Policy Briefs
Analysis of Selected Provisions in Hurricane Sandy Emergency Spending Proposals
December 17, 2012
Reports & Data
Subsidizing Oil Shale: Tracing Federal Support for Oil Shale Development in the United States
November 29, 2012
Congress: Only Fund Emergency Needs in Sandy Supplemental
January 11, 2013 |
January 11, 2012
Dear Representative,
As you know, the House of... 
Government Report: Taxpayers Losing Billions in Unaccounted Minerals Extracted from Federal Lands
December 20, 2012 |
The federal government does not know the value of hardrock minerals being extracted from public lands, a new report by the Government...
House Science Subcommittee Debates Oil Shale Subsidies
December 12, 2012 |
The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing November 30th to discuss the development...
DOD Acquisition Reforms: Spending Money is Hard!
November 13, 2012 |
“It turns out acquisition reform is hard,” said Undersecretary of Defense Frank Kendall at yesterday’s rollout of the Defense...
Statement by Ryan Alexander, President of TCS on Common Sense Limit to Taxpayer Subsidies for Crop Insurance
June 13, 2012 |
The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense at a press conference concerning SA 2201, an...
Coalition Letter Urges Congress to Reject Linking Drilling Revenues to the Highway Trust Fund, Preserve User-Pays
February 13, 2012 |
Taxpayers for Common Sense, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Reason Foundation, National Taxpayers Union, and Natural Resources Defense...
Hill Briefing: Don’t Drill and Drive: Weakening the User-Pays Highway Funding Principle Would Endanger Our Nation’s Transportation Infrastructure
January 26, 2012 |
TCS Hill Briefing: Don’t Drill and Drive: Weakening the “User-Pays” Highway Funding Principle Would Endanger Our Nation’s Transportation...
TCS Testifies on Royalties before House Natural Resources Subcommittee
November 18, 2011 |
Ms. Ryan Alexander
President Taxpayers for Common Sense Written Testimony submitted to the United States House of...
TCS Letter In Support of S. 1775, the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act
October 30, 2011 |
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to several senators regarding S. 1775, the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act...
TCS Statement on DOI’s Plans to Lease Public Lands for Solar Development
October 28, 2011 |
Statement of Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense in response to Department of Interior release of the Supplement to...
TCS Testifies on Revenue Sharing from Offshore Drilling
July 26, 2011 |
Ms. Ryan Alexander
President Taxpayers for Common Sense Written Testimony submitted to the United States House of...
Senate Energy Committee Should Not Divert Billions in Royalties from Treasury
July 19, 2011 |
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee asking committee members to oppose...
Regulatory Comments for Office of Natural Resources Revenue Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Federal Oil and Gas Valuation
July 14, 2011 |
Taxpayers for Common Sense submitted comments to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue concerning Federal Oil and Gas Valuation....
Senate Committee Passes Energy Financing Entity
July 13, 2011 |
With little debate, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed by voice vote a bill to create the Clean Energy Deployment...
TCS Testifies at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
March 03, 2011 |
On March 3, 2011 Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander testified at a House Committee on Oversight and Government reform...
Ongoing Analysis of Debate Over FY11 Continuing Resolution
February 16, 2011 |
The House of Representatives is debating a Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2011 (through...
Legislation Introduced to end Reverse Royalty for Hardrock Mining
January 31, 2011 |
Last week, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced legislation to eliminate an unnecessary giveaway for mining companies that cost...
TCS Statement on BLM’s Setting of Fees for Solar Energy Development on Federal Lands
June 14, 2010 |
Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the schedule of rental fees it will charge for development of solar generation...
NEW ANALYSIS: Royalty-in-Kind Program Costing Taxpayers Millions
September 15, 2009 |
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
September 15, 2009 |
This morning, Interior Secretary Salazar announced that he will end the mismanaged and wasteful Minerals Management Service’s (MMS)...
More than 161,000 Abandoned Mines in the West
August 13, 2009 |
A recent GAO report found that there are at least 161,000 abandoned mines in western states. The research, conducted in the states of...
TCS Letter to the Senate on Hardrock Mining Laws
July 06, 2009 |
June 23, 2009
Dear Senator,
For more than 137...
House Passes Cap and Trade Legislation
June 25, 2009 |
Today, the House took an historic step towards addressing climate change by passing The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009....
TCS Supports Reform of 1872 Mining Law
March 06, 2009 |
Congressman Rahall has introduced legislation, H.R. 699 to reform the law that governs the mining of gold, silver, copper, uranium and...
What $24 Million Gets These Days
December 15, 2008 |
The controversial National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), located in a former department store in the congressional district of Rep....
Final Regulations for Oil Shale Leasing on Federal Lands
November 18, 2008 |
Despite the federal government’s recognition that “any significant production of oil shale is not likely to occur for a number of years,”...
New Report Raises Concerns with Royalty-In-Kind Program
October 28, 2008 |
A report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) is at risk of...
New Report Details Problems with Oil and Gas Royalty System
September 11, 2008 |
A new report finds that the federal oil and gas systems inability to adapt royalty rates or lease contracts to market conditions could...
Sex, Drugs, and and Mismanagement at the Department of the Interior
September 10, 2008 |
Government officials responsible for the collection of billions of dollars of oil royalties to the federal treasury accepted gifts from...
GAO: Gulf Leases Could Cost Taxpayers $53 Billion
June 04, 2008 |
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today estimates taxpayers will lose up to $53 billion from Gulf of Mexico oil...
Bipartisan Group of Senators Call for Taxpayer Protections in New Mining Law
April 23, 2008 |
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...
Hardrock Mining Royalty – Fair to Taxpayers, Fair to Industry
March 16, 2008 |
Fair Compensation for Taxpayers
For more than eight decades the coal, oil, and natural gas industries have all paid royalties for the...
Hardrock Mines on Federal Lands Provide No Return to Taxpayers
September 12, 2007 |
Overview
Under the General Mining Law of 1872, mining companies pay no royalties to the federal government for hardrock minerals...
Written Testimony Royalties at Risk Hearing before House Natural Resources Committee
March 28, 2007 |
Good morning Chairman Rahall and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Ryan Alexander...
“Relief” for Oil and Gas A Fiscal Headache for Taxpayers
May 10, 2006 |
“Now, we don’t think oil companies need tax incentives or subsidies to drill for oil at $70 a barrel, or for that matter at $25.” Wall...
TCS Commissioned Report—Billions Spent to Deter Marijuana Use, But Program Effectiveness Remains Unknown
June 28, 2005 |
Marijuana is the most widely used illegal substance in the United States, and study after study shows that despite spending billions of...
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