What's Happening in Budget & Tax

Defense Savings Strengthen Our Economic Security

February 6, 2013 Dear Member of Congress, On behalf of the undersigned organizations and...

TCS Testifies before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

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

Heard On The Hill: Support TCS Today

Dear Fellow Taxpayer, I wanted you to know you’re getting your money’s worth. Earlier today I testified before the House Committee on...

Alexander to testify before Government Reform Committee today

Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander will be testifying before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on...

Sandy Spending Accountability

With the Senate's 62-36 vote, lawmakers have sent in aggregate more than $60 billion to help those affected by Superstorm Sandy. You can...

TCS Statement on Fiscal Cliff Deal

The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander, President Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the fiscal cliff deal signed into law....

Top 10 Fiscal Cliff Tax Fails

Washington’s last minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff saw the return of many never-ending “temporary” tax breaks. While the bulk of the...

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...

House Science Subcommittee Debates Oil Shale Subsidies

The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing November 30th to discuss the development...

Use Common Sense to Rappel the Fiscal Cliff

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a “Common Sense Proposal to Rappel the Fiscal Cliff” to the President and congressional...

Don’t Toy With the Cliff: Support TCS Today

Dear Friends: Congress, the administration, and the punditry at large have been bemoaning the federal government’s fiscal situation....

Report shows billions risked on oil shale speculation

With fiscal cliff looming, TCS calls for end to government handouts for failed oil shale experiments....

Congress: Avoid Fiscal Cliff and Go Home

Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter today to all members of the 112th Congress outlining what they should do regarding the fiscal cliff....

Remarks by TCS President Ryan Alexander on Fiscal Cliff

Taxpayers for Common Sense held a media conference call earlier today to discuss the outcomes of the election and what the Lame Duck...

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...

TCS Statement on Amendment to Freeze Pentagon Budget

The following is a written statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the adoption of the Frank-Mulvaney...

House Cuts $25 Million in Subsidies for Oil Shale

Yesterday the House of Representatives cut $25 million in new funding for oil shale development. Instead of directing more subsidies at...

End USEC Giveaways in Energy and Water Appropriations Bill

Congress is considering spending $100 million on the United States Enrichment Corporation’s (USEC) Piketon, Ohio enrichment project...

House Backdoor Earmarks $150 million for Parochial Boondoggle

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). ...

Stop $150 million for troubled uranium project in NDAA

$150 million for the United States Enrichment Corporation's (USEC) Piketon, Ohio enrichment facility has been added to the National...

Statement from TCS President Ms. Ryan Alexander on the House Republican Budget Resolution

The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the House Republican Budget...

President funds transportation with irresponsible ‘Peace Dividend’

The administration's FY 2013 Presidential Budget Request proposes a $476 billion six-year reauthorization bill. This is much higher...

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...

Statement by Ryan Alexander, president of TCS on the FY13 Presidential Budget Request

The President’s fiscal year 2013 budget request is being released into swirling fiscal, economic, and electoral winds. Those winds...

Coalition Demands Deficit Plans be Public

Taxpayers for Common Sense and a coalition of groups sent a letter to the President, Speaker Boehner, and Majority Leader Reid today...

Super Failure: Time for Congress to Do Its Job

For Immediate Release November 21, 2011 Contact: Steve Ellis 202-546-8500 x126 Super Failure: Time for Congress to Do Its...

November 4, 5:43 PM—The Latest on the Deficit Cutting Super Committee

November 4, 2011-5:43 PM This way madness lies. Because the vast majority of the Super Committee’s activities have occurred behind...

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....

TCS Letter to the ‘Super Committee’

Yesterday, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to all 12 members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or the "Super...

TCS Statement and Analysis on Debt Ceiling Agreement

A statement from TCS President Ms. Ryan Alexander is below.  Analysis on the debt ceiling legislation agreed to by leadership from both...

TCS on the Debt Ceiling

Taxpayers for Common Sense statement on the debt ceiling and deficit reduction bills.          ...

Support Gang of Six Bi-Partisan Plan to Reduce Our Nation’s Deficit

    Support “Gang of Six” Bi-Partisan Plan to Reduce Our Nation’s Deficit   July 20,...

