Oppose Ag-Only Farm Bill: Spends More Than Senate Bill; Changes Make Subsidies Permanent
July 11, 2013
On July 2, the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office announced a draft loan guarantee solicitation for advanced fossil energy...
The United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) recently released its midterm financial report and in addition to troubling financials,...
Yesterday, TCS joined 12 other diverse organizations in a letter supporting a comprehensive review of the federal biofuels mandate....
Last Thursday, Moody’s Investor Service released a new credit report finding that Georgia Power Company’s (subsidiary of The Southern...
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week it would offer an expanded, second solicitation for advanced fossil energy loan...
TCS published a press release today on another deadline passed by DOE to reach an agreement on loan guarantee terms for Southern Company's Plant Vogtle...
Medicine Bow Fuel and Power LLC—subsidiary of DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC—has filed updated construction and development plans with the state...
The rhetoric from defenders of Washington’s heavy-handed role in agriculture reached a peak during recent House debate on a nearly $1...
Many farm bill apologists attacked basic means testing as a “poison pill” for the farm bill.
House Agriculture Committee leaders Frank...
"And if you look at how [crop insurance] has worked in the 7 years prior to the onset of the drought of 2011, basically the Federal...
Oppose Amendments to Defense Authorization Bill that
Provide Subsidies for Unconventional...
Yesterday, the House Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements held a hearing...
Federally subsidized crop insurance is on pace to cost at least $27 billion – 57 percent – more than was promised in the last farm bill...
Over the past decade, extreme weather and storms have become increasingly commonplace – including coastal storms, wildfires, droughts,...
Today, TCS joined 11 other fiscal conservative groups in supporting the Bipartisan Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act....
Today, TCS joined 10 other fiscally conservative groups highlighting a dozen wasteful farm policy programs. ...
This bill is irresponsible and we urge you to oppose it and amendments that will make the bill worse....
Today, a bipartisan set of Representatives introduced a bill to take long overdue steps toward reforming the broken Renewable Fuel...
A second Energy Department solicitation for advanced fossil energy loan guarantees is coming soon, according to a recent Government...
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released their annual analysis of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Guarantee...
Anyone familiar with a few fairy tales knows it’s not a good idea to let a fox guard a henhouse. But that’s just what the federal...
TCS awarded the Golden Fleece to USDA's Risk Management Agency for wasting taxpayer funds...
Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to Speaker Boehner to oppose $1 trillion worth of bad agriculture policy....
The House Committee on Rules decided yesterday to sideline an amendment offered by Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) to stop all new...
Today House lawmakers passed the fatally flawed "No More Solyndras Act" enabling tens of billions of dollars in high-risk, costly loan guarantees to move forward. Instead of fulfilling its promise, this misleadingly named bill will...
Today the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the so-called “No More Solyndras Act.” While the bill includes some taxpayer...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined several groups today urging Congress to support changes to the 'No More Solyndras Act' in order to...
The House Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a joint hearing today to...
Left-Right coalition identifies practical steps Congress could take to slash deficits, save natural resources....
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2012
CONTACT:
Steve Ellis, 202-546-8500 x126
The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander,...
Last week the House of Representatives passed the Energy and Water spending bill that provides funding for the Department of Energy's...
Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) Vice-President Steve Ellis testified about federal subsidies for western water contractors and...
Yesterday the House of Representatives cut $25 million in new funding for oil shale development. Instead of directing more subsidies at...
Congress is considering spending $100 million on the United States Enrichment Corporation’s (USEC) Piketon, Ohio enrichment project...
Reps. Kucinich (D-OH) and McClintock (R-CA) have offered an amendment to stop new loan guarantees from the Department of Energy (DOE)...
This morning the House voted down an amendment that would have stripped the $150 million added to the National Defense Authorization Act for the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC). ...
$150 million for the United States Enrichment Corporation's (USEC) Piketon, Ohio enrichment facility has been added to the National...
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...
The Senate Agriculture Committee today released its version of the Farm Bill and it appears to fall far short of needed reforms. And...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2012
CONTACTS:
Steve Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers...
Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report in a series of on-going analyses criticizing the Department of...
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development met Wednesday to discuss the FY2013 Office of Nuclear Energy budget...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives as they consider H.R.7, the American Energy...
Today the White House released a 60 day review of the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program. The review, conducted by former...
For the first time in decades, a new nuclear reactor is getting its federal license to build and operate in the United States. Today, the...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to members of Congress as they consider legislation on FAA...
After 23 extensions, Congress is finally on the verge of reauthorizing the nation’s air program for the next four years. This would be...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to House and Senate conferees before they meet today to negotiate differences between...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined several groups today to call on Congress to oppose the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans...
Oil subsidies must go, but we can’t stop there; Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program will continue to fail; increased...
The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight met as part of an ongoing series of hearings...
The Department of Energy (DOE) Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program is coming up for some much needed scrutiny after two companies funded...
Both the House and Senate are poised to begin deliberations over different versions of transportation reauthorization legislation. Though...
Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantees are and should be under the magnifying glass. On August 31, 2011, the first company to receive...
UPDATE:
In 2011, Taxpayers for Common Sense celebrated a major policy win. Congress let the wasteful ethanol tax credit (VEETC) expire...
Today the House continued its investigation of the failed Department of Energy loan guarantee to the solar start-up Solyndra. Today...
Today, a portion of the Dept. of Energy Loan Guarantee Program will expire. While that’s good news for taxpayers the trouble is far from...
On Tuesday, September 12th, the Obama Administration released the text of the “American Jobs Act” which includes $447 billion in tax...
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a report on federal loan guarantees for nuclear power plants, which seriously...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate, encouraging it to pass H.R. 2553, which would reform the wasteful...
Taxpayers for Common Sense submitted comments to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue concerning Federal Oil and Gas...
With little debate, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed by voice vote a bill to create the Clean Energy Deployment...
WASHINGTON, D.C.///June 1, 2011///With Congress poised to move forward on more taxpayer-backed loan guarantees for nuclear, wind, solar,...
Taxpayers for Common Sense VP Steve Ellis commenting on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the program\'s $17 billion debt...
Taxpayers for Common Sense has been critical of the Loan Guarantee Program since its inception in 2005 and we are pleased that Congress...
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, in support of H.R. 1309 the “Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011.”...
Today, Vice President Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense testified on behalf of the SmarterSafer Coalition at a House Financial...
Energy Loan Guarantee Program Under More Scrutiny
The Department of Energy Inspector General recently released a report faulting DOE...
On March 3, 2011 Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander testified at a House Committee on Oversight and Government reform...
The House of Representatives is debating a Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2011 (through...
The House Continuing Appropriations Bill (CR) offers ample fodder for the chopping block. Unfortunately, House Republicans released a...
On January 26, the Senate Energy Committee and House Natural Resources Committee both held hearings on the final report produced by...
(Update 9/30/2010)
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense participated in a discussion on whether taxpayers should bear the risks for the...
Congress’ failure to make any progress on energy policy this session is costing taxpayers....
Score one for the taxpayers! A $7.5 billion Department of Energy loan guarantee for the Calvert Cliffs nuclear reactor near Lusby,...
The key word here is simply. Congress can pass and should pass what is referred to as a “clean” CR, where nothing changes from last...
Last week the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee held a hearing on the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program. The...
Today, TCS presented testimony to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on "Reauthorization of the National Flood...
Statement by Steve Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense
at Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Tele-Press Conference...
Taxpayers for Common Sense and National Taxpayers Union joined together in opposition to H.R. 1264 - The Multiple Peril Insurance Act of...
The House Committee on Agriculture is currently holding a series of hearings reveiwing our country's agriculture policy in order to lay...
Late yesterday the Senate rejected the House passed Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill, which included $18 billion in new loan...
Energy Legislation and Clean Energy Development
The House of Representatives took another step closer to considering energy legislation...
