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Reforming the Farm Safety Net: Principles for Accountability

May 23, 2013 | Fact Sheet | Agriculture

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... Read More

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

March 20, 2013 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Natural Resources , Transportation & Infrastructure

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.... Read More

Transportation Tax Provisions within Fiscal Cliff Deal

January 03, 2013 | Policy Brief | Transportation & Infrastructure

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... Read More

Energy Tax Breaks Catch Ride on Fiscal Cliff Train

January 03, 2013 | Policy Brief | Energy

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... Read More

Loan Guarantee Program 101

October 16, 2012 | 101 | Agriculture , Budget & Tax , Energy , Natural Resources

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.... Read More

Farm Bill 101

October 02, 2012 | 101 | Agriculture , Budget & Tax

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.... Read More

Green Scissors Campaign 101

Green Scissors Campaign 101 A basic primer on the Green Scissors campaign and answers general questions about the history and goals of the coalition.... Read More

Analysis of FY13 Continuing Resolution: Special Carve-outs

September 10, 2012 | Policy Brief | Energy , National Security

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.... Read More

Zombie Earmarks in Defense Spending Bill

July 15, 2012 | Fact Sheet | Earmarks & Appropriations , National Security

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... Read More

Congress Relies on Billions from Treasury in Transportation Reauthorization

June 27, 2012 | Policy Brief | Transportation & Infrastructure

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... Read More

Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Data

February 12, 2012 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax

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... Read More

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

February 08, 2012 | Policy Brief | Earmarks & Appropriations , Transportation & Infrastructure

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... Read More

Department of Energy Loan Guarantees: Renewable and Energy Efficiency

December 05, 2011 > Updated: August 29, 2013 | Fact Sheet | Energy

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

Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program: Uranium Enrichment

October 23, 2011 | Fact Sheet | Energy

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

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

October 04, 2011 > Updated: August 29, 2013 | Fact Sheet | Energy

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... Read More

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... Read More

Pentagon Contracting 101

August 23, 2011 | 101 | National Security

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... Read More

Green Scissors 2011

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

Earmark Terms Glossary

July 06, 2011 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Ongoing TCS Analysis of the FY2012 Budget Proposal

March 10, 2011 | Policy Brief |

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

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... Read More

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... Read More

FY2011 Omnibus Appropriations Earmark Database

December 29, 2010 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

TCS Releases Database of FY11 Earmark Requests

December 07, 2010 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

TCS Preliminary Earmark Analysis for FY 2011

November 05, 2010 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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.... Read More

DOD Still Years Away From Managing its Money

September 29, 2010 | Fact Sheet | National Security

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

Green Scissors 2010

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

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

August 06, 2010 | Fact Sheet |

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

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

June 21, 2010 | Fact Sheet | Energy

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

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

June 20, 2010 | Policy Brief | Energy , Natural Resources

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

UPDATE: Earmarks in Defense Authorization Bill

June 06, 2010 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

Exploring the Relationship Between Earmarks and Campaign Contributions

June 02, 2010 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

DOE Loan Guarantees: Overview, Risks, and More

March 18, 2010 > Updated: August 30, 2013 | Fact Sheet | Energy

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.... Read More

Earmarks and Earmarking: Frequently Asked Questions

March 10, 2010 > Updated: August 21, 2013 | Fact Sheet | Earmarks & Appropriations

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... Read More

FY10 Omnibus Disclosed Earmark Numbers

December 10, 2009 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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

December 04, 2009 | Fact Sheet | Natural Resources

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

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

October 29, 2009 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

Contractor Accountability Legislation in Defense Authorization

October 21, 2009 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

UPDATE: Congress Passes Final $42.8 DHS Approps Bill

October 21, 2009 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

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

September 24, 2009 | Policy Brief | Energy

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

Nuclear Industry Subsidies

August 04, 2009 | Fact Sheet | Energy

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

Lastest List of House Members Supporting Mining Reform

August 03, 2009 | Natural Resources

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

TCS Comments on Senate Hearing on Reform of 1872 Mining Law

July 13, 2009 | Natural Resources

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

Congress Sends $106 Billion Supplemental to President

June 25, 2009 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

Department of Energy: Loan Guarantee Program Overview

June 09, 2009 > Updated: August 30, 2013 | Fact Sheet | Energy

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.... Read More

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... Read More

Complete Database of House and Senate Earmark Requests

June 01, 2009 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Bailout Bank Bio: General Motors