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. ...

Coalition Letter Supporting Ending Wasteful $6 Billion Annual Ethanol Subsidy

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a broad and diverse coalition supporting Senators Coburn (R-OK), Feinstein (D-CA), and McCain (R-AZ) and their amendments this week which will end the $6 billion annual, taxpayer-funded subsidies for conventional ethanol which go to Big Oil when they blend ethanol with gasoline. ...

TCS Releases Report on Largest Ethanol Subsidy

Today Taxpayers for Common Sense released a comprehensive report on the largest subsidy to corn ethanol, the Volumetric Ethanol Excise...

TCS post in Blue Dog Research Forum’s “Point and Counterpoint” edition on whether or not to end tax benefits to the Oil and Gas Industry

The Blue Dog Research Forum's "Point and Counterpoint" Edition asked the question: Should We End Tax Benefits to the Oil and Gas...

TCS and Panelists Brief Hill Staff on DoD and Deficit Reduction: Options for Significant Defense Savings

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense senior defense policy analyst Laura Peterson introduced a panel discussion for Capitol Hill staff on...

TCS Letter to House Speaker John Boehner Agreeing with his Recent Comments on Oil Subsidies

Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, regarding his recent comments that oil companies "ought to be paying their fair share."...

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...

Briefing on DOE Loan Guarantees:: Should Taxpayers Bear the Risks for the Energy Sector with Loan Guarantees?

Taxpayers for Common Sense, National Taxpayers Union, The Heritage Foundation, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute will hold a discussion on the impacts of federal energy loan guarantees on the federal budget and energy markets....

Statement from TCS President Ms. Ryan Alexander on the release of the House Republican Budget Resolution

“Chairman Ryan should be congratulated for taking the bull by the horns and releasing a budget resolution that recommends decisive steps...

Coalition Letter to Congress Calls for an End to Energy Subsidies

Taxpayers for Common Sense along with a coalition of nearly 30 groups sent a letter to Congress calling for an end to energy...

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,...

Energy Committee Questions DOE on Budget

Senate Energy Committee’s Hearing on the President’s FY2012 Budget Request Earlier this week the President released his budget request...

Ongoing Analysis of Debate Over FY11 Continuing Resolution

The House of Representatives is debating a Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2011 (through...

A Taxpayer Victory!  Thank You!

With the Senate's begrudging acceptance of an earmark moratorium, taxpayers just achieved a well-earned victory on the road to fiscal...

TCS on State of the Union: Every Dollar Must be on the Table

Taxpayers for Common Sense statement on the 2011 State of the Union address.                For...

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...

CUT-PAYGO-Lite and Other House Rules Changes

There have been a lot of questions swirling around the Cut-As-You-Go (CUTGO) provision that the House Republicans included in the rules...

TCS President Ryan Alexander Op-Ed: The Appropriations Pork Machine (The New York Times)

Ryan Alexander is president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. The early indicators of what to expect from the 112th Congress in terms of...

TCS VP Steve Ellis on CSPAN Washington Journal Discussing Tax Cut Legislation and Special Interest Provisions

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense VP Steve Ellis spoke with host Libby Casey on CSPAN Washington Journal. The discussion focused...

Holiday Honey Baked Hams—Special Interest Carveouts at the End of the Year

(Originally Posted 12/13/2010) The last legislative trains are pulling out of Capitol Hill station and there are a bunch of hobo...

TCS President Ryan Alexander Statement on the National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and Reform vote

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander issued a statement on the National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and...

TCS Letter to Deficit Commissioners: Support the Final Report

Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to the commissioners of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform urging...

Deficit Commission Releases its Final Report—The Moment of Truth

So the "The Moment of Truth" is here. We've been combing through the specifics of the aptly titled final report of the National...

Federal workers may not see pay raises for two years (Markeplace Radio)

Washington is going to have to make some hard decisions to bring the deficit down. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer takes a look at...

TCS Letter to Deficit Commissioners

TCS applauds the Co-chairs for not leaving any stone unturned and acknowledging the difficult budgetary choices that must be made given...

