158 Advocates Send Letter Opposing Plan to Eliminate the CPSC

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829 

Washington, DC – Today, the National Consumers League, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, and 156 other product safety advocates sent a letter to Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, expressing their strong opposition to any attempt to eliminate, defund, or weaken the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The CPSC is an independent federal agency commissioned by Congress to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from consumer products through education, safety standards, regulation, and enforcement.  According to a draft budget document, the Trump administration is finalizing a proposal to eliminate the CPSC and transfer the agency’s functions to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“If implemented, this proposal would eradicate – not reorganize – our nation’s governance of product safety,” the product safety advocates write. “Congress deliberately established an independent agency exclusively charged with the safety of consumer products.  Such independence ensures that product safety issues are treated like the public safety imperative they so clearly are.  We urge you to preserve an independent, bipartisan CPSC and ensure the agency has the appropriate tools, resources, and personnel to carry out its lifesaving mission.”

A copy of the letter can be found HERE  

A video of victims’ parents advocating to protect the CPSC can be found HERE

Letter cosigners:

National Consumers League

Consumer Federation of America

Consumer Reports

Access Ready Inc.

Action on Smoking and Health

Aden Lamps Foundation

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

Aging Life Care Association

America Walks

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Apparel & Footwear Association

Appliance Standards Awareness Project

Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals (APBP)

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

Bicycle Colorado

Bike Cleveland

Bike Jeffco

Bike LA

Bike Oven

Bike Pittsburgh

Bike Walk Savannah

BikeWalkKC

BikeWalkNC

BioInjury

Breast Cancer Prevention Partners

California Bicycle Coalition

Center for Auto Safety

Center for Economic Integrity

Center for Economic Justice

Center for Medicare Advocacy

Center for Pet Safety

Charlie’s House

Child Care Aware of Virginia

ChildSavers

Citizens Action Coalition of IN

Claire Bear Foundation

CommunicationFIRST

Consumer Action

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety

Cribs for Kids

Derrick Stone Safe Sleep

Detroit Greenways Coalition

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

Diversity In Aquatics

Earth Ethics, Inc.

East Coast Greenway Alliance

Economic Action Maryland Fund

Epilepsy Foundation of America

Families for Safe Streets

First Candle

Florida Bicycle Association

Florida Silver Haired Legislature Inc

Food Empowerment Project

Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail

Funeral Consumers Alliance of South Carolina

Georgia Watch

Government Information Watch

Green America

Haddie’s Calling

Hawai’i Bicycling League

Healthy Babies Bright Futures

HealthyWomen

Homestretch Nonprofit Housing Corp.

Human Powered Solutions LLC

Impact Teen Drivers

Jacob Bikes

Joseph A Sanzari Children’s Hospital

Just Strategy

Keeping Babies Safe

Kids and Car Safety

La Isla Network

Lead on Solutions, LLC

League of American Bicyclists

Living Streets Alliance

Local Motion

Madison Bikes, Inc.

Marin County Bicycle Coalition

MassBike

Missourians for Responsible Transportation

Move Redmond

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Napa County Bicycle Coalition

National Association of Consumer Advocates

National Bicycle Dealers Association

National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Association

National Center for Healthy Housing

National Coalition for Safer Roads

National Drowning Prevention Alliance

New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition

Oregon Consumer Justice

Oregon Consumer League

Parents Against Tip-Overs

Parents for Window Blind Safety

Paterson Task Force for Community Action, Inc.

Pennsylvania Downtown Center

People Power United

Pool and Hot Tub Alliance

Propel ATL

Public Citizen

Reconnect Rochester

Responsible Sourcing Network

Ride Illinois

Ride of Silence

Safe Infant Sleep

Safety Research & Strategies

Sciencecorps

Shane’s Foundation, NFP

Shepard’s Watch Foundation

Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition

South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Stop Drowning Now

StopDistractions.org

SwimJim

Tempe Bicycle Action Group

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSP)

The National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Association

Transportation Alternatives

Travel Goods Association (TGA)

Truck Safety Coalition

United States Swim School Association

Unleaded Kids

Virginia Citizens Consumer Council

Vision 2020 Project

Walk ‘n Rollers

Washington Area Bicyclist Association

Whirlwind Wheelchair International

Wisconsin Bike Fed

Yakima Bikes and Walks!

