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Reforming the Farm Safety Net: Principles for Accountability

Every five or so years, Congress has an opportunity to reform agriculture policy in the farm bill, a massive piece of legislation that...

Analysis of Selected Sections of S. 601, Water Resources Development Act of 2013

The Senate's Environment and Public Works committee is taking up a water project bill that could cost taxpayers billions....

Transportation Tax Provisions within Fiscal Cliff Deal

The final agreement signed by the president to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” contains several items related to transportation that...

Energy Tax Breaks Catch Ride on Fiscal Cliff Train

At the 11th hour lawmakers and the White House agreed to a deal on the fiscal cliff. While the deal was crafted to address urgent tax...

Loan Guarantee Program 101

A basic primer on the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program and answers general questions on the history, administration, and overall effect of the program....

Farm Bill 101

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....

Green Scissors Campaign 101

A basic primer on the Green Scissors campaign and answers general questions about the history and goals of the coalition....

Analysis of FY13 Continuing Resolution: Special Carve-outs

H.J. Res. 117 — Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013 was released this morning (9/11/2012). TCS staff will be posting relevant documents and analysis as we digest this proposal over the coming days....

Zombie Earmarks in Defense Spending Bill

The Fiscal Year 2013 defense spending bill heading to the House floor Wednesday is a lesson in why it’s so hard to cut defense spending...

Congress Relies on Billions from Treasury in Transportation Reauthorization

A quick note: This analysis is based upon best available data at the time it was written. As of this posting (6:20pm), the final...

Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Data

The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) is a compendium of more than two thousand tariff waivers which reduce the fees importers pay for a...

Backdoor Earmarks? Slush-y Funds in the Corps of Engineers Budget

(February 8, 2012 | 3:00 p.m.) Below is a chart detailing the number of projects that receive funding in the Corps 2012 Work Plan that...

Department of Energy Loan Guarantees: Renewable and Energy Efficiency

The Department of Energy loan guarantee program that backed Solyndra, a solar panel manufacturer which went bankrupt on August 31, 2011...

Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program: Uranium Enrichment

The Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program was created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide Treasury backed loan...

Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program: Status Update on Proposed, Pending, and Final Applicants

Passed as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program currently has $34.8...

Super Cuts for the Super Committee

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...

Pentagon Contracting 101

Overview Tracking contracts in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is daunting. DOD purchases more than $1 billion of goods and...

Green Scissors 2011

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined environmental, consumer watchdog, and free-market groups today to release Green Scissors 2011, which...

Earmark Terms Glossary

Categories of Earmarks Disclosed Lawmaker: Earmarks Earmarks that appear in the explanatory statement of an appropriations bill for...

Ongoing TCS Analysis of the FY2012 Budget Proposal

The FY2012 Presidential Budget Request was released this morning. TCS staff will be posting relevant documents and analysis as we digest...

Common Sense Cuts—$900 billion in savings over 10 years

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...

TCS Recommended Budget Cuts for the 112th Congress

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...

FY2011 Omnibus Appropriations Earmark Database

(Originally Posted 12/17/2010) Taxpayers for Common Sense has completed an initial database of the 6,706 earmarks worth $8.3 billion...

TCS Releases Database of FY11 Earmark Requests

Taxpayers for Common Sense, WashingtonWatch.com, and Taxpayers Against Earmarks teamed together to develop a database of all fiscal year 2011 earmark requests....

TCS Preliminary Earmark Analysis for FY 2011

Originally Posted 10/19/2010: The FY2011 budget is a mess. Congress has not finished a single spending bill. The House has approved...

Common Sense Reforms for the 112th Congress

As the dawn of the 112th Congress draws near, there are several reforms Congress should enact, regardless of which party is in control....

DOD Still Years Away From Managing its Money

Despite efforts to save billions by improving the way it does business, the Defense Department is not only still years away from being...

Green Scissors 2010

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a number of environmental and consumer groups and a bipartisan slate of Representatives today in...

FutureGen: Massive Clean Coal Project Changes Track, Still Securing $1 Billion Earmarked in the Stimulus

Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the plan to build “FutureGen” a massive commercial “clean coal” facility in Mattoon,...

Federal Loan Guarantees for Nuclear Reactors: Details of the Current Applicants

On February 16, 2010, the Department of Energy offered the first conditional nuclear loan guarantee of $8.3 billion to Southern Company...

Fool Me Once–Energy Legislation Should Include Royalty System for Wind and Solar Projects on Taxpayer Lands

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has refocused Congress’ attention on energy and climate legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid...

UPDATE: Earmarks in Defense Authorization Bill

(June 4, 2010) This week’s Memorial Day Congressional recess gave us a chance to peer under the lid of the House defense authorization...

Exploring the Relationship Between Earmarks and Campaign Contributions

Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Center for Responsive Politics have joined to release a comprehensive database that links campaign...

DOE Loan Guarantees: Overview, Risks, and More

Created in Title 17 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program has received increased scrutiny with the default of a loan guarantee to the solar start-up company, Solyndra....

