Analysis of Selected Provisions in Hurricane Sandy Emergency Spending Proposals
December 17, 2012
Subsidizing Oil Shale: Tracing Federal Support for Oil Shale Development in the United States
November 29, 2012
The Project On Government Oversight and Taxpayers for Common Sense are encouraged by reports of waning support for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) at the Savannah River Site...
Defenders of agricultural subsidies at all costs are starting to feel the heat.
Yesterday, professors from Ohio State University,...
Dear Fellow Taxpayer,
I wanted you to know you’re getting your money’s worth.
Earlier today I testified before the House Committee on...
Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander will be testifying before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on...
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...
The Senate today passed the final version of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which, though late, will still beat the...
TCS awarded the Golden Fleece to USDA's Risk Management Agency for wasting taxpayer funds...
A group of eleven Democratic and eleven Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Obama and...
November 28, 2012
An Open Letter to the Senate in Support of More Protections for Taxpayer Dollars
Dear Senator:
We the undersigned...
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....
We love to remind people that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is the world’s largest bureaucracy, employing more than the world’s...
“It turns out acquisition reform is hard,” said Undersecretary of Defense Frank Kendall at yesterday’s rollout of the Defense...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2012
CONTACTS:
Steve Ellis
202-546-8500 x126
or steve@taxpayer.net
Taxpayers for Common Sense...
Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to Speaker Boehner to oppose $1 trillion worth of bad agriculture policy....
The following is a written statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the adoption of the Frank-Mulvaney...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined together with several groups today urging Congress to oppose the House of Representative's Draft Farm...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate today, urging support for common sense reforms in the Farm Bill. These...
Congress is considering spending $100 million on the United States Enrichment Corporation’s (USEC) Piketon, Ohio enrichment project...
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the largest policy bill directing the nation’s annual spending, accounting for some $650...
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). ...
$150 million for the United States Enrichment Corporation's (USEC) Piketon, Ohio enrichment facility has been added to the National...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2012
CONTACTS:
Steve Ellis, Taxpayers for...
The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on the House Republican Budget...
The following is a statement by Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on S. 1813, "Moving Ahead for Progress in the...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to members of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee urging them to oppose...
Taxpayers for Common Sense, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Reason Foundation, National Taxpayers Union, and Natural Resources Defense...
Despite a billion dollar taxpayer investment and years of commitment by the Department of Energy (DOE), in a United States Energy...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to members of Congress as they consider legislation on FAA...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to House and Senate conferees before they meet today to negotiate differences between...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined the Delaware Riverkeeper and Water Protection Network to compile a report analyzing the wasteful Army...
Followers of the annual National Defense Authorization Act will recall the kerfuffle that occurred earlier this year after lawmakers in...
Taxpayers for Common Sense worked with Congressional allies to get 73 Representatives to sign a letter last week asking Speaker of the...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commitee in advance of its markup of S. 1134...
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense joined a coalition on a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, asking them to not...
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....
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the House Natural Resources Commitee in advance of its markup of a related bill, H.R....
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate, encouraging it to pass H.R. 2553, which would reform the wasteful...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commitee, explaining why the Stillwater Bridge...
Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure John Mica (R-FL) released a summary of his transportation...
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....
The Municipality of Anchorage (Alaska) filed suit in U.S. District Court challenging the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the...
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....
The Senate Armed Services Committee released the report for the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act on Friday, and though it will...
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. ...
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. ...
Today Taxpayers for Common Sense released a comprehensive report on the largest subsidy to corn ethanol, the Volumetric Ethanol Excise...
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....
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced an additional $2 billion in grant money for developing high speed rail (HSR)...
Taxpayers for Common Sense recently joined other Nicollet Island Coalition members on a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers detailing how new locks on the Upper Mississippi are economically unjustified....
Washington is abuzz with talk of the deficit-reduction plan President Obama announced Wednesday, mostly along the lines of “wait, what...
