Congress Needs to Take On Cost Overruns -- Too often, the lawmakers can't agree on where there is waste in government. The problem is that everything in Washington, D.C. seems to have an army of lobbyists and powerful lawmakers playing defense at the slightest hint of trouble. But we think a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) can break the impasse.

The report found that the 95 Department of Defense (DoD) weapons programs worth $1.6 trillion had had a total of $300 billion in cost overruns. The GAO has been doing this analysis of programs annually since 2000 and cost overruns and delays are actually worse than when they first started tracking.

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• May 2, 2008 -- The Farm Subsidy Derby
• April 25, 2008 -- Political Promises
• April 18, 2008 -- Earmark from Nowhere
• April 11, 2008 -- Overstaying Its Welcome
• April 3, 2008 -- Stranger than Fiction
• March 28, 2008 -- A Shot in the Dark
• March 21, 2008 -- Rewarding Failure
• March 13, 2008 -- Stop Legislative Land Swaps
• March 6, 2008 -- Caving on Farm Bill Reform
• February 29, 2008 -- Shooting the Moon
• February 22, 2008 -- A Missed Opportunity
• February 15, 2008 -- Practicing What You Preach
• February 8, 2008 -- Same Old Song and Dance
• January 31, 2008 -- War Spending Games
• January 24, 2008 -- First Do No Harm
• January 18, 2008 -- Losing Ground on Earmarks
• January 11, 2008 -- Border Boondoggle
• January 4, 2008 -- Resolutions for a Fiscally Responsible Congress
• December 20, 2007 -- Reformers Rebuffed in Farm Bill Debate
• December 14, 2007 -- Same Pork, Different Dance
• December 7, 2007 -- The Great Budget Debacle
• November 30, 2007 -- Giving Thanks for Signs of Progress
• November 21, 2007 -- Top Turkeys
• November 16, 2007 -- The Fires Next Time
• November 9, 2007 -- Record Prices, Record Ripoff
• November 4, 2007 -- Cultivating Cash
• October 26, 2007 -- Make Mining Companies Pay Their Share
• October 19, 2007 -- Money for Nothing
• October 12, 2007 -- Drowning in Debt
• October 4, 2007 -- Budget Breakdown
• September 28, 2007 -- One Down, One to Go
• September 21, 2007 -- Choking on Interest
• September 14, 2007 -- Wall Street Windfall
• September 7, 2007 -- A Tale of Two Chambers: The Senate
• August 31 , 2007 -- A Tale of Two Chambers: The House
• August 23, 2007 -- Katrina's Rough Ride
• August 17, 2007 -- Raising Cane in Congress
• August 9, 2007 -- Pork Over Transportation Priorities
• August 2, 2007 -- Cram Session on Capitol Hill
• July 27, 2007 -- Congress' Long Red Road
• July 20, 2007 -- Crop Insurance Companies Growing Profits
• July 12, 2007 -- Fueling the Final Frontier
• July 6, 2007 -- Ruckus in Ramstein
• June 29, 2007 -- Congress Should Take a Pass on Pay Raise
• June 22, 2007 -- Another Day in the Farm Bill Kangaroo Court
• June 15, 2007 -- Return of the Earmark
• June 8, 2007 -- Crazy for Coal
• June 1, 2007 -- Hiding the Bacon
• May 25, 2007 -- Pimp My Budget
• May 17, 2007 -- Contractors Behaving Badly
• May 10, 2007 -- Gold Diggers
• April 27, 2007 -- A Reliable Rip-off
• April 20, 2007 -- Water Pork Bill Floats Through Congress
• April 13, 2007 -- Congressional Couch Potatoes
• April 7, 2007 -- Ethanol-a-holics
• March 30, 2007 -- Veni, Vidi, Veto
• March 23, 2007 -- The Buck Should Stop Here
• October 24, 2006 -- Lawmakers in Glass Houses...
