Analysis of Selected Provisions in Hurricane Sandy Emergency Spending Proposals
December 17, 2012
Subsidizing Oil Shale: Tracing Federal Support for Oil Shale Development in the United States
November 29, 2012
Several administrative changes could be implemented to reduce taxpayer costs and limit the unintended consequences of federal crop insurance. ...
Taxpayers for Common Sense awarded the Golden Fleece to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency for wasting taxpayer funds on risk management education for crops ranging from Christmas trees to turf grass....
The so-called Farm Bill currently being negotiated in Congress is shaping up to be another taxpayer-funded handout to wealthy landowners,...
Federally subsidized crop insurance has become the largest taxpayer support for agriculture. But not all parts of the agriculture...
The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation that guides food and farm policy. It covers wide-ranging topics from rural broadband service to farm subsidy payments....
The agricultural safety net refers to the various federal programs and policies that insulate agricultural producers from the costs of conducting business....
A basic primer on the Green Scissors campaign and answers general questions about the history and goals of the coalition....
In the summer of 2011, Congress sent the President a bill that acknowledged failure. Instead of swallowing hard and coming up with...
Special interests are always looking for a silver lining. This year, it’s the farm lobby and sympathetic politicians shamelessly taking...
Citing record drought conditions throughout the country, the House is debating today legislation to retroactively extend four...
Federal farm programs are ripe for reform, especially those that lock in record high prices and guarantee farmers’ expected income. As...
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are trying to take advantage of the drought crisis to foist a trillion-dollar farm bill on...
Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee released its 2012 Farm Bill draft which eliminates some wasteful commodity programs but...
On June 21, the Senate passed a few long-awaited reforms to the farm subsidy maze. Unfortunately, at the same time, they also increased...
Left-Right coalition identifies practical steps Congress could take to slash deficits, save natural resources....
Like all businesses, agricultural producers face a number of risks in maintaining a profitable enterprise. Successful management of these...
(Originally published June 8, 2012)
With debate on the 2012 Farm Bill underway on the Senate Floor, proponents of this nearly trillion...
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a report that will help you study up for this Wednesday’s Senate Farm Bill mark-up...
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a report detailing the potential to save more than a billion dollars a year...
Federal crop insurance is a highly taxpayer subsidized program that allows agricultural producers to shift their business risk onto...
Taxpayers for Common Sense today released a report detailing the heavily subsidized biofuels industry's political clout.
The biofuels...
It is time to end the wasteful tradition of subsidizing the corn ethanol industry. Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a diverse coalition of...
Taxpayers for Common Sense has been working hard to meet the challenge of that the so-called Super Committee is facing - $1.2-1.5...
Taxpayers for Common Sense has been working hard to meet the challenge of that the so-called Super Committee is facing - $.12-1.5...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined environmental, consumer watchdog, and free-market groups today to release Green Scissors 2011, which...
The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) is the largest subsidy to corn ethanol, the most common biofuel in the U.S. The tax...
The time has come for Congress to begin a serious discussion about how it is going to correct the current budgetary path into deeper and...
AGRICULTURE
Total Cut: $110 billion
Outdated and ineffective farm policies waste billions of federal funds each year, jeopardize...
The time has come for Congress to begin a serious discussion about how it is going to correct the current budgetary path into deeper and...
The Armed Services Committees are not the only Congressional bodies to see their memberships upended by the midterm elections.
The...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a number of environmental and consumer groups and a bipartisan slate of Representatives today in...
The President’s proposed FY2011 Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget is $25.8 billion, slightly reduced from the FY2010 level of $26.9...
Just months after a new multi-billion dollar five year farm bill was passed into law, a federal watchdog reports that individuals who are...
The following are links to TCS's analysis and database for each of the FY09 appropriations bills. (Note: With the exception of House...
Overview
For over 70 years American taxpayers have been doling out billions of dollars every year to underwrite the agriculture sectors’...
Taxpayers for Common Sense works with a broad range of groups to enact significant farm policy reform. With the farm bill up for...
Written Statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the House passage of the farm bill conference report....