Earmarks and Earmarking: Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction Earmarks have received a lot of attention in the media, in Congress, and around the water cooler. But despite the interest...

FY10 Omnibus Disclosed Earmark Numbers

Preliminary disclosed earmark totals for the FY10 Omnibus: Transportation/HUD: 1481 worth $1.207...

The Percentage Depletion Allowance (PDA): A Double Giveaway for Hardrock Mining Companies

For decades, hardrock mining companies have benefited from generous tax breaks at the expense of taxpayers, all the while extracting...

UPDATE: President Signs Defense Authorization Bill with $4 billion in Earmarks

(October 30) President Obama signed a $680 billion defense authorization bill this week—the largest such bill ever—with a declaration...

Contractor Accountability Legislation in Defense Authorization

One of the most interesting—and neglected—sections of the annual defense authorization bill steers annual contracting policy both for DOD...

UPDATE: Congress Passes Final $42.8 DHS Approps Bill

(October 21) Congress handed off a $42.8 billion appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security through fiscal year 2010...

UPDATE: The President’s 2010 Budget: Reining in Oil and Gas Subsidies

The president’s fiscal year 2010 budget repeals several long-standing oil and gas subsidies, saving an estimated $31.7 billion over the...

Nuclear Industry Subsidies

Since the nation began using nuclear energy, the federal government has provided billions in subsidies to the industry. More than $85...

Lastest List of House Members Supporting Mining Reform

Early this year, Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced H.R. 699, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009. H.R. 699 would...

TCS Comments on Senate Hearing on Reform of 1872 Mining Law

"We are pleased that Senator Bingaman has begun the process of engaging the Senate in reforming the Mining Act of 1872 by...

Congress Sends $106 Billion Supplemental to President

(June 26) We found 13 undisclosed earmarks worth $1.35 billion in the supplemental, including $904 million for seven C-130J aircraft,...

Department of Energy: Loan Guarantee Program Overview

Created in Title 17 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program has received increased scrutiny with the default of a loan guarantee to the solar start-up company, Solyndra....

Bailout Bank Bio: Chrysler

Chrysler LLC was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan.  In 2007 Cerberus Capital Management took up managing...

Complete Database of House and Senate Earmark Requests

After searching all 99 senate websites (remember the Coleman/Franken Minnesota race is still unresolved), we now have a complete database...

Bailout Bank Bio: General Motors

On June 1st GM filed for bankruptcy protection in order to reorganize. Under the proceeding the company will receive access to an...

Visclosky FY08 & FY09 PMA Client Earmarks

The FBI has subpoenaed various records and documents from Rep. Visclosky’s (D-IN) offices in relation to the previously raided PMA Group...

Database of FY2010 Earmark Requests

Update (May 7, 2009):  It has now been just over a month since the deadline for members to disclose on their websites all FY2010 earmark...

Bailout Bank Bio: Bank of America (and Merrill Lynch)

On September 15, 2008 Bank of America acquired the investment bank Merrill Lynch. Bank of America Bank of America is the nation’s...

Nuclear Weapons Spending in the Omnibus

A look at the nuclear weapons budget in the omnibus reveals that while Congress is keeping nuke funding on a short leash, a controversial...

National Security Spending in the Stimulus

The axe has fallen on the final version of the stimulus bill, and some national security spending ended up on the cutting room floor....

Senate Supports Nuke Labs, Border Fence in Stimulus

 The House and Senate agree on many of the national security-related agencies that should receive stimulus funding. The Defense...

Report: U.S. Spends Over $52 Billion on Nukes

How much does the United States spend on nuclear weapons? Seems like a simple question that the agency charged with tending our nuclear...

President Signs Earmark-Laden Spending Bill

President George W. Bush signed a massive year-end spending bill late Tuesday, just hours before a new fiscal year began. The "Minibus"...

Stevens Tops FY2009 Earmark Heap

As Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) sat today in a federal courthouse while jurors were chosen in the federal trial against him, he received at...

2,321 Earmarks worth $6.6 Billion in Minibus Legislation

After a bit of speed reading, TCS staff came up with earmark totals for the CR/Def/DHS/MilCon bill that was released 13 hours ago. These...

Sample of Earmarks in the FY09 Minibus

It’s slow going looking through the earmarks, but here’s a few – some are repeat customers and some are rookie earmarks. More to...

House Releases Homeland Security Earmark Letters

The House Appropriations Committee has just released the earmark request letters for the 2009 Department of Homeland Security...

FY2009 Appropriations Bills: TCS Analyses and Earmark Databases

The following are links to TCS's analysis and database for each of the FY09 appropriations bills. (Note: With the exception of House...

Senate Adds $5.2 Billion in Earmarks to Defense Authorization Bill

The Senate is expected to pass the 2009 Defense Authorization Bill sometime tonight, but to do so they will have to resolve a raucous...

