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Golden Fleece Awarded to Risk Management Agency for Risking Taxpayer Dollars

December 13, 2012 | Agriculture

Golden Fleece Awarded to Risk Management Agency for Risking Taxpayer Dollars 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.... Read More

Fiscal Cliff Fix

December 05, 2012 | Budget & Tax

Fiscal Cliff Fix 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.... Read More

Haves and Have-Nots in Federal Crop Insurance

October 31, 2012 | Agriculture , Budget & Tax

Federally subsidized crop insurance has become the largest taxpayer support for agriculture. But not all parts of the agriculture... Read More

Agricultural Safety Net 101

October 02, 2012 | Agriculture

The agricultural safety net refers to the various federal programs and policies that insulate agricultural producers from the costs of conducting business.... 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

Sliding Past Sequestration: $2 Trillion in Common Sense Cuts to Avoid the Fiscal Cliff

Sliding Past Sequestration: $2 Trillion in Common Sense Cuts to Avoid the Fiscal Cliff In the summer of 2011, Congress sent the President a bill that acknowledged failure. Instead of swallowing hard and coming up with... Read More

Not So “Supercritical” Spending

September 28, 2012 | Energy

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. ... Read More

Congress’ Tortured Math in MAP-21 (Trans. Reauthorization)

September 27, 2012 | Transportation & Infrastructure

Congress’ Tortured Math in MAP-21 (Trans. Reauthorization) 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... Read More

Golden Fleece Awarded to Riverboat Ripoff

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.... Read More

Big Oil Makes Top Dollar

August 12, 2012 | Energy

Big Oil Makes Top Dollar The first half of 2012 has brought more multi-billion dollar profits for major oil companies. So far, these companies have raked in more... Read More

With Agriculture Disaster Aid Congress Pays Now, Hopes to Save Later

August 01, 2012 | Agriculture

Citing record drought conditions throughout the country, the House is debating today legislation to retroactively extend four... Read More

Coal Industry Profits

July 26, 2012 | Energy , Natural Resources

For centuries the federal government has been in the business of providing billions in subsidies to coal companies in order to ensure... Read More

House Farm Bill Draft Analysis: Squanders Savings, Recycles Wasteful Ideas, and Creates New Subsidy Entitlement Programs

July 05, 2012 | Agriculture

Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee released its 2012 Farm Bill draft which eliminates some wasteful commodity programs but... Read More

Green Scissors 2012

June 26, 2012 | Agriculture , Energy

Green Scissors 2012 Left-Right coalition identifies practical steps Congress could take to slash deficits, save natural resources.... Read More

MOX Misses the Mark

June 19, 2012 | Budget & Tax , Energy , National Security

MOX Misses the Mark 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. ... Read More

Spending Even Less, Spending Even Smarter

May 07, 2012 | National Security

Spending Even Less, Spending Even Smarter Watchdog Groups Identify Nearly $700 Billion in Wasteful Spending on National Security... Read More

Farm Safety Net Proposals that Fail to Save

April 22, 2012 | Agriculture

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a report that will help you study up for this Wednesday’s Senate Farm Bill mark-up... Read More

California HSR Project Cuts Costs but Federal Taxpayer Still on the Hook

In response to growing public opposition, questionable project merit, and an increasingly bloated cost, the California High Speed Rail... Read More

Big Oil Tops $150 Billion in Profits in 2011

March 01, 2012 | Energy

With annual financial reports being released this time of year, the oil and gas industry is looking to continue its decade long trend of... Read More

Oil Profits Stay High; Needless Subsidies Continue

February 02, 2012 | Energy

It appears the oil and gas industry is looking to continue its decade long trend of record profits. As of February 2nd, Chevron, Exxon... Read More

FY13 Defense Budget Scorecard

January 27, 2012 | National Security

The Defense Department today gave the public a peek behind the cover of its Fiscal Year 2013 budget request, releasing a report and fact... Read More

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Too Costly for Taxpayers

January 18, 2012 | Energy

Carbon capture and storage (CCS), also referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is the process of separating carbon dioxide (CO2)... Read More

The Department of Energy FutureGen Initiative

December 19, 2011 | Energy

The latest iteration of the Department of Energy’s FutureGen project (find a timeline here) is a federal initiative to finance and... Read More

Cashing In: Biofuels Industry Buys Congress’s Continued Support

November 09, 2011 | Agriculture , Energy

Cashing In: Biofuels Industry Buys Congress’s Continued Support Taxpayers for Common Sense today released a report detailing the heavily subsidized biofuels industry's political clout. The biofuels... Read More

Big Oil, Big Profits

October 30, 2011 | Energy

Another quarter, another unsurprising set of reports of huge profits for the oil companies. Continuing to be some of the most profitable... 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 - $.12-1.5... Read More

