What's Happening in Agriculture

Letter to Congress: Harvest Real Savings by Reforming Agriculture Policy

Taxpayers for Common Sense and twelve other fiscal watchdogs sent a letter to Congress urging they harvest real savings in any new farm bill....

Even More Options for Cutting Crop Insurance Costs

Defenders of agricultural subsidies at all costs are starting to feel the heat. Yesterday, professors from Ohio State University,...

TCS Testifies before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

Ryan Alexander testified before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee...

TCS Moderates Congressional Briefings on Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard

            February 5, 2013 CONTACTS: Steve Ellis, 202-546-8500 ext...

It’s Official: 2012 Drought Cost Taxpayers a Record $14 Billion

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed what taxpayers have feared for months. After tallying losses from last...

Farm Bill Extension Better Than Trillion-Dollar Bill

As we predicted, all the hype about the “dairy cliff” hitting consumers with sky-high milk prices was nothing but a hoax....

Lactose Intolerance: There is No Dairy Cliff

Don’t believe the hype. There is no milk cliff. Yes, after the new year, permanent farm law from 1949 (and 1938) will take effect, but...

Golden Fleece Awarded to Agriculture Risk Management Agency

TCS awarded the Golden Fleece to USDA's Risk Management Agency for wasting taxpayer funds...

Fiscal Conservatives: Taxpayers Won’t Harvest Farm Bill Savings

Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a joint letter today urging Congress to reject a five-year farm bill as part of a deficit reduction package....

Drought Fails to Dry Up Farm Profits

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that even after this year’s drought, farm profits are on pace to...

Letter to Congress: Oppose Any Fiscal Cliff Farm Bill Deal

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to Congress urging members to reject passing a nearly trillion-dollar farm bill in the lame duck session....

President Ms. Ryan Alexander Sliding Past Sequestration Statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2012 CONTACTS: Steve Ellis 202-546-8500 x126 or steve@taxpayer.net Taxpayers for Common Sense...

Letter to the Speaker: Washington Cannot Make It Rain

Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to Speaker Boehner to oppose $1 trillion worth of bad agriculture policy....

Letter to the Speaker: Don’t Cut the House out of the Farm Bill Debate

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined 13 other organizations representing a diversity of interests in calling on Speaker Boehner to not let taxpayers be subjected to a "bait and switch" on the Farm Bill. Recent comments from House Agriculture Committee leadership clearly outline a strategy to use supplemental drought assistance and a one year extension of the Farm Bill as a “Trojan Horse” to get to conference with the Senate on a five-year Farm Bill....

Fiscal Conservatives: Farm Bill Will Not Solve Drought

Following the old adage "never let a crisis go to waste," special interests in Washington are trying to exploit the current drought...

Taxpayer and Environmental Groups Endorse Flake-Chaffetz Crop Insurance Reform Legislation

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined several groups in urging Congress to support H.R. 6098, "Crop Insurance Subsidy Reform...

Oppose House Farm Bill Draft: Fails to Reform; Creates New Subsidy Entitlement Programs

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined together with several groups today urging Congress to oppose the House of Representative's Draft Farm...

TCS Statement on Passage of Senate Farm Bill

Statement of Ms. Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense on Senate passage of S. 3240, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and...

Letter to Senate: Support Reforms in the Flawed Farm Bill

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate today, urging support for common sense reforms in the Farm Bill. These...

Statement by Ryan Alexander, President of TCS on Common Sense Limit to Taxpayer Subsidies for Crop Insurance

The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense at a press conference concerning SA 2201, an...

Senators Call for Common Sense Changes to Crop Insurance

This week Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) took an important step highlighting the need to rein in the largest taxpayer...

Senate Agriculture Committee Proposes Entitlement Filled Farm Bill

The Senate Agriculture Committee today released its version of the Farm Bill and it appears to fall far short of needed reforms. And...

National Taxpayer and Free Market Nonprofits Announce New Joint Venture

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Five nationally known groups that favor spending restraint have announced their intention to close, April 1, 2012, on a...

Taxpayers for Common Sense Statement on Common Sense Step Toward an Appropriate Agricultural Safety Net

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) today introduced legislation that is important in efforts to focus federal...

TCS Analysis of the FY13 Presidential Budget Request

Last Updated: February 19, 2012 The FY2013 Presidential Budget Request was released this morning (2/13/2012). TCS staff will be posting...

Coalition Letter Opposing Passing Farm Bill Through Super Committee

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a coalition on a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, asking them to not...

Congressmen Support Common Sense Cuts to Wasteful Ag Spending

Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) sent a letter this week to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction--i.e....

Support Amendments to Stop Wasteful Ag Spending

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter yesterday to the House of Representatives, asking for their support on a variety of common sense amendments that will save money and end wasteful payments and programs. ...

Letter Supporting Bipartisan Effort to Cut Billions in Ethanol Giveaway

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a broad and diverse coalition applauding Senators Coburn (R-OK) and Feinstein (D-CA) for combining their efforts to end billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies for conventional ethanol by introducing the bipartisan “Ethanol Subsidy and Tariff Repeal Act.”...

Updates & Budgetary Gimmicks in the Final Continuing Resolution Unveiled by House Appropriations

The House Appropriations Committee released the final Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the federal government for the rest of the 2011...

TCS Testifies at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

On March 3, 2011 Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander testified at a House Committee on Oversight and Government reform...

TCS Mentioned on Capitol Hill (February)

Taxpayers for Common Sense was mentioned numerous times on Capitol Hill this February.  CSPAN video provided below: February 7,...

Broad Coalition Calls for the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit to Expire

Taxpayers for Common Sense along with 90 other organizations and associations delivered a letter to Congressional leaders on Tuesday...

Letter to Congress: Where to Start Cutting to Trim the Deficit

Today Taxpayers for Common Sense delivered to leadership in both the House and Senate a report on how Congress can quickly cut nearly...

Reforms Proposed by National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Co-Chairs Unveiled Today

The Co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform gave their proposals to fellow Commission members today....

TCS Urges Congress to Enact Farm Bill Reforms

The House Committee on Agriculture is currently holding a series of hearings reveiwing our country's agriculture policy in order to lay...

Bill Introduced to Extend Wasteful Ethanol Tax Credits

Today Taxpayers for Common Sense joined together with representatives from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, American Meat...

Representatives Murphy and Garrett Introduce Bill to End the Wasteful Market Access Program

Today TCS Action released a letter to Congress supporting H.R. 4683, the Scrap the MAP Act. The legislation is co-sponsored by...

FY11 Budget Cuts Agriculture Waste

The President’s proposed FY2011 Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget is $25.8 billion, slightly reduced from the FY2010 level of $26.9...

Agriculture Policy Reform in the Federal Budget

The President’s budget proposals for the Department of Agriculture includes a number of items that TCS would like to see come to...

Joint Letter to Congress: Don’t Extend Loan Guarantee Program in the Continuing Resolution

  Dear Representative, On behalf of our combined memberships, we urge you to oppose any time extensions for the Department of...

Joint Letter to the President on Suspension of Ethanol Tariff

Joint Letter to the President on Suspension of Ethanol Tariff The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States of...

Testimony - Federal Crop Insurance Program

Testimony of Steve Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's hearing on...

Engineering Boondoggles

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