What's Happening in Cut Subsidies

Big Oil, Big Profits: Industry Tops $120 Billion in 2012

As annual financial reports come in, it’s clear the oil and gas industry is looking to continue its decade long trend of being one of the...

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 Moderates Congressional Briefings on Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard

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

Big Oil Boasts High Profits; Subsidies Continue

Oil and gas companies continue to boast substantial profits while reaping billions in taxpayer-backed subsidies. As of February 1st, four...

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...

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...

Hall Bill to Create Millions in New Taxpayer Handouts for Oil Shale

Last month, Representative Ralph Hall (R-TX) introduced a bill (H.R. 6603) to create $50 million in new taxpayer-funded handouts for oil shale speculation....

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....

Report shows billions risked on oil shale speculation

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

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....

Support Amendments to Cut Waste in Defense Spending Bill

  July 18, 2012 Dear Representative:  Taxpayers for Common Sense Action, a...

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...

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...

TCS Statement on Sanders-Ellison Bill Eliminating Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Statement of Ryan Alexander, President, Taxpayers for Common Sense on the introduction of the Sanders-Ellison bill to eliminate...

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 Statement on Senate Adoption of “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” (MAP-21)

The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on S. 1813, "Moving Ahead for Progress in the...

Ideologically diverse coalition sends letter to Congress: Stop the NAT GAS Act

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action joined an ideologically diverse coalition in a letter to the Senate urging them to oppose Amendment...

Senate Defeats Attempt to Attach NAT GAS Act to Transportation Bill

Today the Senate defeated an amendment offered by Senators Menendez (D-NJ) and Burr (R-NC) that would have provided billions in lucrative...

Letter to Congress: Vote NO: S. 1813 Support Taxpayer Positions on Amendments

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to members of the Senate urging them support taxpayer positions on amendments to the...

Coal Subsidies Database

Over the years the coal industry has received billions in federal subsidies, in a variety of forms including direct grants, loan...

FutureGen Behind Schedule: What’s Happening to Taxpayers’ Billion Dollars?

Despite a billion dollar taxpayer investment and years of commitment by the Department of Energy (DOE), in a United States Energy...

An Open Letter to the United States Congress: No Special Tax Treatment for Natural Gas Vehicles!

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined several groups today to call on Congress to oppose the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans...

State of the Union Energy Proposals

Oil subsidies must go, but we can’t stop there; Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program will continue to fail; increased...

Diverse Groups Mark Expiration of Ethanol Subsidy

Taxpayers for Common Sense joins several groups in marking the expiration of the largest subsidy to the ethanol industry, something TCS...

Coalition Holds Press Conference on Illinois FutureGen Project

               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS: December 19, 2011 Kristina Rasmussen (217)...

This Time, Let the Ethanol Tax Break Expire

The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, or VEETC, the largest subsidy to the ethanol industry, is set to expire on December 31st. Last...

Letter and Briefing on the Wasteful, Expiring $6 Billion Ethanol Subsidy

Taxpayers for Common Sense worked with Congressional allies to get 73 Representatives to sign a letter last week asking Speaker of the...

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...

Taxpayers for Common Sense Targets Oil and Gas Tax Breaks

October 20, 2011 CONTACT: Mike Surrusco: michael@taxpayer.net (202) 546-8500 x102 Taxpayers for Common Sense Targets Oil and Gas...

Senate Energy Committee Needs to Stop the Clean Energy Deployment Administration

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined with other groups urging Congress to save taxpayers from footing the bill for billions in risky loans by not creating the Clean Energy Deployment Administration....

TCS Comments on Senators’ Compromise on Ethanol Subsidy Elimination

Today, Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) struck a deal with Sens. Klobuchar (D-MN) and Thune (R-SD) to eliminate the ethanol tax credit (and tariff)....

Coalition letter in support of Reps. Herger and Crowley bill to end 30 years of tax credits to the E

Today, a diverse coalition of groups including Taxpayers for Common Sense released a letter to Representatives Herger (R-CA) and Crowley (D-NY), expressing strong support for their bill, the Ethanol Subsidy Repeal Act, which would end more than 30 years of tax credits to the ethanol industry. The Act would save taxpayers several billion dollars this year alone, with no impact to the ethanol industry....

Ethanol Update: Coalition Applauds Two Important Votes to End Taxpayer-Funded Ethanol Subsidies in t

WASHINGTON, DC – June 16, 2011 – A broad and diverse coalition that includes business associations, taxpayer advocates, hunger and...

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...