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 VP Steve Ellis on Fox Business News re: Top Ten Congressional Reforms for the 112th Congress

TCS VP Steve Ellis discussed our Top Ten Congressional Reforms for the 112th Congress on Fox Business News yesterday.  A link to the...

Senate Takes a Step Toward Earmark Transparency

By an 11-5 vote today the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee passed  S.3335, the Earmark Transparency Act of 2010....

Bipartisan Support for Earmark Database Bill Continues

(June 2)  Fully one-fifth of Senators have now joined efforts to show American taxpayers the true priorities of Congress. ...

House Appropriations Committee Releases Emergency Spending Bill Summary

The House Appropriations Committee has released the Summary of the proposed FY2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act.  This more than $80...

TCS President Ryan Alexander’s Hearing Testimony on The Legality and Efficacy of Line-Item Veto

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander testified at the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on the Legality and Efficacy of Line-Item Veto Proposals...

Taxpayers Must Not Carry Water for Bad Projects: Comments on the Draft Principles and Standards for Water Resource Projects

Taxpayers for Common Sense submitted comments to the Federal Register concerning revisions to how the nation's water resources are...

TCS Action Letter: OPIC - Stop Corporate Welfare

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense Action released a letter to the House urging support for legislation introduced by Representatives...

House Republicans Adopt One-Year Earmark Moratorium

It’s been quite a whirlwind the last couple days. On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) announced a...

House Spending Committee Continues Down Path of Earmark Reform

The House Appropriations Committee took a positive step today on the long journey toward earmark reform. Chairman David Obey (D-WI)...

Ensuring Taxpayer Losses

TCS Vice President Steve Ellis was invited to testify before a House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee holding a hearing...

TCS Action Letter: Blanket Tax Credit Extensions a Bad Deal for Taxpayers

This afternoon, Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate opposing blanket tax credit extensions in the Tax Extenders...

Ongoing TCS Analysis of the FY2011 Budget Proposal

(February 23, 2010) Border Security Still Not Paying its Dues Funding for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s Secure Border Initiative...

TCS Applauds President’s Commitment to End Big Oil’s Tax Breaks but Disappointed in Call for Nuclear and Clean Coal Subsidies

Written Statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense: Last night in his State of the Union address,...

Statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President, Taxpayers for Common Sense on the State of the Union Address

Washington, DC - The President laid out the economic and fiscal challenges facing the country tonight in the State of the Union. The...

TCS on the President’s Proposed FY2011 Budget Freeze

Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the President’s reported proposed three-year budget freeze that excludes...

Citigroup Returning TARP Money May Cost Taxpayers Billions

A Washington Post story this morning throws some cold water on the rosy reports of taxpayers turning a profit under the financial...

Bailout Bank Bio: Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup continues to be one of the largest recipients of taxpayer assistance under TARP (the financial industry bailout). Citigroup is...

Bailout Transparency Continues to Fall Short

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) just released its eighth report on TARP, this one a look back over the life of the program. ...

Inouye, Cochran Benefit from Earmark Recipients

Taxpayers for Common Sense has mapped the connections between earmarks and campaign contributions for the chairman and ranking member of...

House Approves 3-Month Highway Bill Extension

The House of Representatives last night voted overwhelmingly – 335-85 – to extend the nation’s transportation program (SAFETEA-LU), which...

A Billion Here A Billion There

Taxpayers received a bit of good news this morning.  The Treasury Department announced it will be letting the Guarantee Program for Money...

House Opportunity to Shoot Down Funding for Defense Contractor Raided by FBI

There are several amendments on the House Defense spending bill that is on the floor this morning. In addition to the important earmark...

TCS Statement on the Senate’s F-22 Cut

The following is a statement by Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander on the 58-40 Senate vote to eliminate additional...

House Defense Appropriations Committee Members Rake in Nearly $1 million from Potential Earmark Beneficiaries

A Taxpayers for Common Sense analysis found that the House lawmakers who write the annual defense spending bill asked for billions of...