Alissa K. Sandler, Product Safety Advocate

Angela Williams, Product Safety Advocate

Ashley Haugen, That Water Bead Lady

Cindy Mense, Product Safety Advocate

Dr. Free N. Hess, Product Safety Advocate

Elizabeth Hemmerlin, Product Safety Advocate

Ernest Bach, Product Safety Advocate

Garrett Kellermab, Product Safety Advocate

Heather Stephens, Product Safety Advocate

Heidi Perry, Product Safety Advocate

Janet McGee, Parent Product Safety Advocate

Jayshree Kumta, Product Safety Advocate

Judith Solomon, Product Safety Advocate

Kelley Ladick, Product Safety Advocate

Lori Winkler, MSN, RN, TNS, CPEN, Product Safety Advocate

Marjon Manitius, Product Safety Advocate

Marjorie Murray, Product Safety Advocate

Mary Jagim, Product Safety Advocate

Michael Haggard, Product Safety Advocate

Pamela Gilbert, National Consumers League Board Member

Paul Susca, Product Safety Advocate

Robert W Browne, Product Safety Advocate

Sandeep Khatua, Product Safety Advocate

Sarah Sorscher, Product Safety Advocate

Sara Thompson, Parent Safety Advocate

Shayna Raphael, Product Safety Advocate

Stephen W Hargarten, Product Safety Advocate

Taylor Bethard, That Water Bead Lady & Esther’s Mom

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)      

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.    

National Survey Shows a Vast Majority of Americans Want Comprehensive Reform of the 340B Drug Pricing Program

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829  

National Poll Demonstrates Strong Support for Policies That Ensure Qualifying Patients Benefit Directly From 340B Drug Discounts, Hold 340B Hospitals & Covered Entities Accountable

Washington, DC – Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) released results from a new Morning Consult national poll of more than 20,000 American adults, revealing overwhelming concern about the burden of medical debt and strong public demand for comprehensive reforms of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Nearly four in five surveyed adults (78%) support establishing requirements to ensure that qualifying patients directly benefit from 340B drug discounts through reduced out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. More than three in four surveyed adults (77%) believe hospitals should be required to pass 340B savings directly onto patients.

The national poll also found that:

  • 54% of surveyed adults currently have or previously had medical debt, with those in rural areas and the South disproportionately affected. Among adults who have experienced medical debt, more than half (54%) reported skipping additional needed medical care due to cost.
  • Three in four surveyed adults (76%) expressed concern that hospitals benefiting from 340B drug discounts often pursue aggressive debt collection practices against patients.
  • A majority of polled adults strongly supported proposed reforms of the 340B program, including policies to ensure qualifying patients benefit directly from 340B through reduced out-of-pocket costs, allow audits on how hospitals and pharmacies are using the 340B program, and add a requirement that 340B hospitals share a portion of the savings they generate with qualifying 340B patients.

“The 340B program is supposed to help vulnerable patients access and afford life-saving medicines and care, but the evidence shows some hospitals, the pharmacies they contract with, and middlemen are abusing 340B for profit at the expense of low-income and uninsured patients,” said National Consumers League (NCL) CEO Sally Greenberg, JD. “Americans have said loud and clear: They want a 340B program that puts patients first, not profits. Congress must act now to institute comprehensive reforms that restore integrity and accountability to 340B before more patients are left behind.”

The 340B Drug Pricing Program allows hospitals and other covered healthcare entities to access medications at discounted prices from manufacturers with the intent that they pass savings onto patients. However, over time, some hospitals, the pharmacies they contract with, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have manipulated the program into a major profit-generating enterprise. In many cases, 340B hospitals charge patients full price for discounted drugs, keep the difference as profit, provide minimal levels of charity care, and pursue aggressive debt collection practices against the very patients the program was meant to protect.

