Policy Briefs
Analysis of Selected Provisions in Hurricane Sandy Emergency Spending Proposals
December 17, 2012
Reports & Data
Subsidizing Oil Shale: Tracing Federal Support for Oil Shale Development in the United States
November 29, 2012
Golden Fleece Awarded to Risk Management Agency for Risking Taxpayer Dollars
December 13, 2012 |
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.... 
Fiscal Cliff Fix
December 05, 2012 |
Congress and the President do not need to plunge taxpayers off a “Fiscal Cliff”. Common sense solutions can make government work and put the country on sound footing to deal with our deficits and debt....
Haves and Have-Nots in Federal Crop Insurance
October 31, 2012 |
Federally subsidized crop insurance has become the largest taxpayer support for agriculture. But not all parts of the agriculture...
Agricultural Safety Net 101
October 02, 2012 |
The agricultural safety net refers to the various federal programs and policies that insulate agricultural producers from the costs of conducting business....
Green Scissors Campaign 101
October 02, 2012 |
A basic primer on the Green Scissors campaign and answers general questions about the history and goals of the coalition....
Sliding Past Sequestration: $2 Trillion in Common Sense Cuts to Avoid the Fiscal Cliff
October 01, 2012 |
In the summer of 2011, Congress sent the President a bill that acknowledged failure. Instead of swallowing hard and coming up with...
Not So “Supercritical” Spending
September 28, 2012 |
Coal-fired energy production is one of the oldest and most profitable industries in the world. Yet despite decades of success, the well-established coal industry remains on the federal dole. ...
Congress’ Tortured Math in MAP-21 (Trans. Reauthorization)
September 27, 2012 |
The just-passed MAP-21 (transportation omnibus) is paid for! It reduces the debt over 10 years!
By $16.3 billion,if CBO is to be...
Golden Fleece Awarded to Riverboat Ripoff
August 30, 2012 |
Taxpayers for Common Sense awarded the Golden Fleece to Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) for introducing H.R. 4342, the WAVE4 Act. This legislation would codify recommendations made by barge operators to increase the federal subsidy for inland waterway construction projects on the nation's rivers....
Big Oil Makes Top Dollar
August 12, 2012 |
The first half of 2012 has brought more multi-billion dollar profits for major oil companies. So far, these companies have raked in more...
With Agriculture Disaster Aid Congress Pays Now, Hopes to Save Later
August 01, 2012 |
Citing record drought conditions throughout the country, the House is debating today legislation to retroactively extend four...
Coal Industry Profits
July 26, 2012 |
For centuries the federal government has been in the business of providing billions in subsidies to coal companies in order to ensure...
House Farm Bill Draft Analysis: Squanders Savings, Recycles Wasteful Ideas, and Creates New Subsidy Entitlement Programs
July 05, 2012 |
Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee released its 2012 Farm Bill draft which eliminates some wasteful commodity programs but...
Green Scissors 2012
June 26, 2012 |
Left-Right coalition identifies practical steps Congress could take to slash deficits, save natural resources....
MOX Misses the Mark
June 19, 2012 |
Despite the ever-increasing price tag, incessant delays in progress, and known safety risks, the Department of Energy continues to pour federal subsidies into the Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) program year after year. ...
Spending Even Less, Spending Even Smarter
May 07, 2012 |
Watchdog Groups Identify Nearly $700 Billion in Wasteful Spending on National Security...
Farm Safety Net Proposals that Fail to Save
April 22, 2012 |
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a report that will help you study up for this Wednesday’s Senate Farm Bill mark-up...
California HSR Project Cuts Costs but Federal Taxpayer Still on the Hook
April 05, 2012 |
In response to growing public opposition, questionable project merit, and an increasingly bloated cost, the California High Speed Rail...
Big Oil Tops $150 Billion in Profits in 2011
March 01, 2012 |
With annual financial reports being released this time of year, the oil and gas industry is looking to continue its decade long trend of...