Captain Morgan’s Bailout Binge

Bloomberg News reports today on some of the more egregious unintended consequences of the Economic Stabilization legislation (Bank...

Obama Waves Veto Pen at Wasteful Fighter Jet

President Obama came out swinging yesterday, issuing the first veto threat of his presidency to tackle a congressional sacred cow...

Congressional Watchdog Reviews Bailout Program

Congress’s watchdog, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), just released its fifth and the most recent of its required reports on...

GAO and Land Swaps

The GAO has just released a lengthy report on the questionable land exchange process.  TCS has frequently pointed out how the process is...

House Commerce, Justice, Science Earmarks

The House Appropriatations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) released the list of earmarks from its...

Congressional Oversight Panel June Report

The Congressional Oversight Panel, a Congressionally appointed watchdog for last fall's bailout, has released its June report.  Access...

House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on Department of Energy FY10 Budget Request

On Wednesday, the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee heard testimony from Department of Energy Secretary...

John Wilke: Americans Lose a Taxpayer Champion

May 4, 2009: Taxpayers across the country have lost a great friend and ally. John Wilke, Wall Street Journal reporter and editor, lost...

Ongoing TCS Analysis of the FY2010 Budget Proposal

(May 11, 2009; 3:15 pm) The Treasury's Office of Tax Policy has released its General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year...

Massive Increase for DOE Loan Guarantee Program Dropped from Budget Resolution

The Conference Agreement on the Budget Resolution that is expected to pass the House and Senate today does not include language...

Corps of Engineers Releases Stimulus Project List

Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their stimulus project list. The first thing that comes to mind is that the Obama...

Congress Releases 2010 Joint Budget Resolution Conference Report

Congress just released the conference report on its joint Budget resolution. The House may take it up as soon as today and the Senate...

Bailout Inspector General Report: Tremendous Expansion in the Scope, Scale, and Complexity of TARP

Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the Treasury's Toxic Assets Relief Program (SIGTARP), released his quarterly report on the...

$50 Billion Expansion for Loan Guarantee Program is back

Today the Senate is voting on dozens of amendments to its annual Budget Resolution; the blueprint for the Congress’s spending plan for...

Bank Bailouts: Federal Watchdogs Critical of TARP

This morning the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to receive updated information from the federal watchdog agencies charged with...

Recommendations to the President for Earmark Reform

At Taxpayers for Common Sense, we believe that all funding decisions must be made on the basis of merit, federal priorities and national...

President Cuts Oil and Gas Subsidies

The President’s budget highlights, released last week, took the ax to major subsidies to the oil and gas industry. Through the...

National Security Spending in the 2010 Budget

Though the topline numbers in the Obama administration’s national security budget for 2010 may not make headlines, there’s a lot of...

Billions in Risky Energy Loan Guarantees Included in Omnibus

The Omnibus Appropriations bill that passed yesterday in the House and is expected next week in the Senate includes $47 billion for the...

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...

President Obama Releases 2010 Federal Budget

President Obama has released his proposed federal budget for FY2010.  Download a copy of the budget here:  FY10 Federal Budget...

Letter to the President: Pledge to Keep the Stimulus Earmark Free

The President The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President, On behalf of the millions of members of our respective...

Final Stimulus Bill Posted

The House of Representatives website is being bombarded by taxpayers trying to read the final economic stimulus bill. All 1500...

Support Independent Oversight of the Stimulus

President Obama is likely to place his signature on a $789 billion stimulus bill by President’s Day. Thank you to all of you who have...

Causes of the Financial Crisis (CRS Report)

A handy website called Open CRS has been tracking down as many Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports they can get their hands on...

Taxpayer Victory—We Have Stopped the Congressional Pay Raise

UPDATE--February 10, 2009 The House of Representatives has heard your call. Today, Speaker Pelosi instructed the Appropriations...

CBO: Senate Stimulus Costs $838.2 Billion

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released its score for the Senate version of the stimulus legislation.  CBO estimates the...

Senate Reaches Deal on Stimulus Bill

This evening the Senate reached a deal on the economic stimulus bill. The deal was cut after agreement was met over what money should  be...

