As part of this year's celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the state Public Interest Research Groups, WISPIRG will honor Senator Feingold for his leadership in defending clean air and other public health protections, championing the fight to protect the Arctic Refuge, and cutting anti-environmental subsidies.
At a Washington reception on February 11th, the state PIRGs will honor thirty members of Congress as Public Interest Champions who have been key allies in state and national efforts to protect consumers and the environment.
"Because of Senator Feingold's consistent record of leadership in the fight for clean air and other public health protections, WISPIRG is proud to honor him as a Public Interest Champion this year," said WISPIRG Director Kerry Schumann. "We are particularly proud of the work that we have done together on cutting subsidies that cost taxpayers money while harming the environment."
Over the past 30 years, the state PIRGs have won environmental and consumer victories by taking on special interests across the country and helped to promote and defend national consumer and environmental protections in the halls of Congress. There are now state PIRGs and U.S. PIRG field organizers across the country, giving citizens a voice against powerful special interests that would otherwise dominate the public debate. In Wisconsin, WISPIRG will be marking 15 years of public interest activism with a reception in March where Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin will also be recognized for her work as a champion for the public interest.
"The state PIRGs chose to celebrate our 30 years of action in the public interest by honoring 30 Public Interest Champions who have been leaders in our efforts," explained Schumann. "We hope to honor many more in coming years for courageous work to protect public health and the environment, protect consumers from faulty products and unfair financial practices and get big money out of politics," concluded WISPIRG's Schumann.
The state PIRGs will honor Senator Feingold along with 29 other Public Interest Champions.