• October 4, 2006 -- Fortified Waste
• September 26, 2006 -- Congress's Growth Industry
• September 19, 2006 -- Half-Baked
• September 6, 2006 -- Legislative Lesson Plan
• August 28, 2006 -- Big Profits in the Big Easy
• May 12, 2006 -- Break the Veto Streak
• April 20, 2006 -- Fool's Gold
• March 31, 2006 -- Contractors Gone Wild
• March 15, 2006 -- Pulled Pork
• March 3, 2006 -- Big Error Nets Billions for Big Oil
• February 13, 2006 -- Looking for Cuts in All the Wrong Places
• January 31, 2006 -- Federal Flood Fiasco
• January 20, 2006 -- The Corrupting Power of Earmarks
• January 13, 2006 -- The Cost of Congressional Corruption
• December 12, 2005 -- A Dark Day for the Dukestir
• November 22, 2005 -- Burning Bridges to Nowhere
• November 14, 2005 -- How a Spending Cut Became an Increase
• October 28, 2005 -- Big Oil Blowout
• October 21, 2005 -- The Spineless Senate
• October 19, 2005 -- Bechtel Bonanza
• October 11, 2005 -- Cashing in on Katrina
• October 3, 2005 -- Flying High on the Taxpayer Dime
• September 23, 2005 -- The Dangers of the Iron Triangle
• September 9, 2005 -- FEMA's Fiscal Disaster
• August 26, 2005 -- The Duke of Hazard
• August 18, 2005 -- Outerspace Waste
• August 16, 2005 -- Kill the Bill Vol. 2: The Transportation Bill
• August 5, 2005 -- Kill the Bill Vol. 1: The Energy Bill
• July 26, 2005 -- Hosed by Water Subsidies
• July 15, 2005 -- Choking on Asbestos
• July 12, 2005 -- Up the Fiscal Creek Without a Paddle
• July 1, 2005 -- Drunk on Ethanol
• June 24, 2005 -- Out of Gas
• June 17, 2005 -- Home Improvement, DC Style
• June 10, 2005 -- The Department of Waste
• June 3, 2005 -- Coastal Piracy
• May 26, 2005 -- A Ticking Tax Bomb
• May 16, 2005 -- A Pain in the Tongass
• May 6, 2005 -- Banking on Deficits
• April 28, 2005 -- Martha Stewart Living at the TSA
• April 19, 2005 -- Bigger Isn't Always Better
• April 11, 2005 -- Wal-Mart Welfare
• March 28, 2005 -- A Funny Thing Happened...
• March 21, 2005 -- Virtual Insecurity
• March 14, 2005 -- Port Security, Not Pork Security
• March 7, 2005 -- Is Nothing Sacred?
• February 25, 2005 -- Beach Budget Bingo
• February 18, 2005 -- A Litmus Test on Spending
• February 11, 2005 -- Driving Up the Deficit
• February 4, 2005 -- Just Say Veto
• January 28, 2005 -- Groundhog Day Energy Policy
• January 21, 2005 -- Homeland Insecurity Spending
• January 10, 2005 -- Fear Factor Accounting
• December 15, 2004 -- Money Down the Drain
• December 6, 2004 -- A National Embarrassment
• November 29, 2004 -- Earmark to Nowhere
• November 22, 2004 -- Auditing the IRS
• November 12, 2004 -- Defense Spending Pork Fest
• November 5, 2004 -- A Simple Fiscal Plan
• October 29, 2004 -- "Soft" on Security Spending
• October 22, 2004 -- Swing State Subsidies
• October 15, 2004 -- Pork Train Heads Out of Town
• October 8, 2004 -- Congress Goes Whole Hog
• October 1, 2004 -- Snake Bitten by Salmon Subsidies
• September 24, 2004 -- Highway Funding Hits a State Roadblock
• September 17, 2004 -- Bring back the Truman Committee
• September 10, 2004 -- Debate the Deficit
• September 3, 2004 -- Federal Nips and Tucks
• August 27, 2004 -- Sold Down the River
• August 20, 2004 -- Missile Defense Politics
• August 13, 2004 -- Swing State Energy Policy
• August 6, 2004 -- A Bait and Switch on Budget Deficits
• July 30, 2004 -- A Tale of Two Programs
• July 24, 2004 -- An Ode to Gridlock
• July 16, 2004 -- Stumping for Subsidies
• July 9, 2004 -- Billion Dollar Blunders
• July 1, 2004 -- Homeland Honey Jar
• June 25, 2004 -- Wired for Waste
• June 18, 2004 -- The Fabric of Fiscal Waste
• June 10, 2004 -- Ticketgate
• June 4, 2004 -- Don't Forget Afghanistan
• May 28, 2004 -- Nuking the Budget
• May 21, 2004 -- Keep BRAC on Track
• May 14, 2004 -- No "Blank Check" for War Spending
• May 7, 2004 -- The Costs of Secrecy
• April 30, 2004 --Contracting Catastrophe
• April 23, 2004 --The True Costs of Iraq
• April 16, 2004 -- Ready to Burst
• April 9, 2004 -- Coast Guard's Deepwater in Hot Water
• April 2, 2004 -- Road Rage
• March 26, 2004 -- Paved with Pork
• March 19, 2004 -- Prescription Propaganda
• March 12, 2004 -- Cronyism, Inc.