June 01, 2009 | Fact Sheet | Budget & Tax

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

Visclosky FY08 & FY09 PMA Client Earmarks

May 28, 2009 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations , National Security

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

Database of FY2010 Earmark Requests

May 06, 2009 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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... Read More

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

March 26, 2009 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax

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

Nuclear Weapons Spending in the Omnibus

March 05, 2009 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

National Security Spending in the Stimulus

February 13, 2009 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

Senate Supports Nuke Labs, Border Fence in Stimulus

January 28, 2009 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

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

January 15, 2009 | Reports & Data | National Security

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

President Signs Earmark-Laden Spending Bill

September 29, 2008 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Stevens Tops FY2009 Earmark Heap

September 24, 2008 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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... Read More

2,321 Earmarks worth $6.6 Billion in Minibus Legislation

September 23, 2008 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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... Read More

Sample of Earmarks in the FY09 Minibus

September 23, 2008 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

House Releases Homeland Security Earmark Letters

September 18, 2008 | Policy Brief | Earmarks & Appropriations , National Security

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

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... Read More

Senate Adds $5.2 Billion in Earmarks to Defense Authorization Bill

September 16, 2008 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations , National Security

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

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

September 11, 2008 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Cost of War Reports

August 30, 2008 | Reports & Data | National Security

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

DOD: $13b to Contractors in Afghanistan

August 20, 2008 | Policy Brief | National Security

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

CBO Lowballs Estimate of Iraq Contracts

August 13, 2008 | Policy Brief | National Security

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... Read More

Senate Energy and Water Earmark Total Nearly Identical to Last Year

August 10, 2008 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Nearly $200 million in Agriculture Earmarks in Senate Bill

August 04, 2008 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

House Earmarks $721 Million in Military Construction Appropriations Bill

July 31, 2008 | Reports & Data | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Senate Doubles House Take of Financial Services Earmarks

July 23, 2008 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Earmarks for Energy and Water Projects Double in House Legislation

July 22, 2008 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Cost of Senate Labor-HHS Earmarks Increase Significantly

July 16, 2008 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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

July 06, 2008 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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

July 01, 2008 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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

June 29, 2008 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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

June 26, 2008 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations

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

$197 Million in Homeland Security Earmarks in Senate Spending Bill

June 25, 2008 | Policy Brief | Budget & Tax , Earmarks & Appropriations , National Security

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

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

June 22, 2008 | Reports & Data | Energy

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.... Read More

House Defense Authorization Earmarks Jump From Last Year

June 12, 2008 | Policy Brief | Earmarks & Appropriations , National Security

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

Database of Congressional Earmarks for FY2008

June 10, 2008 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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

June 05, 2008 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

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.... Read More

Taxpayers for Common Sense Releases New Earmark Database

February 14, 2008 | Reports & Data | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Golden Fleece Award

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

50 Defense Earmarks Not Disclosed by House Defense Committe

June 01, 2007 | Policy Brief | Earmarks & Appropriations , National Security

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

Earmark Transparency One Step Closer

January 16, 2007 | Earmarks & Appropriations

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

Nuclear Subsidies in 2005 Energy Bill

May 24, 2005 | Policy Brief | Energy

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

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

December 31, 2003 | Policy Brief | Energy , National Security

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

Analysis of Authorized Spending in Energy Bill (2003)

November 16, 2003 | Policy Brief | Energy

   

Analysis of Senate Energy Bill of 2003

May 02, 2003 | Policy Brief | Energy

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... Read More

Energy Polluter Poised to Reap $62 Billion in Taxpayer Handouts

January 31, 2002 | Reports & Data | Agriculture , Energy , Natural Resources

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

Weekly Wastebasket

Our weekly reality-check for federal spending. View All

September 13, 2013

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... Read More