This April, Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), the Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a report detailing finds from a multi-year investigation of how covered entities abuse the 340B program. In the report, Sen. Cassidy outlined reforms meant to bring greater transparency to the 340B program, including requiring annual reporting on how 340B revenue is used to ensure direct savings for patients and providing clear guidelines to ensure that drug discounts actually benefit 340B-eligible patients.

By the Numbers: 340B Program Abuses Harm American Patients

  • Massive Price Markups. Medicine price markups are 6.6 times higher at 340B hospitals than at independent clinics, and research shows participation in 340B does not improve health outcomes for uninsured and low-income patients.
  • Declining Charity Care. 340B has grown exponentially to become the second largest federal prescription drug program after Medicare Part D. However, only $1 is invested in charity care for every $10 in profit collected by profitable 340B hospitals.
  • Lack of Transparency. Discounted purchases under 340B totaled a massive $66.3 billion in 2023. However, hospitals are not required to disclose their 340B profits or even whether their revenue is used to lower patient costs.

To learn more about the 340B Drug Pricing Program and the need for federal reforms of the program, visit: https://nclnet.org/340b-program/.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)       

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.   

NCL mourns the death of former US Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829 

The National Consumers League mourns the death of Alexis Herman, whom we honored in 1999 with our Trumpeter Award for her service as US Secretary of Labor from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. 

Secretary Herman was raised in Mobile, Alabama, and joined the administration of Jimmy Carter, working as director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau. Herman became active in the Democratic Party and joined the cabinet of President Bill Clinton in 1997. 

Herman championed apprenticeships for women in nontraditional jobs.  After Jimmy Carter became president in 1977, he asked Herman to be director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau. At age 29, she was the youngest person to hold the position.  

After President Bill Clinton was elected President in 1992, he appointed her director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, then appointed her in 1996 to serve as Secretary of Labor. On April 30, 1997, the Senate voted to confirm by a vote of 85–13. Herman was sworn in on May 9, 1997.  Herman was the first Black-American and the fifth woman to serve in the position.  

As Secretary of Labor, Herman earned praise from peers for handling the 1997 United Parcel Service (UPS) workers’ strike.

As secretary, Herman supported the 1996 and 1997 raises to the minimum wage, increasing it by $0.90 to $5.15 per hour by September 1997. She argued the wage hike increased the buying power of workers and later opposed a 1999 Republican-supported plan to raise the minimum wage over three years, instead supporting a two-year timetable for an increase.   

Among Herman’s responsibilities as secretary was the enforcement of child labor laws, including finding Toys R Us $200,000 for violating laws restricting the type of work that may be done, and the number of hours that underage employees may work.  The DOL found that more than 300 teenage employees were working more and longer hours than permitted, and Toys “R” Us agreed to stop the practices.  

Herman supported the United States’ participation in the International Labor Organization’s Child Labor Convention.  

NCL celebrates the many contributions of Secretary Herman during her distinguished career and appreciates the opportunity she provided to NCL to pay tribute to her with our Trumpeter Award in 1999. 

About the National Consumers League (NCL)      

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.  

NCL applauds Senator Cassidy’s effort to shine light on 340B program oversight and accountability

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829  

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, for releasing a new report exposing significant accountability gaps in the federal 340B drug discount program.    

“The 340B program was designed to help vulnerable patients afford life-saving medications—not to boost the bottom lines of large health systems or third-party contractors,” said Sally Greenberg, CEO of the National Consumers League. “Senator Cassidy’s report rightly calls for greater accountability, transparency, and reform. We urge Congress to act quickly so this critical program delivers on its promise to help the patients who need it most.”  

The report raises serious concerns about how hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies use 340B revenue—often with little transparency or direct benefit to low-income and uninsured patients. Key findings include:  

  • Large hospital systems report hundreds of millions in 340B revenue used for vague purposes like “capital improvements,” with no clear patient benefit.  
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers show inconsistent practices in delivering discounts to patients, despite a significant 340B income.  
  • Pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens impose rising fees on providers, making it harder to serve vulnerable patients.  
  • Drug manufacturers report misuse of discounts, including diversion to ineligible patients and duplicate discounts.  