Myth v. Fact: Oil and Gas Companies’ Effective Tax Rate

August 12, 2011 | Energy , Natural Resources

Oil and gas companies have complained that they pay an effective tax rate of 41%.... Read More

Essentially Wasteful: The Essential Air Service

Congress has split town leaving an important deal unfinished. Yes, the debt ceiling got raised, but there’s another important piece of... Read More

Big Oil, Big Corn: An in-depth look at the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit

August 01, 2011 | Energy , Natural Resources

Big Oil, Big Corn: An in-depth look at the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit 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... Read More

Spending Less, Spending Smarter: Recommendations for National Security Savings FY 2012 to FY 2021

July 20, 2011 | Budget & Tax , National Security

Watchdog Groups Identify Nearly $600 Billion in National Security Spending Cuts WASHINGTON, D.C.—The federal government could save... Read More

House Should Support Stronger Reforms to the Wasteful Essential Air Service

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to the House of Representatives urging strong reforms of the wasteful and outdated... Read More

The Most For Our Money—Highlighting Solutions for the Nation’s Transportation Problems

Transportation dollars are tight. The gasoline tax that we rely on to build and maintain our transportation networks isn’t enough to meet... Read More

The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit: History and Current Policy

April 29, 2011 | Agriculture , Energy

The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) is the largest subsidy to corn ethanol, the most common biofuel in the U.S. The tax... Read More

HR 1363 FY11 Defense/CR Only Cuts $4.4B

April 06, 2011 | Budget & Tax , National Security

Not that it’s anything to sneeze at, but HR1363 the “Department of Defense and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011” that the... Read More

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... 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 Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Tax Expenditures

February 10, 2011 | Budget & Tax

Tax Expenditures Total Cuts: $624 billion Cuts Include: Mortgage Interest Deduction Cut: $390 billion LIFO Cut: $52.9... Read More

TCS Recommended Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Transportation

Transportation Total Cuts: $18.7 billion The nation’s transportation system is broken, as the gasoline tax that each of us pays at the... Read More

TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Energy

February 10, 2011 | Budget & Tax , Energy

Energy Total Cuts: $42 billion Taxpayers have been subsidizing the same mature, polluting energy technologies for decades. Many... Read More

TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: National Security

February 10, 2011 | Budget & Tax , National Security

NATIONAL SECURITY Total Cuts: $95 billion Total Achieved Savings: $7 billion For too long, the defense budget was considered... Read More

TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Agriculture

February 10, 2011 | Agriculture , Budget & Tax

AGRICULTURE Total Cut: $110 billion Outdated and ineffective farm policies waste billions of federal funds each year, jeopardize... Read More

TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: Infrastructure

Infrastructure Total Cuts: $6 billion For nearly two centuries, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has been a way for lawmakers to... Read More

TCS Budget Cut List for the 112th Congress: General

February 10, 2011 | Budget & Tax

General Total Cuts: $421+ million Cuts Include: Shift Congressional Pensions to Defined Contribution Overseas Private Investment... Read More

TCS Recommended Budget Cut List No. 2: Total Cuts $205+ billion

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

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:... Read More

Fiscal Commission Defense Cuts: Strong Start, More Can be Done

November 12, 2010 | National Security

The draft recommendations released this week by the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform propose... Read More

DOD Still Years Away From Managing its Money

September 29, 2010 | 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

DOD Tries to Shave Billions From Contracting Costs

June 29, 2010 | National Security

The scent of defense acquisition reform is heavy in the air again. Just don’t call it acquisition reform.  The Defense Department... Read More

Senate Climate Bill Loads up Taxpayer Giveaways

May 11, 2010 | Energy

Today Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) will release their long awaited climate legislation, the American Power Act.... Read More

North Shore Road: Final Agreement a Win for Taxpayers

February 10, 2010 | Transportation & Infrastructure

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... Read More

2010 Defense Budget Winners and Losers

January 29, 2010 | National Security

The day last April when Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed the Defense Department’s 2010 budget has become known as “Black Monday.”... Read More

Obama to Contractors: Don’t Cheat Uncle Sam

January 22, 2010 | National Security , Natural Resources

It was payback time for President Obama this week when he threw down the gauntlet to tax-dodging contractors.Taxpayers pay contractors... Read More

MilCon, VA and State Department Funding in Omnibus

December 11, 2009 | National Security

The House of Representatives drove home a $447 billion omnibus spending bill yesterday loaded with six of the seven appropriations bills... Read More

Contractor Accountability Legislation in Defense Authorization

October 21, 2009 | 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 | 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

Congress Sends $106 Billion Supplemental to President

June 25, 2009 | 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

Bailout Bank Bio: General Motors

June 01, 2009 | 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

Fact Sheet: Border Fence Costs Out of Bounds

April 26, 2009 | National Security

Congress mandated the constuction of hundreds of miles of fencing along our Southern border in 2006 without any real knowledge of its... Read More