Two Bailout Oversight Reports Released

Two official reports on the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), a.k.a. the bailout,  have been released.  One is from the TARP...

Senate Starts Debate on Economic Stimulus This Week

Starting today, the Senate will be debating its version of the Economic Stimulus bill. The Senate Appropriation Committee has posted its...

Senate Substitute Economic Stimulus Bill Released

The Senate has released its final version of the Economic Stimulus bill.  Download the full bill here.  Debate on the bill began Monday,...

Bank Bailout: GAO to Treasury Department - More Effort Needed

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has just released its second report on the progress of the Treasury Department’s in...

Stimulus Aid to States: Some Room for Improvement

States are struggling in the current recession, and unlike the federal government, most are required to balance their budgets.  ...

Bailout Oversight Panel Releases Special Report

Today the Congressional Oversight Panel released a special report on regulatory reform. The bottom line, it calls for a complete overhaul...

Key Accountability and Transparency Provisions in the Economic Stimulus Legislation

There are a lot of legitimate concerns about the size of the economic stimulus legislation and where some of the specific funds are...

Evaluating Economic Stimulus Legislation

The House of Representatives is expected Wednesday to vote on an economic stimulus package, H.R. 1, the ‘‘American Recovery and...

House Economic Stimulus Bill Released

The latest version of the economic stimulus legislation that contains both the appropriations and tax portions of the legislation has...

Senate Finance Committee Releases Portion of Stimulus Bill

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on its version of an $825 billion economic stimulus package next week. The House package...

GAO and Bailout banks

As part of the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) work on offshore tax havens, their most recent report – released today – really...

House Releases $825 billion Economic Stimulus Bill

Today, the House Appropriations committee released their portion of the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package. Here is the...

Are Bailout Banks Lending Money?

This morning, The New York Times published an excellent story about some of the problems with the financial sector bailout – the Troubled...

Better Bailout Disclosure Coming?

One of the concerns Taxpayers for Common Sense and others have raised about the bailout funds is that the beneficiaries weren’t being...

Treasury Department Releases Report on Bailout Progress

On New Year's Eve day, the Treasury Department released their response to the questions posed by the Congressional Oversight Panel over...

Ring in the New Year with Citibank Rose Bowl

We caught an ad earlier for the Rose Bowl, excuse us, we mean, the “Rose Bowl presented by Citi”. That’s right, for the first time the...

Capitol Visitor Center Still Not Completed

Hundreds of millions of dollars overbudget, four years overdue and the Capitol Visitor Center is still not finished. Although...

Read the Big 3 Automakers’ Bailout Plans

Last week, the CEOs of Detroit’s “big 3” automakers made their second trip to Washington to plead for government support in the form of a...

Sens. McCaskill and Grassley Support Strengthened Bailout Watchdog

Today, Sens. McCaskill (D-MO), Grassley (R-IA) and several others introduced legislation to strengthen the Inspector General for Troubled...

Auto Bailout Draft Legislation

TCS has obtained a draft copy of the auto bailout legislation. Read the text here. We just got it and are looking through it, but...

Sources Say Secret Hold on Bailout Watchdog Lifted

Reuters News Agency reported late last night that, according to Senate aides, the secret hold on Neil Barofsky’s nomination as Inspector...

Bailout Lacks Measures of Success and Oversight Tools

It’s been about two months since the U.S. Treasury Department implemented its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). With nearly half of...

Uncle Sam Should Review Sports Sponsorships by Bailout Banks

Under the financial bailout, taxpayers are becoming silent investors in numerous banks and other financial institutions. While Uncle Sam...

Bring Home the Bailout Bucks

Got a pen? Taxpayers for Common Sense has obtained the application needed to get a piece of the bailout pie. We’re all for streamlining...

New Tax Breaks Increase Bailout Cost

Outside of the financial sectors and the business pages of newspapers and magazines, most people likely missed the recent Treasury...

Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over Bank Bailout Spending

Concerns are rising that the Treasury Department is allowing banks too much leeway to decide how they spending the bailout funds. Reports...