• March 5, 2004 -- Lie, Cheat, and Steal
• February 27, 2004 -- More Defensive Dominoes Need to Fall
• February 20, 2004 -- Road Rage
• February 13, 2004 -- A Free Lunch
• February 6, 2004 -- Where's the (Budget) Beef?
• January 30, 2004 -- Last Line of Defense
• January 23, 2004 -- This Talk Ain't Cheap
• January 16, 2004 -- Budget Surplus Fever
• January 9, 2004 -- Wrong Axe, Mr. President
• December 19, 2003 -- Lumps of Coal
• December 12, 2003 -- A Step Back in Iraq
• December 5, 2003 -- Derail the Pork Train
• November 26, 2003 -- Giving Thanks?
• November 21, 2003 -- Kill the Energy Bill
• November 14, 2003 -- Powered by Pork
• November 7, 2003 -- Rein in the Money Grubbers
• October 31, 2003 -- On Fire
• October 24, 2003 -- One Expensive Facelift
• October 17, 2003 -- Freeloaders, Inc.
• October 10, 2003 -- Abominable Agency Audits
• October 3, 2003 -- Do the Right Thing in Iraq
• September 26, 2003 -- Contractor Nation
• September 19, 2003 -- Subsidy Storm on the Horizon
• September 12, 2003 -- Superfund Running on Empty
• September 5, 2003 -- Government Workforce Explodes
• August 29, 2003 -- Watch Your Wallets! Congress is Back
• August 22, 2003 -- Recall the Rhetoric
• August 15, 2003 -- Lowballing Land Values
• August 7, 2003 -- NRO Has Got to Go
• July 31, 2003 -- Dam the Taxpayer
• July 25, 2003 -- Methane Madness
• July 17, 2003 -- Deficit Disorder
• July 10, 2003 -- Congress' Own "Big Dig"
• July 3, 2003 -- The Rich Keep Getting Richer
• June 26, 2003 -- A Boon to Boeing
• June 19, 2003 -- Bloated Government Gets Diet Plan
• June 12, 2003 -- NIH Pharms Out Profits
• June 5, 2003 -- Creamed By the Corn Belt
• June 1, 2003 -- Selling Security Snake Oil
• May 21, 2003 -- Derailing Amtrak
• May 15, 2003 -- Anti-Drug Dollars Up in Smoke
• May 8, 2003 -- Halliburton's Road to Riches
• May 1, 2003 -- Go George Go
• April 24, 2003 -- Fiscal Fiasco at TSA
• April 18, 2003 -- Jet Fighter Should Be Grounded
• April 11, 2003 -- Christmas in April for the Energy Industry
• April 4, 2003 -- That Sinking Feeling
• March 28, 2003 -- Basic Math for the DoD
• March 21, 2003 -- The Financial Cost of War
• March 13, 2003 -- Missing the Forest for the Trees
• March 5, 2003 -- Using Armed Forces as a Pawn for Pork
• February 28, 2003 -- Close the SUV Tax-Break Loophole
• February 21, 2003 -- 8 Ways to Trim the Fat
• February 14, 2003 -- Digging into the Taxpayers' Wallet
• February 7, 2003 -- Pork Hamstrings NASA's Mission
• January 31, 2003 -- Big Government, Big Time!