TCS Releases Space Security Database

April 07, 2009 | National Security

Space is crucial to our national security, and we’ve got the skyrocketing budgets to prove it. The United States spends billions on... Read More

TCS on Gates Defense Budget Cuts

April 05, 2009 | National Security

The boom finally lowered on the Pentagon’s budget today, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates revealing the major weapons cuts... Read More

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

March 26, 2009 | 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

F-22: No More Second Helpings

March 18, 2009 | National Security

Goodness, the difference an economic crisis can make. A few years ago, advertisements by defense contractors arguing that the U.S. should... Read More

Nuclear Weapons Spending in the Omnibus

March 05, 2009 | 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

Bailout Bank Bio: AIG

March 03, 2009 | Budget & Tax

UPDATE: March 4, 2009. After reporting a $61.7 billion quarterly loss – the biggest single quarter loss ever – in early March AIG asked... Read More

National Security Spending in the Stimulus

February 13, 2009 | 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 | 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 | 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

Bailout Bank Bio: Capital One Financial Inc

November 13, 2008 | Budget & Tax

Capital One Financial is a financial services company whose products and services include consumer and commercial banking and credit card... Read More

Bailout Bank Bio: Goldman Sachs

November 07, 2008 | Budget & Tax

On October 28, 2008, Goldman Sachs received $10 billion of the first $125 billion from the $700 billion bailout bill. Goldman Sachs is a... Read More

Defense Spending: Change or More of the Same?

November 07, 2008 | National Security

President-elect Barack Obama’s new transition web site is pledging to review every major defense program for possible cuts, and... Read More

Cost of War Reports

August 30, 2008 | 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 | 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 | 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

$35 Million in Undisclosed Earmarks in Senate State and Foreign Operations Bill

August 08, 2008 | Earmarks & Appropriations

The 2009 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill contains 7 earmarks worth $35.4 million dollars (click here... Read More

GAO: Defense Contract Audit Agency Bends to Contractor Pressure

July 22, 2008 | National Security

TCS followers know we have argued for increased oversight of defense spending, particularly spending on contracts. The federal... Read More

Final Days of Don Young’s Way?

With board members jumping ship, the governor asking tough questions, and the cost estimate ballooning, the logical conclusion is that... Read More

Senate Cuts Transportation Earmarks

The FY09 Senate appropriations bill providing money for transportation and Housing and Urban Development projects contains 609 earmarks... Read More

Golden Fleece Award

From surfing subsidies to the Great Wall of Bedford, Indiana, Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire’s Golden Fleece Award protected... Read More

House Transportation Spending Bill: The Road to Political Pork

Washington, D.C. - The House FY08 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill contains more... 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

TCS Statement on the Signing of the Transportation Bill

Washington, D.C. - The following is a written statement by Keith Ashdown, Vice-President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on George W. Bush... Read More

Banking on the Future

Investing in Smart Water Strategies for Pennsylvania and the Nation... Read More

Louisville’s Eastern Bridge Project is a Taxpayer Waste

Remarks by Erich W. Zimmermann, Policy Analyst Delivered at River Valley Club, Louisville, Kentucky June 3, 2005 Good afternoon, my... Read More

The Gravina Access Project: A Bridge to Nowhere

Recipient of the TCS "Golden Fleece Award in 2003 (Read the award write-up) Project Update (September 2007): After many years of... Read More

Road to Ruin: The 27 Most Wasteful Road Projects in America

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.... Read More

Crossroads: Congress, the Corps of Engineers, and the Future of America’s Water Resources

Crossroads: Congress, the Corps of Engineers, and the Future of America’s Water Resources The nation’s largest water management agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is at a crossroads. The Corps is poised to either... Read More

Golden Fleece: $190 Million Bridge to Nowhere

***This article first published June 12, 2003 when TCS was the first to shed light on the "Bridge to Nowhere"*** Rep. Don Young... Read More

Terrorism Insurance Giveaway

June 27, 2002 | National Security

Following the airline industry's lead, insurance executives have been lobbying Congress for terrorism insurance legislation that will... Read More

Passing the Buck

October 01, 2000 | Natural Resources

How the Mining Industry Used Outdated Rules to Pass Environmental Cleanup Costs to Taxpayers... Read More

Troubled Waters

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is wasting billions of dollars on environmentally harmful projects, charges a new report by Taxpayers... Read More

Pentagon Follies

April 01, 1996 | National Security

How the Department of Defense Is Wasting Your Tax Dollars... Read More

Budget of the Living Dead

October 31, 1995 | Budget & Tax

How 13 Budget Zombies Are Devouring Your Tax Dollars... Read More

Weekly Wastebasket

Our weekly reality-check for federal spending. View All

February 15, 2013

Engineering Boondoggles

While Washington is wringing its hands about the automatic across-the-board budget cuts known as... Read More