Banks Pressed on Bonus Plans

Andrew Cuomo, the Attorney General of the State of New York, sent a letter yesterday to nine banks seeking each bank’s “expected payments...

New Congress Should Freeze Own Pay

With the economy on the ropes, hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs, and a national debt over $10 trillion, it is time...

Rum Producers Benefit from Bailout Bill

Little noticed beneficiaries of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, commonly known as the $810 billion bailout bill, are...

50% of Bailout Package Spent

With Treasury’s $250 billion bank investment plan, and notice served on Congress that an additional $100 billion will be tapped to...

Top 10 Tax Sweeteners in the Bailout Bill

Update: The House has just passed the final version of the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, without making any changes to the...

Treasury Releases Interim Oversight Policies

The Treasury Department today released interim policies on hiring contractors to manage the bailout and to handle potential conflicts of...

House Passes Bailout Bill

The House of Representatives today passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 by 263-171. Click here to read about the $110...

TCS Statement on the Upcoming Senate Bailout Vote

Washington, D.C – The following is a prepared statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the upcoming...

Oversight Provisions in Bailout Bill

The 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act contains stronger oversight protections than the three-page bill Treasury Secretary Henry...

TCS Statement on the Bailout Plan

Washington, D.C – The following is a prepared statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the Emergency...

New Analysis: Lawmakers Cutting Their Earmark Calories

During this election year, lawmakers are showing slight restraint in writing the earmarks in the FY 2009 spending bills, according to an...

Free Ride for Foreign Companies

No one likes paying taxes. But most of us suck it up and do so every year, which helps pay for everything from new roads and bridges to...

Alaska’s Federal Spending Bounty

Like we needed any other facts to verify that Senator Ted Stevens has had the appropriations committee wired for some time, we used...

TCS Statement on Don Young Ad Controversy

Washington, D.C. – The following is a written Statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense: It has come to...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Mortgage Bailout

There have been a lot of numbers floating around the proposed bailout backstop for the government sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae...

Schoolyard Antics Derail House Spending Bills

In a tussle worthy of a schoolyard, the spending bosses in the House of Representatives have decided to hang up their cleats and go home....

House Appropriations Committee Smackdown

The House appropriations committee had a melt down today. After a bit of posturing, it appeared they were going to get down to business...

House Appropriations Committtee Disciplines DHS

The $40 billion Homeland Security spending bill marked up by the House Appropriations Committee yesterday is $2.3 billion over the...

Appropriations Committees Ramp Up Activities

Theyyyyyyyyyyy’re back. On both sides of the Capitol, the spending gears are starting to turn as the Appropriations committees meet to...

Defense Earmarks

What a week! So we are slogging through the defense spending bill. From our counting of the earmark disclosure tables at the end of the...

Future Cash Combat

11:30 a.m. -- The Army’s Future Combat Systems, a sprawling modernization program that encompasses several phased deployments of weapons...

Missile Defense

11:20 a.m. -- The administration’s request included $9 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, the organization within the Defense...

Interest Payments on Debt Skyrocket

3:25 p.m. -- With the economy in the tank and rising federal debt, the costs of servicing the federal debt is skyrocketing. According to...

As the Omnibus Turns

While House Appropriations Cardinals are supposedly shaking the spending trees to find programs to cut from the end-of-the-year...

TCS Commissioned Report—Billions Spent to Deter Marijuana Use, But Program Effectiveness Remains Unknown

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal substance in the United States, and study after study shows that despite spending billions of...

TCS Testimony: Waste, Fraud and Abuse in U.S. Government Contracting in Iraq

Oral Statement of Steve Ellis, Vice President of Programs, Taxpayers for Common Sense before Senate Democratic Policy Committee...

Don’t Forget the Debt

As tax-cut fever grips Washington, details like the fact that Uncle Sam is still deeply in the red are being downplayed.   While...

ISTEA Brewing Trouble

As the House overwhelmingly passed its version of the budget-busting new highway bill last week 317–85, divisions brewed between...

Green Scissors Michigan Released

In the first single state effort of the national Green Scissors Campaign, TCS and the Michigan Land Use Institute released the Green...

Engineering Boondoggles

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