The work of the National Consumers League is making a difference in people’s lives across the country. Meet some of the consumers touched by our programs.
Read about NCL’s impact
Paige, 55, a Nashville wife and mother of two, answered an employment ad for secret shoppers. Before sending payment to the scammers, she reached out to NCL.
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A grease fire flared up in Decklan’s kitchen. As his family scrambled and panicked, fearing that the whole house might erupt in flames, Decklan remained calm. He hurried over to the pantry, grabbed some baking soda, and dumped it on the fire quickly extinguishing the blaze.
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Cincinnati resident Charles, 45, lost his computer business — and health insurance— during a time of economic downturn. A diabetic, Charles was now unable to afford his medication. He stopped taking it which made him seriously ill and put his life at risk.
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Jeremy is a fast-food worker who has been employed at a number of Chipotle restaurants in New York City. When he was just 20 years old, he took part in an NCL research project that revealed that management practices within the fast food chain were putting workers—and food safety for customers—at risk.
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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to hardship for all Americans, it is clear that people of color have been disproportionately burdened. Across the health care continuum, addressing this disparity has become part of the broader conversation about the history of systemic racism and the underlying social determinants of health that negatively affect the mental, physical, and economic health of individuals and entire communities.
The pandemic has underscored persistent health disparities, and there is growing recognition that representation in research and clinical trials can have a profound impact on health outcomes. A lack of representation from racially and ethnically diverse groups in research and clinical trials have typically led to gaps in data, missing the opportunity to assess the full impact of various treatments and drugs across a range of populations. The collection and use of real-world research and data to inform the potential use, risks, and benefits of medical products and treatments can ultimately lead to better health outcomes, particularly for those who have been underrepresented in the past.
Existing efforts to improve inclusion
Efforts to expand diversity and representation in medical research are underway in Congress. Policymakers are encouraging the incorporation of Real World Evidence (RWE) in drug development through the recent Cures 2.0 draft legislation released by Reps. Diana Degette (D-CO-1) and Fred Upton (D-MI-6). While the status quo limits us from effectively reaching underserved populations, the proposed legislation would allow studies that include RWE for some drugs after they have been approved. At the heart of this issue is a growing appreciation that the same therapy can affect different populations in different ways, which is why Cures 2.0 supports collecting data that more accurately reflects the unique experiences and needs of patients across diverse populations.
Recognizing the potential for RWE in maternal health
The lack of representative research in the field of maternal health is undeniable, and its implications are staggering. The dismal state of maternal care in the United States reflects how our health care system has failed women of color, including by not adequately studying treatment options to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality. The need for RWE is clear when you consider the persistent disparities in health outcomes that plague minority communities.
Preterm birth and its disproportionate impact on women of color is a stark illustration of the need to make progress on representative research in maternal health. Preterm birth is the second-largest contributor to infant death in America today. Despite the tremendous physical, emotional, and financial toll that preterm birth continues to take on our country — disproportionately so on women and families of color — not enough therapeutic tools currently exist to prevent it.
Today, “17P,” the only FDA-approved treatment to help reduce the likelihood of spontaneous, recurrent preterm birth in the United States is at-risk of being withdrawn from the market in all its forms, including the branded product and five generic versions. Unfortunately there is conflicting evidence from two different clinical trials, one representative of a diverse U.S. population and another studied in a largely white population in Europe. It’s not a straightforward comparison. If 17P is withdrawn, the women most affected by preterm birth, predominantly women of color, would be left without an FDA-approved treatment option.
The FDA is considering the path forward, including additional data collection through leveraging RWE from past patient use. The success of the first (approval) trial for 17P in the impacted communities signals the importance of RWE. Continued access to 17P is, at its core, a matter of health equity. Black women must not yet again be left vulnerable to a system that historically has overlooked them.