Senator Cassidy proposes reforms to increase oversight, require annual reporting on 340B revenue use, and ensure patients—not intermediaries—benefit from the program.  

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)       

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.   

NCL decries the passage of resolutions weakening tailpipe emission standards

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829 

Washington, DC – This week, the House of Representatives passed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions that restricts states’ rights to establish robust tailpipe emission standards.  

“These resolutions ignore a simple truth: costs are low when clean car standards are high,” said Daniel Greene, Senior Director of Consumer Protection & Product Safety Policy. “Slamming the brakes on robust emission standards will inflict pain at the pump, hamper American competitiveness, exacerbate the climate crisis, and harm public health.  We implore the Senate to stop this assault on American manufacturing, affordability, health, and the environment.”   

Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may issue the State of California a waiver to exceed federal emission standards for motor vehicles.  Other states are permitted to adopt California’s standards.  In 2024, the EPA provided California waivers for the State’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II), Advanced Clean Trucks, and Omnibus NOx rules.  These standards, which have been adopted in full or in part by 17 states, have nationwide benefits: conserving energy, combating the climate crisis, improving health, and reducing pain at the pump. 

Please see this fact sheet detailing the CRAs and their effect on American competitiveness, affordability, health, and the environment. 

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)      

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org. 

Wisconsin High School team wins the 2025 Varsity LifeSmarts National Championship  

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829  

Washington, DC – Today, Wisconsin’s Pewaukee High School students were crowned the 2025 Varsity LifeSmarts National Champions in Chicago, Illinois. Coached by Shawn Prell, the winning team consisted of Logan Nguyen, Max Smith, Ben Varner, Texas Maki, and Landon Pungarcher.   

Joining them in the final match was the North Dakota Sweepstakes 2 team. Coached by Dave Handt and Alesha Knudson, the team consisted of Charlie Enger, Andrian Davilov, Gracie Enger, Dakota Severance, and Rhea Haakenson.   

The 2025 Varsity LifeSmarts National Championship competition featured 46 teams from 35 states vying for the national title. LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League (NCL), continues to provide students with the tools and knowledge needed to navigate today’s complex, global marketplace.    

“Congratulations to the Pewaukee High School students on their victory,” said NCL CEO Sally Greenberg. “Your energy, brainpower, and teamwork truly blew everyone away. We are beyond proud of you and can’t wait to see all the amazing things you’ll accomplish next. Way to make Wisconsin shine!”   

LifeSmarts has empowered teens for 31 years, teaching vital skills like financial literacy to create savvy, market-ready consumers. High schools often miss these life lessons, but LifeSmarts ensures students are ready for college, careers, and independence.  

LifeSmarts sponsors include Amazon, Kenvue, Meta, AARP, American Express, Comcast NBCUniversal, FICO, Melaleuca – The Wellness Company, CBM Credit Education Foundation, Inc., SmartNews, and several state and local sponsors.       

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LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.   

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit https://LifeSmarts.org or email lifesmarts@nclnet.org.  