Coalition Letter Opposing Clean Energy Deployment Administration

Taxpayers for Common Sense and a coalition of groups sent a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee calling for them to oppose the Clean Energy Deployment Administration....

Coalition Letter Opposing NATGAS Act—A Bill to Subsidize the Natural Gas Vehicle Industry

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined 16 other taxpayer and conservative groups on an open letter to Congress urging them to oppose yet another new energy subsidy. ...

Democrats target big oil: Experts debate - Washington Post Live Q&A at 2pm

Democrats target big oil: Experts debate In an effort to create revenue and decrease the deficit, Democrats are pushing to end tax...

TCS Action Letter: Tax Reform Must Tackle Oil and Gas Subsidies

TCS Action sent a letter to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) to urge crafting of a bill that will trim unnecessary wasteful oil and gas tax breaks. By eliminating wasteful and outdated tax breaks, Congress can bring valuable revenue to the Treasury and begin chipping away at the nation's trillion dollar deficit....

TCS Letter in Opposition to H.R. 1380, the NAT GAS Act

Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives calling for Congress to oppose H.R. 1380, the New Alternative Transportation to Give American Solutions or NAT GAS Act....

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.”...

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...

Taxpayer Letter to the Senate: End Ethanol Tax Credit

Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to senators today urging them to support efforts to immediately end spending billions of taxpayer dollars on a wasteful tax credit that was set to expire last year. Read our letter below and contact your senators to ask for their support on this common sense taxpayer-friendly amendment. ...

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...

Broad Coalition Supports Senators Efforts to End VEETC

Taxpayers for Common Sense alongside a broad and diverse coalition of groups sent a letter supporting the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax...

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...

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...

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...

TCS Action Letter Urges Congress to Oppose ANY Extension to the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to Congress urging members to oppose ANY extension to the Volumetric Ethanol...

Diverse Coalition Calls for Congress to End the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC)

Taxpayers for Common Sense, together with a diverse coalition of 58 groups, sent a letter to congressional leaders today urging them to...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Urges Congress to extend $5 billion/year Ethanol Tax Credit

US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday urged members of Congress to reinstate the biodiesel tax credit and extend...

Press Release: Broad Coalition Opposes Ethanol Industry Proposal, Supports Real Reform

Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense alongside environmental groups and business associations hosted a conference call with members of the...

Keep it Clean

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...

FutureGen: Massive Clean Coal Project Changes Track, Still Securing $1 Billion Earmarked in the Stimulus

Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the plan to build “FutureGen” a massive commercial “clean coal” facility in Mattoon,...

TCS Action: Support Key Provisions and Strengthening Amendments to the CLEAR Act; Oppose Weakening Amendments

On Wednesday June 14, The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to debate and vote on the Consolidated Land, Energy, and...

Blumenauer, Menendez Call for an End to Big Oil Subsidies

On June 30, 2010, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the End Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act to cut a number of subsidies for big...

House Energy and Water Appropriations Bill Mark-Up Delayed

Today the House Committee on Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee was scheduled to hold the first mark-up on a Fiscal Year...

Senator Seeks Repeal of Billions of Dollars in Subsidies to Oil and Gas Companies

 Today, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) filed an amendment, 4318, to so-called tax extenders legislation that would repeal $35 billion...

BP Circular Logic on Taxpayer Subsidies For Cleanup

 “And our efforts will not come at any cost to the taxpayers.” – BP advertisement, New York Times, June 2, 2010 BP’s assurance that...

TCS Action Letter: Energy and Climate Legislation: More Transparency and Accountability

  Energy and Climate Legislation: More Transparency and Accountability May 11, 2010 There are three key principles that must...

TCS Action Letter: Energy Tax Bill Should End Coal Liquids, Oil and Gas Tax Breaks and Not Extend the VEETC

Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means urging members to protect taxpayers' interests in drafting energy tax and green jobs legislation....

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...

Bill Introduced to Extend Wasteful Ethanol Tax Credits

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

The Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program: History and Taxpayer Risk

Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program to provide loan guarantees...

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...

TCS Action Letter: Liquid Coal Tax Credits Are Money Losers for Taxpayers

Today Taxpayers for Common Sense Action  released a letter to the Senate opposing the inclusion of generous tax breaks for liquid coal in...

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...

FY2011 Budget Request: Administration Triples Risky Loan Guarantees for Nuclear Reactors

The President’s FY2011 budget proposal triples funding to the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program.  This includes $36 billion in...

FY2011 Budget Request: President Expands Cuts to Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Similar to last year’s budget request, the Fiscal year 2011 budget request eliminates several longstanding oil and gas subsidies.  TCS is...