Oil Profits Stay High; Needless Subsidies Continue
February 02, 2012 |
It appears the oil and gas industry is looking to continue its decade long trend of record profits. As of February 2nd, Chevron, Exxon...
FY13 Defense Budget Scorecard
January 27, 2012 |
The Defense Department today gave the public a peek behind the cover of its Fiscal Year 2013 budget request, releasing a report and fact...
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Too Costly for Taxpayers
January 18, 2012 |
Carbon capture and storage (CCS), also referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is the process of separating carbon dioxide (CO2)...
The Department of Energy FutureGen Initiative
December 19, 2011 |
The latest iteration of the Department of Energy’s FutureGen project (find a timeline here) is a federal initiative to finance and...
Cashing In: Biofuels Industry Buys Congress’s Continued Support
November 09, 2011 |
Taxpayers for Common Sense today released a report detailing the heavily subsidized biofuels industry's political clout.
The biofuels...
Big Oil, Big Profits
October 30, 2011 |
Another quarter, another unsurprising set of reports of huge profits for the oil companies. Continuing to be some of the most profitable...
Super Cuts for the Super Committee
September 15, 2011 |
Taxpayers for Common Sense has been working hard to meet the challenge of that the so-called Super Committee is facing - $.12-1.5...
Myth v. Fact: Oil and Gas Companies’ Effective Tax Rate
August 12, 2011 |
Oil and gas companies have complained that they pay an effective tax rate of 41%....
Essentially Wasteful: The Essential Air Service
August 03, 2011 |
Congress has split town leaving an important deal unfinished. Yes, the debt ceiling got raised, but there’s another important piece of...
Big Oil, Big Corn: An in-depth look at the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit
August 01, 2011 |
Big Oil, Big Corn: An in-depth look at the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit
Corn has been subsidized since the 1930s, but it was...
Spending Less, Spending Smarter: Recommendations for National Security Savings FY 2012 to FY 2021
July 20, 2011 |
Watchdog Groups Identify Nearly $600 Billion in National Security Spending Cuts
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The federal government could save...
House Should Support Stronger Reforms to the Wasteful Essential Air Service
July 20, 2011 |
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to the House of Representatives urging strong reforms of the wasteful and outdated...
The Most For Our Money—Highlighting Solutions for the Nation’s Transportation Problems
May 15, 2011 |
Transportation dollars are tight. The gasoline tax that we rely on to build and maintain our transportation networks isn’t enough to meet...
The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit: History and Current Policy
April 29, 2011 |
The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) is the largest subsidy to corn ethanol, the most common biofuel in the U.S. The tax...
HR 1363 FY11 Defense/CR Only Cuts $4.4B
April 06, 2011 |
Not that it’s anything to sneeze at, but HR1363 the “Department of Defense and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011” that the...
Ongoing TCS Analysis of the FY2012 Budget Proposal
March 10, 2011 |
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
February 12, 2011 |
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 Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Tax Expenditures
February 10, 2011 |
Tax Expenditures
Total Cuts: $624 billion
Cuts Include:
Mortgage Interest Deduction
Cut: $390 billion
LIFO
Cut: $52.9...
TCS Recommended Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Transportation
February 10, 2011 |
Transportation
Total Cuts: $18.7 billion
The nation’s transportation system is broken, as the gasoline tax that each of us pays at the...
TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Energy
February 10, 2011 |
Energy
Total Cuts: $42 billion
Taxpayers have been subsidizing the same mature, polluting energy technologies for decades. Many...
TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: National Security
February 10, 2011 |
NATIONAL SECURITY
Total Cuts: $95 billion
Total Achieved Savings: $7 billion
For too long, the defense budget was considered...
TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Agriculture
February 10, 2011 |
AGRICULTURE
Total Cut: $110 billion
Outdated and ineffective farm policies waste billions of federal funds each year, jeopardize...
TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Infrastructure
February 10, 2011 |
Infrastructure
Total Cuts: $6 billion
For nearly two centuries, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has been a way for lawmakers to...
TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: General
February 10, 2011 |
General
Total Cuts: $421+ million
Cuts Include:
Shift Congressional Pensions to Defined Contribution
Overseas Private Investment...
TCS Recommended Budget Cut List No. 2: Total Cuts $205+ billion
February 10, 2011 |
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
January 11, 2011 |
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 and the Grocery Manufacturers Association Hold a Briefing on the Impacts and Future of the Corn
November 17, 2010 |
Also in attendance is Iowa State University economist Bruce Babcock.
Click hereClick herePolicy Briefs:
"Let the VEETC Expire:...
Fiscal Commission Defense Cuts: Strong Start, More Can be Done
November 12, 2010 |
The draft recommendations released this week by the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform propose...
DOD Still Years Away From Managing its Money
September 29, 2010 |
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
August 23, 2010 |
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a number of environmental and consumer groups and a bipartisan slate of Representatives today in...
DOD Tries to Shave Billions From Contracting Costs
June 29, 2010 |
The scent of defense acquisition reform is heavy in the air again. Just don’t call it acquisition reform.
The Defense Department...
Senate Climate Bill Loads up Taxpayer Giveaways
May 11, 2010 |
Today Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) will release their long awaited climate legislation, the American Power Act....
North Shore Road: Final Agreement a Win for Taxpayers
February 10, 2010 |
An agreement was signed this week that settles a long-standing dispute about what to do with the North Shore Road in the Great Smoky...
2010 Defense Budget Winners and Losers
January 29, 2010 |
The day last April when Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed the Defense Department’s 2010 budget has become known as “Black Monday.”...
Obama to Contractors: Don’t Cheat Uncle Sam
January 22, 2010 |
It was payback time for President Obama this week when he threw down the gauntlet to tax-dodging contractors.Taxpayers pay contractors...
MilCon, VA and State Department Funding in Omnibus
December 11, 2009 |
The House of Representatives drove home a $447 billion omnibus spending bill yesterday loaded with six of the seven appropriations bills...
Contractor Accountability Legislation in Defense Authorization
October 21, 2009 |
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, 2009 |
(October 21) Congress handed off a $42.8 billion appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security through fiscal year 2010...
Congress Sends $106 Billion Supplemental to President
June 25, 2009 |
(June 26) We found 13 undisclosed earmarks worth $1.35 billion in the supplemental, including $904 million for seven C-130J aircraft,...
Bailout Bank Bio: General Motors
June 01, 2009 |
On June 1st GM filed for bankruptcy protection in order to reorganize. Under the proceeding the company will receive access to an...
Fact Sheet: Border Fence Costs Out of Bounds
April 26, 2009 |
Congress mandated the constuction of hundreds of miles of fencing along our Southern border in 2006 without any real knowledge of its...
TCS Releases Space Security Database
April 07, 2009 |
Space is crucial to our national security, and we’ve got the skyrocketing budgets to prove it. The United States spends billions on...
TCS on Gates Defense Budget Cuts
April 05, 2009 |
The boom finally lowered on the Pentagon’s budget today, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates revealing the major weapons cuts...
Bailout Bank Bio: Bank of America (and Merrill Lynch)
March 26, 2009 |
On September 15, 2008 Bank of America acquired the investment bank Merrill Lynch.
Bank of America
Bank of America is the nation’s...
F-22: No More Second Helpings
March 18, 2009 |
Goodness, the difference an economic crisis can make. A few years ago, advertisements by defense contractors arguing that the U.S. should...
Nuclear Weapons Spending in the Omnibus
March 05, 2009 |
A look at the nuclear weapons budget in the omnibus reveals that while Congress is keeping nuke funding on a short leash, a controversial...
Bailout Bank Bio: AIG
March 03, 2009 |
UPDATE: March 4, 2009.
After reporting a $61.7 billion quarterly loss – the biggest single quarter loss ever – in early March AIG asked...