• January 24, 2003 -- Uncle Sam Slams Big Brother
• January 17, 2003 -- Close This Corporate Tax Scam
• January 10, 2003 -- Trillion With A "T"
• January 3, 2003 -- Stimulating the Budget Deficit
• December 6, 2002 -- Rewarding Political Hacks
• November 26, 2002 -- Six Feed Under and Still Getting Social Security
• November 22, 2002 -- Westlands or Wastelands?
• November 15, 2002 -- Jettison a Jet Fighter
• November 8, 2002 -- The Cost of Elections
• November 1, 2002 -- Federal Programs That Go "Boo!"
• October 25, 2002 -- Corporations Should Pay Their Fair Share
• October 18, 2002 -- The Long Road to Military Reform
• October 11, 2002 -- A Disaster of a Plan
• October 4, 2002 -- The Hunt for Election-Year Pork Intensifies
• September 27, 2002 -- Politics and the Budget Don't Mix
• September 20, 2002 -- Weighing the Costs of Invasion
• September 12, 2002 -- Congress Should Act on Fisheries Law
• September 6, 2002 -- Dam Removal is the Only Solution
• August 30, 2002 -- Caviar Crowd
• August 23, 2002 -- Giving Away the Store
• August 16, 2002 -- A Call to Fiscal Security
• August 9, 2002 -- Hail to the Chief Executive Officer
• August 1, 2002 -- Ag Subsidies Undercut Foreign Aid
• July 26, 2002 -- End Federal Contracts to Corporate Traitors
• July 17, 2002 -- Cooking the Books at Taxpayer Expense
• July 12, 2002 -- The Wildfire Blame Game
• July 3, 2002 -- End Corporate Tax Havens
• June 27, 2002 -- All Aboard the Reform Train
• June 21, 2002 -- Missile Impossible
• June 13, 2002 -- Celebrating a Century of Subsidies
• June 7, 2002 -- Big Airlines Benefit from Bailout Bill
• May 31 , 2002 -- The Bush Budget Two-Step
• May 23, 2002 -- Campaigning on the Taxpayer' Buck
• May 17, 2002 -- Chapter 11 May Bankrupt Taxpayers
• May 10, 2002 -- Is it Possible to Cancel a Weapons System
• May 2 , 2002 -- The Energy Bill Scam
• April 26, 2002 -- The Farm Bill Fiasco
• April 17, 2002 -- Taming the IRS Pit Bulls
• April 12, 2002 -- Choice Cuts for the Budget
• April 5, 2002 -- An Idea That Won't Fly
• March 29, 2002 -- Road Woes at the Forest Service
• March 21, 2002 -- A Costly Love Connection
• March 15, 2002 -- Make Polluters Pay
• March 8, 2002 -- A Sinful Tax Giveaway
• February 28, 2002 -- Keep the Corps Cuts
• February 22, 2002 -- Paying for Disinformation
• February 15, 2002 -- End the Clean Coal Program
• February 8, 2002 -- A Bloated Budget
• February 1, 2002 -- It Is Time for Campaign Finance Reform
• January 25, 2002 -- Belt Tightening in the New Deficit Era
• January 18, 2002 -- Enron: One of the Nation's Worst Tax Scofflaws
• January 10, 2002 -- Budget Blame Game
• January 4, 2002 -- New Year's Resolution: Restraint
• December 17 , 2001 -- Striking Gold
• December 7 , 2001 --Farm Bill Fallacies
• November 26, 2001 --Nuclear Power Play
• November 21, 2001 --New Water Legislation Raids Taxpayers' Pockets
• November 15, 2001 -- Now You See it Now You Don't
• November 13, 2001 --A Fishy Deal8
• November 6 , 2001 --New Jet Fighter Will Take Taxpayers for a Ride