What's Happening in Earmarks & Appropriations

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...

Wasilla, Alaska Benefited from Nearly $27 Million in Earmarks from 1996 to 2002

As Mayor of Wasilla between 1996-2002, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) helped get nearly $27 million in earmarked federal funding. Under her...

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...

Don Young Legal Defense Fund Disclosures Released

New documents show that Rep Don Young (R-AK) has raised $54,000 for his legal defense fund. This money was raised mainly from Alaskan...

Stevens Obtained $3.2 billion in earmarks between 2004-2008

Taxpayers for Common Sense has released the last four years of earmark data for Alaska to help create an understanding of how powerful...

TCS Requests Don Young Campaign Remove Misleading Ads

Recently it was brought to our attention that Alaskans for Don Young has been running radio ads claiming that Taxpayers for Common Sense...

Should Duke Cunningham be Pardoned?

Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), currently in the middle of an 8-year prison sentence for taking $2.4 million in bribes from...

TCS, Allies and Taxpayers Find 76 Lawmakers Publish Earmark Requests

Every year lawmakers submit tens of thousands of earmark requests to the Appropriations Committees. Only a percentage of these make it...

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...

Syria: Excuse 535 To Not Cut the Deficit

Volume XVIII No. 37 Possible action in Syria has become the most recent excuse du jour for Pentagon boosters...