Sen. Obama (D-IL) Requested $860.6 million in earmarks FY2006-FY2008

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) requested 326 projects worth $860.6 million between FY2006 and FY2008, according to a Taxpayers for Common Sense...

Cost of War Reports

Below are links to the monthly “Supplemental and Cost of War Execution Reports” compiled by the Defense Accounting Finance Service, DOD’s...

DOD: $13b to Contractors in Afghanistan

The Department of Defense paid contractors $13 billion for operations in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2007, according to documents...

CBO Lowballs Estimate of Iraq Contracts

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) got a lot of jaws dropping this week with a report estimating the U.S. has spent $85 billion on...

Senate Energy and Water Earmark Total Nearly Identical to Last Year

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY2009 Energy and Water appropriations bill contains 1,480 earmarks worth $3.50 billion (click here...

Nearly $200 million in Agriculture Earmarks in Senate Bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee included 307 earmarks worth about $197.2 million in the Fiscal Year 2009 Agriculture Appropriations...

House Earmarks $721 Million in Military Construction Appropriations Bill

The House of Representative today passed a bill to fund Military Construction and Veterans Affairs programs in fiscal year 2009 contains...

Senate Doubles House Take of Financial Services Earmarks

The FY 2009 Senate Financial Services Appropriations bill contains 90 earmarks worth $221.3 million (click here to view the database)....

Earmarks for Energy and Water Projects Double in House Legislation

The FY 2009 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill contains 1,465 congressional earmarks for a total cost of more than $3.1 billion...

Cost of Senate Labor-HHS Earmarks Increase Significantly

The FY 2009 Senate Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill contains 942 earmarks for a total cost of more than $847...

Shelby, Milkulski Secure 25% of Earmarks on CJS Spending Bill

The FY 2009 Senate Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill contains 552 earmarks worth $471.4 million, according to an...

House Commerce Justice Science Spending Bill: 1,126 Earmarks, $442,562,000

The FY 2009 House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill contains 1,126 earmarks worth $442,562,000. That is a decrease of 13...

House Labor-HHS Spending Bill: 1,371 Earmarks, $619 Million

The FY 2009 House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill contains 1371 earmarks for a total cost of $619,187,000. The number of projects...

$57 million in earmarks in the House 2009 Financial Services spending bill

The 2009 House Financial Services Appropriations bill contains 197 earmarks for a total of $57 million (click here to see the database)....

$197 Million in Homeland Security Earmarks in Senate Spending Bill

The Senate version of the 2009 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill includes 19 congressional earmarks for a total of...

Oil and Gas Subsidies, Profits and Production: Colorado and Across the Nation

This is the first in a series of state specific analyses Taxpayers for Common Sense is completing on energy industry subsidies, profits and production. The goal of these analyses will be to raise awareness of the national subsidies the oil and gas industry receives....

House Defense Authorization Earmarks Jump From Last Year

A bill recently passed by the House increases the number of Defense Authorization earmarks by more than 20% from last year, according to...

Database of Congressional Earmarks for FY2008

**First posted Feb. 14, 2008** Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) staff and interns have devoted thousands of hours to researching,...

Ending the Earmark ATM: Despite Reforms, Earmarks Continue to Thrive

Congress disclosed 11,234 earmarks worth $14.8 billion in this year’s spending bills. An additional $3.5 billion worth of earmarks were...

Transportation Committee Discloses New Earmarks

The earmark disclosure debutantes are making their way to the floor today in the technical correction bill for SAFETEA-LU (H.R....

Taxpayers for Common Sense Releases New Earmark Database

Despite reform, new database finds that Congress hasn’t lost its appetite for pork Washington, D.C. – Congress has cut earmarks by 23...

Golden Fleece Award

Taxpayers for Common Sense Announces New Golden Fleece Recipient Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority - Taxpayer Funded Cheerleaders...

50 Defense Earmarks Not Disclosed by House Defense Committe

When the House of Representatives passed new rules just a few days into the new Congress requiring lawmakers to disclose the earmarks...

Earmark Transparency One Step Closer

Tonight, the Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the ethics bill to bring earmarks out of the shadowy corridors of the capitol and...

Nuclear Subsidies in 2005 Energy Bill

For more than a half century the federal government has provided billions in handouts to the nuclear power industry. And today the...

A Total Rip-off: Taxpayer Dollars Wasted on the Energy Sector

Nuclear energy, once widely hailed as ‘too cheap to meter,” has become one of the most expensive sources of electricity, due to the high...

Analysis of Authorized Spending in Energy Bill (2003)

Analysis of Senate Energy Bill of 2003

As the Senate brings their energy policy legislation to the floor this week, it is clear that their bill is as filled with perks for...

Energy Polluter Poised to Reap $62 Billion in Taxpayer Handouts

WASHINGTON, DC - Government subsidies to oil, coal and nuclear power industries could double if the Senate passes the House energy bill...

Syria: Excuse 535 To Not Cut the Deficit

Volume XVIII No. 37 Possible action in Syria has become the most recent excuse du jour for Pentagon boosters...