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,...

Coal to Liquids: A Costly Gamble

Discovered by German scientists during World War II, the Fischer-Tropsch process – referred to by the Department of Energy as...

Department of Energy Issues the “final rule” on Loan Guarantees

Today the Department of Energy (DOE) released their amended final rule governing the Title XVII loan guarantee program. The program’s...

Oil Companies To Reap More Profits on Backs of Federal Taxpayers

Taxpayers will likely lose at least $19 billion to oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court...

Administration Calls for an End to Fossil Fuel Subsidies

At the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh today, President Obama and the other G-20 leaders called for an international end to fossil fuel...

NEW ANALYSIS: Royalty-in-Kind Program Costing Taxpayers Millions

Oil and Gas companies have skirted millions of dollars in payments owed to the federal government for the extraction of natural gas from...

Salazar Announces Termination of Royalty-in-Kind Program

This morning, Interior Secretary Salazar announced that he will end the mismanaged and wasteful Minerals Management Service’s (MMS)...

Nuclear Power Subsidies

Since the nation began using nuclear energy, the federal government has provided billions in subsidies to the industry. More than $85...

Important Legislation Calls for End to Double Subsidies for Hardrock Mining Operations

Taxpayers for Common Sense applauds Senators Feingold (D-WI), Cantwell (D-WA), and Feinstein (D- CA) for introducing the Elimination of...

TCS Letter to the Senate on Hardrock Mining Laws

                 June 23, 2009 Dear Senator, For more than 137...

House Energy and Water Subcommittee Cuts a Billion Dollars from the President’s Budget Request

Last Thursday, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development held their mark-up of the fiscal year 2010 Energy and Water...

Captain Morgan’s Bailout Binge

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

Senate Energy Committee Passes American Clean Energy Leadership Act

Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources completed work on the American Clean Energy Leadership Act (ACELA), passing...

Taxpayer Giveaway to Oil and Gas Industries Repealed in Senate Energy Committee

Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee narrowly passed an amendment to repeal the outer continental shelf deep water and...

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 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...

TCS Supports Reform of 1872 Mining Law

Congressman Rahall has introduced legislation, H.R. 699 to reform the law that governs the mining of gold, silver, copper, uranium and...

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...

TCS Presents: Loan Guarantees and You

Today TCS explained the basics of the Department of Energy's loan guarantees program at an Institute for Energy and Environmental...

Clean Coal Gets Boost in House and Senate Stimulus Bills

Both the House and Senate included increase for clean coal technologies in their stimulus bills. The House provided $2.4 billion for...

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...

Nuclear Subsidies Past and Present

Since the beginning of nuclear energy the federal government has provided billions in handouts to the industry. More than $85 billion has...

Private Industry Finds Coal-to-Liquids too Risky So Why Should Taxpayers Pick-Up the Tab?

A new report today released by the RAND Corporation addresses the costs, benefits and risks associated with commercial development of...

TCS Statement on Colorado Public Awareness Effort on Energy

Statement by Jill Lancelot, Co-founder/Senior Advisor, regarding Colorado public awareness effort on energy.   Statement by Jill...

Oil and Gas Subsidies: Overview

Taxpayer subsidies to the oil and gas industry have played a major role in U.S. energy policy since 1916. Two of the largest tax breaks,...

Nuclear Reprocessing

Nuclear fuel reprocessing is the process of collecting nuclear waste to recover and reuse plutonium and uranium. Despite decades of...

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...

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...

TCS Action Letter to the Senate:  Oppose Subsidies to the Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Industries

In a letter to each Senator, Taxpayers for Common Sense Action urges the Senate to oppose any effort to provide additional subsidies to...

Sex, Drugs, and and Mismanagement at the Department of the Interior

Government officials responsible for the collection of billions of dollars of oil royalties to the federal treasury accepted gifts from...

House Strongly Opposes Funds for Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

The FY09 House Energy and Water Bill specifically denies funds for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), a large-scale DOE...

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...

Bipartisan Group of Senators Call for Taxpayer Protections in New Mining Law

Washington, D.C. – Today Senators Feingold (D-WI), Sununu (R-NH), Cantwell (D-WA), and Gregg (R-NH) led a bi-partisan push for the...

Oppose Blank Check Loan Guarantees in Final Energy Bill

Dear Senator, We urge you to oppose the inclusion of language in the final energy bill exempting the Department of Energy (DOE) Loan...

Written Testimony Royalties at Risk Hearing before House Natural Resources Committee

Good morning Chairman Rahall and members of the committee.  Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.  My name is Ryan Alexander...

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...