National Security Spending in the Stimulus
February 13, 2009 |
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
January 28, 2009 |
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
January 15, 2009 |
How much does the United States spend on nuclear weapons? Seems like a simple question that the agency charged with tending our nuclear...
Bailout Bank Bio: Capital One Financial Inc
November 13, 2008 |
Capital One Financial is a financial services company whose products and services include consumer and commercial banking and credit card...
Bailout Bank Bio: Goldman Sachs
November 07, 2008 |
On October 28, 2008, Goldman Sachs received $10 billion of the first $125 billion from the $700 billion bailout bill. Goldman Sachs is a...
Defense Spending: Change or More of the Same?
November 07, 2008 |
President-elect Barack Obama’s new transition web site is pledging to review every major defense program for possible cuts, and...
Cost of War Reports
August 30, 2008 |
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
August 20, 2008 |
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
August 13, 2008 |
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...
$35 Million in Undisclosed Earmarks in Senate State and Foreign Operations Bill
August 08, 2008 |
The 2009 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill contains 7 earmarks worth $35.4 million dollars (click here...
GAO: Defense Contract Audit Agency Bends to Contractor Pressure
July 22, 2008 |
TCS followers know we have argued for increased oversight of defense spending, particularly spending on contracts. The federal...
Final Days of Don Young’s Way?
June 08, 2008 |
With board members jumping ship, the governor asking tough questions, and the cost estimate ballooning, the logical conclusion is that...
Senate Cuts Transportation Earmarks
April 06, 2008 |
The FY09 Senate appropriations bill providing money for transportation and Housing and Urban Development projects contains 609 earmarks...
Golden Fleece Award
January 31, 2008 |
From surfing subsidies to the Great Wall of Bedford, Indiana, Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire’s Golden Fleece Award protected...
House Transportation Spending Bill: The Road to Political Pork
July 24, 2007 |
Washington, D.C. - The House FY08 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill contains more...
Earmark Transparency One Step Closer
January 16, 2007 |
Tonight, the Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the ethics bill to bring earmarks out of the shadowy corridors of the capitol and...
TCS Statement on the Signing of the Transportation Bill
August 10, 2005 |
Washington, D.C. - The following is a written statement by Keith Ashdown, Vice-President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on George W. Bush...
Banking on the Future
July 31, 2005 |
Investing in Smart Water Strategies for Pennsylvania and the Nation...
Louisville’s Eastern Bridge Project is a Taxpayer Waste
June 03, 2005 |
Remarks by Erich W. Zimmermann, Policy Analyst
Delivered at River Valley Club, Louisville, Kentucky
June 3, 2005
Good afternoon, my...
The Gravina Access Project: A Bridge to Nowhere
February 09, 2005 |
Recipient of the TCS "Golden Fleece Award in 2003 (Read the award write-up)
Project Update (September 2007): After many years of...
Road to Ruin: The 27 Most Wasteful Road Projects in America
June 01, 2004 |
Road to Ruin documents 27 road projects that will drain federal tax dollars, harm communities, and damage the natural environment. In total, these projects would cost federal taxpayers at least $24 billion....
Crossroads: Congress, the Corps of Engineers, and the Future of America’s Water Resources
March 20, 2004 |
The nation’s largest water management agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is at a crossroads. The Corps is poised to either...
Golden Fleece: $190 Million Bridge to Nowhere
June 12, 2003 |
***This article first published June 12, 2003 when TCS was the first to shed light on the "Bridge to Nowhere"***
Rep. Don Young...
Terrorism Insurance Giveaway
June 27, 2002 |
Following the airline industry's lead, insurance executives have been lobbying Congress for terrorism insurance legislation that will...
Passing the Buck
October 01, 2000 |
How the Mining Industry Used Outdated Rules to Pass Environmental Cleanup Costs to Taxpayers...
Troubled Waters
March 08, 2000 |
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is wasting billions of dollars on environmentally harmful projects, charges a new report by Taxpayers...
Budget of the Living Dead
October 31, 1995 |
How 13 Budget Zombies Are Devouring Your Tax Dollars...
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