Taxpayers for Common Sense released a joint statement to the Senate Energy and Water Development Subcommittee urging members to oppose...
On Wednesday, AREVA, a French nuclear power conglomerate, accepted a Department of Energy conditional loan guarantee of $2 billion for...
An AP investigation released yesterday found that in the gulf region alone, there are approximately 27,000 abandoned wells lying...
As we posted yesterday, the Fiscal Year 2011 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill mark-up scheduled in the Subcommittee was postponed. ...
After receiving a 30 day extension, Georgia Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, accepted an $8.3 billion taxpayer-backed loan guarantee...
Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the schedule of rental fees it will charge for development of solar generation...
The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill being considered today in committee in the House includes an additional $18 billion in...
Recent press reports indicate that the Administration and leadership on Capitol Hill have brokered a deal to add billions of dollars...
Washington, DC -- Today Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) will release their long awaited climate legislation, the...
Yesterday at a Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Energy Secretary Chu said an additional $9 BILLION in...
On March 17th, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development donned green ties for St. Patrick’s Day and met to...
Today the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a detailed report documenting taxpayer costs for cleaning up oil and gas wells...
On February 4th, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee held a hearing on the President’s FY2011 Department of Energy...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 16, 2010 – Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, issued the following statement today in...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 16, 2010 -- The following is a written statement by Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense...
The President’s FY2011 budget proposal triples funding to the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program. This includes $36 billion in...
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC...
Written Statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense:
Last night in his State of the Union address,...
On December 15th, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee held a hearing on two pieces of legislation aimed at boosting...
Yesterday TCS submitted comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) on proposed changes to the Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program. In early...
This fall, Congress is poised to consider an energy financing entity that would allow for the distribution of extensive loan guarantees...
Today Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to each member of the House and Senate urging them to oppose any legislative actions to...
Today, the House took an historic step towards addressing climate change by passing The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009....
On June 17, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee adopted S. 949, the 21st Century Energy and Technology Deployment Act as...
Last Thursday, the House Agrculture Committee questioned Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a hearing on pending climate change...
The Conference Agreement on the Budget Resolution that is expected to pass the House and Senate today does not include language...
Late last night the Senate passed an amendment to the Budget Resolution supporting a $50 billion reserve fund for the Department of...
The Omnibus Appropriations bill that passed yesterday in the House and is expected next week in the Senate includes $47 billion for the...
TCS explained today the basics of the Department of Energy's loan guarantees program at an Institute for Energy and Environmental...
Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program. The program,...
During conference negotiations over the stimulus bill, the egregious $50 billion expansion of the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan...
This week, both the House and Senate included increases for the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee program in their stimulus bills, but...
Despite the federal government’s recognition that “any significant production of oil shale is not likely to occur for a number of years,”...
Congress Can’t Afford to Fund Risky Loans; Don’t Extend DOE Loan Guarantee Program in...
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule for Oil Shale Management. Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) is a...
In a new report released today, the Government Accountability Office recommends Congress limit the amount of loan guarantees issued by...
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program to grant loan guarantees for innovative...
TCS joined other groups in a letter to President George W. Bush on suspension of the ethanol tariff. ...
TCS fights to keep unnecessary subsidies, loopholes and tax breaks out of America's energy policy
For more than a decade, TCS has led...
The administration’s 2009 budget for the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program requests $38.5 billion in loan guarantee...
Dear Representative,
On behalf of our combined memberships, we urge you to...
Increasing reliance has been placed on federal government-backed private loan guarantees as a vehicle to fund private business...
Dear Senator,
We urge you to oppose the inclusion of language in the...
(Download a pdf of this testimony)
Testimony of Steve Ellis
Vice President,...
Dear Member of Congress:
For many years, our organizations have examined the standard operating practices of the Corps of Engineers and...
June 5, 2006
Dear Speaker Hastert and Leader Pelosi:
Earlier this month several Members of...
Our weekly reality-check for federal spending. View All
Volume XVIII No. 37
Possible action in Syria has become the most recent excuse du jour for Pentagon boosters...
July 11, 2013