More than 100 organizations urge full restoration of USDOL/ILAB programming and staffing to fight against child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829    
Washington, DC — In a bold show of unity, more than 100 organizations have issued a new statement urging Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and the U.S. Congress to restore essential programs and staffing levels of the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB), a frontline force in the global fight against child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. ILAB also plays an important role in expanding global labor protections, with the aim of ensuring a level-playing field for American businesses at risk from overseas manufacturing that relies on exploited labor.
In late March, the Trump Administration terminated more than $500 million in ILAB grant programs. The Bureau is now bracing for catastrophic staff reductions and is expected to lose at least half its personnel this week.
For decades, ILAB has stood as a global leader and the primary U.S. government funder of child labor remediation and a major funder of efforts to reduce forced labor and human trafficking internationally.
The signatories of the ILAB-support statement include human rights, labor rights, anti-trafficking, and child rights organizations, as well as representatives of the U.S. business community. Faith-based groups and two of the largest unions in the U.S.—the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers—who share deep concern about the development of children at risk of child labor, are also among the signatories.
We are unified in our message: the United States must not abandon its global leadership role in defending our most vulnerable workers.
The ILAB-support letter and list of signatories can be found here.
A list of quotes from some of the statement signatories follows:
“For decades, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has been the U.S. government’s primary funder of child labor remediation projects around the world. ILAB also funds projects to reduce and end forced labor and human trafficking and to expand labor rights to ensure that American businesses do not face unfair competition from overseas companies that engage in exploitative labor practices. Over the last 25 years, ILAB has played a leading role in the remarkable reduction of global child labor from 246 million to 168 million—by more than one third. Cuts to ILAB’s programming and staff threaten to spark a dramatic increase in global child labor.”
  • Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy, Child Labor Coalition and National Consumers League
“The ILAB team has deep expertise in carrying out important priorities to all Americans, including ensuring that products that come into our country are made free from child and forced labor. It also works on monitoring and enforcing the effective implementation of our trade agreements. The ILAB programs provide a vital tool for our nation to fight against trafficking, child labor and exploitative cheap labor. The elimination of these grants and possible staff positions undermines the interests of workers in the United States and around the world.”
  • Liz Shuler, president, AFL-CIO
“The dismantling of ILAB grants and accompanying staff reductions threatens to unravel decades of progress in combating forced and child labor, human trafficking and exploitation around the world. For over 20 years, ILAB-supported programs have helped uphold the values of dignity, freedom and fairness by supporting grassroots efforts to ensure safe workplaces and human rights protections across global supply chains. Crucially, many of these programs were established to enforce labor provisions in countries where the United States has trade agreements. They help ensure that our trading partners live up to their commitments. Cutting these programs risks turning a blind eye to violations that directly impact the fairness of our trade relationships.”
  • Shawna Bader Blau, executive director, Solidarity Center
“ILAB’s work reflects the values of the American people and the Trump administration by putting American workers and businesses first. Eliminating all ILAB grants instead puts American workers and American businesses last, leading to unfair competition with countries and foreign businesses that are not held to the same laws and standards for labor abuses, forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor.”
  • Nate Herman, senior vice president of policy, American Apparel and Footwear Association
“Workers around the world are at higher risk of exploitation and abuse because of these cuts. Without ILAB programs, more children will end up in dangerous work that could harm their health, disrupt their education, and rob them of their childhood.”
  • Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch
“Forced labor and child labor are ubiquitous in global supply chains, harming the victims and creating an unfair playing field for U.S. workers. For more than two decades, the Department of Labor’s international grant programs have made tremendous strides in combating human trafficking and abuse. That has now ended. The administration’s counterproductive decision to eliminate $500 million in funding for this work undermines progress in the global fight to end forced labor and child exploitation. We strongly urge Secretary Chavez-DeRemer to restore this essential funding immediately and to end the attack on ILAB.”
  • Martina E. Vandenberg, president, Human Trafficking Legal Center
“We call on Secretary Chavez-DeRemer to restore ILAB’s funding. Through our work and partnerships, we have seen how this funding and the bureau’s partnership has been pivotal in addressing forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor by supporting organizations in developing enforceable brand agreements in India and Lesotho, strengthening labor standards for seafood workers in the Asia Pacific, advancing freedom of association in Mexico, and more. The loss of $500 million will have crippling effects around the world and impact those most vulnerable.”
  • Kehinde A. Togun, managing director, Public Engagement, Humanity United
“Restoring these grants gives child laborers a fighting chance at an education, better jobs as adults, and raises wages and living standards world-wide.”
  • Tim Ryan, chair, Global March Against Child Labour

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)      

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.    

LifeSmarts National Championship Coming to Chicago April 24 through 27

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications,202-207-2829  

Chicago, IL – The 2025 LifeSmarts National Championship will be held in Chicago from April 24-27. Located at the Chicago Marriott Downtown, Magnificent Mile, the competition will feature 46 teams from a total of 35 states vying for the national title. LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League, continues to provide students with the tools and knowledge needed to navigate today’s complex, global marketplace.  

Students compete in six competition rounds, culminating in four teams competing on Sunday, April 27, to become the National Champions.

