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MEDIA INVITATION: Defying Deregulation: Standing Up for Our System of Safeguards

For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2019

Contact: David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org, (202) 588-7742
Matt Kent, mkent@citizen.org, (202) 454-5119

WHAT: A Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS) briefing on how Congress is confronting the Trump administration’s assault on health, safety, environmental, consumer and worker protections. U.S. Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) will speak about the importance of regulatory safeguards, and an expert panel of CSS leaders will outline progressive efforts to defend public protections.

WHO: U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.)
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
Robert Weissman, president, Public Citizen (CSS co-chair, moderator)
Jack Gillis, executive director, Consumer Federation of America (CSS co-chair)
Lisa Heinzerling, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. professor of law, Georgetown University Law Center
Rachel Weintraub, legislative director and general counsel, Consumer Federation of America
Pamitha Weerasinghe, Washington representative for the Clean Vehicles program, Union of Concerned Scientists
Anna Fendley, associate legislative director, United Steelworkers

WHEN: 4:30-5:30 p.m. EDT, Monday, June 24 

WHERE: 2237 Rayburn House Office Building
45 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C.

RSVP: Please RSVP by June 21 at bit.ly/defyingdereg. If you already RSVPed for the previous date of this event, you do not need to do so again.

 


 

Speaker Bios

U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) – Cicilline serves Rhode Island’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cicilline is a member of the House Democratic Leadership as chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC). He also is a leader in Congress on issues of core American values, serving as chair of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) – Jayapal represents the Seventh Congressional District of Washington State in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a senior whip of the Democratic Caucus, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a co-chair of the Women’s Working Group on Immigration.

Robert Weissman Weissman is president of Public Citizen and a staunch public interest advocate and activist, as well as an expert on corporate and government accountability. He co-chairs the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards.

Jack Gillis – Gillis is executive director of Consumer Federation of America (CFA) where he previously served as director of public affairs since 1983. In addition to being CFA’s CEO, Gillis serves as an advocate on issues relating to auto safety, auto buying, fuel efficiency and consumer protection. In the early 1980’s, Gillis was cited by The New York Times as a leader in the next generation of consumer advocates. He co-chairs the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards.

Lisa Heinzerling – Heinzerling is the Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Her specialties include administrative law, environmental law, food law and torts.

Rachel Weintraub – Weintraub is legislative director and general counsel for Consumer Federation of America (CFA). Previously she was CFA’s director of product safety and has worked with CFA since 2002. Weintraub represents CFA on behalf of consumers before the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Congress, state legislatures and within voluntary standard setting organizations. She leads the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards’ lobbying committee.

Pamitha Weerasinghe – Weerasinghe is Washington representative for the Clean Vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Prior to joining UCS, Pamitha spent six and a half years with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, primarily serving as professional staff on the Subcommittee on the Environment.

Anna Fendley – Fendley is associate legislative director for the United Steelworkers (USW). Fendley has worked in various positions at the USW for a decade, including the past six years in USW’s Washington, D.C., office. She also chairs the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) youth committee, of which she’s been a member since 2014.