Dear Congressman,
We urge you to vote no on the farm bill conference report, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 that is...
Dear Congressman,
We urge you to vote no on the farm bill conference report, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 that is...
The Honorable George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Congress...
The Honorable George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Congress appears...
Support Congressmen Flake’s and Ryan’s Motions to Instruct Farm Bill Conferees
Dear Representative,
As the farm bill conference process...
Below is a copy of the proposal reportedly put forth the by the Bush Administration over the weekend. It’s hard to say whether this is...
The President’s response to House and Senate conference committee negotiators. The President proposed 13 potential offsets to pay for...
The Honorable George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Congress appears...
February 2008 letter to House Speaker and Minority leader, and Agriculture Committee chairman and ranking member. Letter is from 14...
The Honorable George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Congress appears...
February 2008 letter to House Speaker and Minority leader, and Agriculture Committee chairman and ranking member. This letter is from 14...
The Honorable Edward Schafer
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC...
February 6, 2008
From surfing subsidies to the Great Wall of Bedford, Indiana, Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire’s Golden Fleece Award protected...
Washington, D.C. - The following is a statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action)...
The federal government has relied primarily on two policy tools in recent years to help mitigate the financial losses experienced by crop...
Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS), on TCS’s...
The FRESH act introduced by Senators Lugar and Lautenberg, and co-sponsored by Senators Cardin, Menendez, Reed, Hatch, Collins and...
Dear Representative:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action) urges you to support Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s (D-TX) amendment to strike a...
Dear Representative:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action) urges you to support Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s (D-TX) amendment to strike a...
Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the introduction...
Dear Chairman Peterson and Ranking Member Goodlatte:
During reauthorization of the 2007 Farm Bill, we strongly urge you to...
Testimony of Steve Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's hearing on...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues outdated, depression-era farm subsidy policies that funnel billions of dollars to...
Dear Budget Committee Member:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action), a nonpartisan, budget watchdog group, urges you to oppose...
Dear Budget Committee Member:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action), a nonpartisan, budget watchdog group, urges you to oppose any...
Dear Member of Congress:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action, a nonpartisan, budget watchdog-group, urges you to support efforts to improve...
Dear Representative:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action), a non-partisan budget watchdog, strongly urges you NOT to...
Dear Speaker Hastert and Leader Pelosi:
Earlier this month several Members of Congress sent you a letter supporting the inclusion of...
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we urge you to support the following twoamendments to the Agriculture... ![]()
Dear Representative:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action urges you to support amendments from Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and...
Letter to chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Budget Committees urging them not to include a farm bill extension in the...
Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement by Jill Lancelot, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the Senate refusal to...
Dear Senator:
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action) strongly urges support of the Grassley- Dorgan Farm Program Reform amendment...
Dear Senator:
The undersigned organizations have long advocated reform of our crop subsidy system. Now, with added federal expenditures...
Washington, D.C. - The following is a prepared statement by Franz Matzner, Policy Analyst of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the World Trade...
July 20, 2004
The Honorable Jeff Flake
United States House of Representatives
424 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear...
Fixed Direct Payments, or ‘decoupled payments’, provide farmers with direct income unrelated to the market. Many argue that direct income...
Washington, D.C. - The following statement was released today by Steve Ellis, Senior Director of Water Resources at Taxpayers for Common...
Washington, D.C. - The Senate decision today to approve the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that will increase the use of ethanol to 5...
Washington, D.C. - Statement by Cena Swisher, Senior Director at Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the House Supporting Payment Caps in Farm...
Washington, D.C. - The following statement is from Joe Theissen, Executive Director of Taxpayers for Common Sense in response to final...
Letter from EPA Administrator Whitman to California Governor denying their request for a waiver from the oxygen content requirement of the...
Washington, DC - The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on an appropriations bill today that is riddled with unnecessary...
Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH) today offered two separate amendments to the House Agriculture spending bill that would eliminate...
Our weekly reality-check for federal spending. View All
While Washington is wringing its hands about the automatic across-the-board budget cuts known as...
December 17, 2012
November 29, 2012