The quiz show format has students answering tough questions, such as:

A. What is the most common way to reduce radon levels in a home? (Environment) 

B. CERCLA is the name of the federal law that established which program? (Consumer Rights) 

C. How many calories are in one gram of fat? (Health) 

D. Because clipboard data is stored in RAM, what happens to it when you shut down your computer? (Technology) 

E. What does the “Rule of 72” calculate? (Personal Finance) 

“We are thrilled to bring the LifeSmarts National Championship to Chicago,” said NCL CEO Sally Greenberg. “LifeSmarts has empowered teens for over 30 years, teaching vital skills like financial literacy to create savvy, market-ready consumers. High schools often miss these life lessons, but LifeSmarts ensures students are ready for college, careers, and independence.”  

LifeSmarts contributors include Amazon, Kenvue, Meta, AARP, American Express, Comcast NBCUniversal, FICO, Melaleuca – The Wellness Company, CBM Credit Education Foundation, Inc., SmartNews, and several state and local sponsors.     

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LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.  

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit https://LifeSmarts.org or email lifesmarts@nclnet.org.    

Answer key: 

  • A) Vent it outside B) Superfund C) Nine D) It is deleted E) How long it will take an investment to double in value, based on its rate of return 

Trump budget proposal would dismantle core health programs          

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Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829       

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) is raising serious concerns about the Trump administration’s proposal to cut the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget by more than 30%. This drastic move would gut essential public health protections, weaken food safety, and threaten scientific progress.    

“This budget is not a strategic approach to the reorganization of HHS; it is a slash-and-burn mentality for programs that everyday Americans rely on,” said NCL CEO Sally Greenberg. “Gutting vital agencies and drastically reducing funding for health care, research, and food safety will put millions of lives in danger—especially the most vulnerable. Especially following a mass layoff, these cuts appear extremely alarming and leave the functionality of programs like HRSA, CDC, FDA, and NIH up in the air.”         

Key proposed cuts include:   

  • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Proposed cuts would eliminate this agency, which supports Medicare, Medicaid, and vital rural and community health programs, leaving millions without essential healthcare.   
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): A 40% budget reduction, from $47 billion to $27 billion, threatens crucial research on diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, while new funding caps could hinder innovation at universities and research centers.   
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Budget cuts would slash the CDC’s funding from $9.2 billion to $5.2 billion, eliminating domestic HIV prevention, chronic disease programs, and research on obesity and heart disease.   
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Shifting food safety oversight to state agencies without adequate resources could increase foodborne illness risks and erode public trust in food safety.   
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): The proposed budget would not only shift the remaining Administration of Community Living programs under CMS but would also move the Office of Pharmacy Affairs from HRSA, allowing CMS to regulate the 340B drug pricing program. 

The budget proposal comes in the wake of ongoing changes at HHS, including the recent dismissal of 10,000 employees. It comes as part of a larger effort to redefine the federal government’s role in healthcare and social services.      

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)        

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org. 

NCL CEO Sally Greenberg mourns the passing of Pope Francis

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By NCL CEO Sally Greenberg

Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829     

Washington, DC – Having just returned from a trip to Argentina, I am especially saddened by the death of Pope Francis, whose cathedral I visited in Buenos Aires. I have admired how Pope Francis radiated love and echoed messages of humility, humanity, kindness, mercy, and decency—qualities that have become all too rare among world leaders.

Francis was a tireless advocate for the poor and the marginalized, and his papacy stood as a beacon of hope and moral courage.

In December 2023, he formally approved allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. In a declaration released by the Vatican, he affirmed, “When people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it. For those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection.

On the issue of immigration, Pope Francis reminded us that “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were emigrants in Egypt, refugees escaping the wrath of an ungodly king.” He called for the consolation of emigrants and pilgrims of every age and country, “of all refugees of every condition who, beset by persecution or necessity, are forced to leave their homeland, beloved family and dear friends to foreign lands.”

The National Consumers League joins millions of admirers around the world in mourning the loss of His Holiness Pope Francis—a man of faith, conviction, and compassion, and a friend to people of all faiths.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)    

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.