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September 2003 << Home >> November 2003

October 31, 2003	Consumers Union Expert Available To Discuss Safety Of Cloned Food Animals CU Research Associate Michael Hansen to testify regarding safety of cloned food animals at US Food and Drug Administration hearing Tuesday, November 4, 2003.
October 30, 2003	CU Joins Groups Commending Senator's Opposition of FAA Conference Report Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) showed strong opposition to the most recent version of the FAA Authorization Conference Report.
October 29, 2003	Cell Phone Industry Plays Scrooge Companies Lobby Congress to Deny Consumers the Right to Take Cell Phone Numbers with Them Prior to Holiday Shopping Season.
October 28, 2003	How New Electronic Check Law Affects Consumers
	Testimony On Dietary Supplements Before The Senate Commerce Committee Testimony On Dietary Supplements Before The Senate Commerce Committee by Charles Bell, Programs Director, of Consumers Union
October 27, 2003	CU Cites Importance of Federal Airport Security On the eve of the anniversary of the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, Consumers Union says that baggage and passenger screening at the nation’s airports should remain a federal responsibility.
October 24, 2003	Proposed law hides patient safety data from public The U.S. Senate should reconsider a flawed bill that threatens consumers' ability to compare the quality of care provided by doctors and hospitals, including hospital infection rates.
	CU urges Americans to keep score on Medicare bill Reports about tentative agreements and compromises struck by conferees working to reconcile the flawed Medicare prescription drug bills passed by the House and the Senate in June reveal that the measure may do little to help seniors access affordable prescription drugs. Learn more about Medicare legislation.
October 23, 2003	Safety Tips on Tires From Consumer Reports November 2003 issue.
October 22, 2003	A Model Nonprofit Conversion Act A Model Act Prepared By Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., West Coast Regional Office - 2003
	Bounce protection costs From Consumer Reports November 2003 issue.
	Do you need long-term-care insurance? From Consumer Reports November 2003 issue. If you can’t take care of yourself when you’re old, there are plenty of resources from which to choose: home-health services, adult day-care centers, assisted-living facilities, or nursing homes.
	California Identity Theft and Privacy Laws Compiled by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Consumers Union, West Coast Regional Office - April 2003. Updated October 2003
	New Study: Consumers Socked with $620M in Wireless Fees Last Year A new study from the Center for Public Integrity shows the 10 largest wireless carriers have collected $629 million in “regulatory fees” from consumers that are over and above the advertised cost of wireless service. Although these regulations are a part of the cost of business, some carries charge no regulatory fees, while others charge more than $1 a month. Learn More or Take Action
	CU Lauds Senate Vote on Class Action Consumers Union commended members of the Senate who had the courage today to stand up to powerful corporate interests and vote to preserve the right of state courts to hear class action cases. Read more
	CU Calls Class Action Bill "Anti-Consumer" Victims of discrimination, consumer fraud, gun violence and environmental hazards may never again be able to use their own state courts to hear their class action claims under the so-called Class Action Fairness Act being debated in the Senate today. Read more

October 20, 2003	Advice on preventing spread of antibiotic resistant MRSA MRSA has been a serious problem for years among hospital patients and residents of long-term care facilities. But reports of MRSA in the community are on the rise. The Texas Department of Health offers some helpful advice.
	Advice on preventing spread of antibiotic resistant MRSA
October 16, 2003	CU Joins Groups in a Letter Urging Senate to Support Amendment to Agriculture Approprations Bill The Energy Market Oversight Amendment would make a huge difference in addressing the problems surrounding the nation's energy markets
October 14, 2003	Groups Urging Senate to Support Feinstein/Boxer Amendment Consumers Union joins AARP in a letter urging Senate to Support the Feinstein/Boxer amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.>
October 13, 2003	Ephedra Ban Becomes Law In California Governor Davis signed into law a bill, passed by the California Legislature, to ban the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra. Similar bans of the controversial weight loss and sports supplement have already been enacted in Illinois and New York.
October 09, 2003	Consumers Union Kicks Off "EscapeCellHell.Org" Campaign Consumers ask Congress to enforce their right to keep cell phone numbers.
October 08, 2003	November Consumer Reports Helps Consumers Decide Whether They Need To Buy Long-Term-Care Insurance Few people are able to amass the huge sums of money needed to take care of them in old age. Because finding the resources to pay for help presents a dilemma for many people, Consumer Reports (CR) investigated long-term-care insurance and weighs the pros and cons.
October 07, 2003	CU Supports NHTSA's New Vehicle Rollover Resistance Tests CU urges the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to release detailed test information to the public so that consumers can discriminate between different models and make smarter and safer car-buying decisions CU Media Advisory NHTSA New Car Assessment Rollover Resistance Policy (pdf 1.1MB)
	JAMA research on hospital infections and injuries Senate bill could preempt states' gains on access to hospital safety data.
	FCC Order Clarifying Wireless Phone Number Portability Means Cell Phone Inudstry Has No More Excuses Tuesday, Oct. 7-- FCC order clarifying the remaining implementation issues for cell phone number “portability” eliminates the wireless phone industry's last, flimsy argument for why it can't meet consumers' demands for portable cell phone numbers. Read more
	Letter to Congressman Brown Supporting His Legislation to Have No Fluoroquinolones in Chickens in School Lunch Programs Congressman Brown (D-OH) introduced the School Nutrition Antibiotic Safety Act, H.R. 3022, which would help to ensure the continued efficacy of this new and important generation of antibiotics.
October 06, 2003	Consumer Groups Applaud Appeals Court Rebuke of FCC’s Deregulation of High-Speed Internet Services The FCC must require cable companies to operate their broadband networks in a non-discriminatory manner. Read more
	CU calls on Medicare Conferees to correct flaws in House and Senate-passed bills Members of Congress continue to work behind closed doors to resolve the major differences in approaches between the Senate and House-passed Medicare reform bills. Read more
October 02, 2003	Complaints About Telemarketing Calls? There has been a lot of confusion over the last several days about the Do-Not-Call registry. But if your phone number is on the list, telemarketers are supposed to be leaving you alone. Find out how you can complain to the Federal Communications Commission if your phone is still ringing. Also, take a look at CU President Jim Guest’s testimony before Congress on the Do-Not-Call registry.
October 01, 2003	New York Supreme Court Allows Suit Challenging Empire Blue Cross Deal To Go Forward A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a law passed by the state legislature allowing Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield to abandon its nonprofit status will be allowed to go forward, the New York Supreme Court decided.
	Letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Regarding Opposition to Proposed Rule on Preemption Letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) regarding opposition to proposed rule on preemption.

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