Consumers’ to-do list for the new Congress

The November elections were like a starter’s pistol for Consumers Union and other groups that work on consumer issues. Not that CU had slowed its pace, but the power shift in Congress may enable some hurdles to be cleared that have, until now, been frustratingly high.

Here are some of the improvements for consumers that CU seeks from the new Congress and from the Administration:


Health

• Require all clinical trials be made public to prevent drug companies from downplaying negative results.
  
  
• Fix the “doughnut hole” coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription-drug program, which puts a heavy financial burden on consumers. Remove the ban preventing price negotiations with drug companies.
  
  
• Publicize rates of hospital-acquired infections and fund comparisons of prescription drugs to help consumers make more informed decisions.
  
  
• Address the dire problem that 46 million Americans, 8 million of whom are children, have no health insurance.
  
  

Finance

• Increase protections for sensitive personal information and require companies to tell you every time they fail to protect your data. Congress has neglected to strengthen financial privacy and ID-theft protections despite the fact that more than 97 million sensitive consumer records were subject to security breaches in the past two years.
  
  
• Curb unfair credit-card and banking practices such as long check holds, and limit excessive fees for items including late payments and bounced checks.
  
  

Energy

• Address the long-term problems that contribute to price spikes.
  
  
• Set clear targets to reduce consumption, improve fuel efficiency standards, and adequately fund the development of alternative energy sources.
  
  
• Prevent pricing abuse in the energy markets by monitoring for anticompetitive conduct, including the electronic trading of energy futures, which can artificially inflate prices.
  
  

Communications

• Put an end to the anticompetitive practices of cable-TV and phone companies that drive up rates and threaten to control access to the Internet.
  
  
• Ensure a robust and independent media by encouraging competition and preventing conglomerates from dominating local newspapers and TV stations.
  
  

Safety

• Strengthen federal oversight of food and product safety. Create one agency that can act quickly to manage issues such as food contamination and mad cow disease, rather than the patchwork of food agencies that currently exists.
  
  
• Protect children from being backed over by drivers who can’t see them by requiring U.S. carmakers to use technologies that eliminate rear blind zones.