What's Happening in Earmarks & Appropriations

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...

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...

FBI Raids Lobby Firm with Murtha Ties

ABC News is reporting that the FBI has raided the offices of PMA Group, a powerful lobbying outfit here in Washington, D.C. The firm...

Earmark Reform Bill Introduced in the Senate

Taxpayers for Common Sense applauds Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) for...

Congressman Gets Earmark for His Church

Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) appears to have taken the saying “taking care of your flock” to another level. Rush, who is also an...

House, Senate Appropriators Offer Further Earmark Reforms

Today, the House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman announced new earmark reforms for FY10 spending bills. The new reforms:...

What $24 Million Gets These Days

The controversial National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), located in a former department store in the congressional district of Rep....

Stevens Trial: Senator Takes Stand in Own Defense

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), on trial for failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts from Veco Corporation and its former...

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...

Senate Turns Against Earmark Reform

Tonight, the Senate passed the $612.5 billion Fiscal Year 2009 defense authorization bill. Virtually all the amendments to the...

Engineering Boondoggles

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