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.
...
Statement by TCS President Ms. Ryan Alexander on the announcement the Defense Department issued a stop-work order on the Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine program....
Taxpayers for Common Sense along with a coalition of nearly 30 groups sent a letter to Congress calling for an end to energy...
Taxpayers for Common Sense alongside a broad and diverse coalition of groups sent a letter supporting the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax...
On March 3, 2011 Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander testified at a House Committee on Oversight and Government reform...
Taxpayers for Common Sense along with 90 other organizations and associations delivered a letter to Congressional leaders on Tuesday...
Senate Energy Committee’s Hearing on the President’s
FY2012 Budget Request
Earlier this week the President released his budget request...
The House of Representatives is debating a Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2011 (through...
Defense Secretary Robert Gates today gave what was billed as one of the longest speeches in his current job, defining the battlefield for...
Please find below a statement from Ms. Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the defense cuts announced today by...
Ryan Alexander is president of Taxpayers for Common Sense.
The early indicators of what to expect from the 112th Congress in terms of...
Taxpayers for Common Sense, together with a diverse coalition of 58 groups, sent a letter to congressional leaders today urging them to...
The White House released a plan yesterday to pump up their investment in the United States’ nuclear weapons complex by another $4.1...
Now that the final ballots have come in, it’s time to assess the impact the midterms will have on the Congressional committees that...
The Department of Homeland Security did not effectively manage or oversee the prime contractor on its over-budget, behind-schedule...
Democratic Virginia Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner said today they will introduce an amendment to the FY2012 defense authorization...
Defense Secretary Robert Gates yesterday unveiled details of his effort to overhaul procurement processes, just ahead of Senate markups...
A bipartisan group of national security experts including Taxpayers for Common Sense today released a report calling for a budget that...
Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ new belt-tightening initiatives at the Department of Defense are a positive step forward. But much more...
Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the plan to build “FutureGen” a massive commercial “clean coal” facility in Mattoon,...
On Wednesday June 14, The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to debate and vote on the Consolidated Land, Energy, and...
Today the House Committee on Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee was scheduled to hold the first mark-up on a Fiscal Year...
A recent hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee on SBInet, Boeing’s borderland “virtual fence” that has failed to function...
Today, the Sustainable Defense Task Force held a press conference at the Capitol Visitors Center releasing a report identifying roughly $1 trillion in Pentagon budget savings over the next ten years.
...
Today, President Ryan Alexander issued an Op-Ed to Politico.com regarding the recent $485 million alternate engine addition by the House...
The Defense Department yesterday turned over to Congress an update on its attempts to pass an audit. Though Congress mandated audits back...
Taxpayers for Common Sense submitted comments to the Federal Register concerning revisions to how the nation's water resources are...
The White House took an important step this week toward rolling back one of the most pernicious pieces of contracting law on the federal...
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense Action released a letter to the House urging support for legislation introduced by Representatives...
Eliminating wasteful defense programs like the F-22 Raptor last year saved taxpayers $330 billion, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said...
Below is a comment from TCS President Ms. Ryan Alexander on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s announcement that she will...
Today TCS Action released a letter to Congress supporting H.R. 4683, the Scrap the MAP Act. The legislation is co-sponsored by...
The President’s proposed FY2011 Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget is $25.8 billion, slightly reduced from the FY2010 level of $26.9...
The President’s budget ends funding for the Yucca Mountain project, which was intended to be a permanent nuclear waste disposal site....
Discovered by German scientists during World War II, the Fischer-Tropsch process – referred to by the Department of Energy as...
Since President Obama announced a 30,000 troop buildup for Afghanistan Tuesday, everyone is asking the inevitable question: How much is...
The annual military construction spending bill is not generally a big deal for Congress, which treats it as an opportunity to fund gyms...
Taxpayers received a bit of good news this morning. The Treasury Department announced it will be letting the Guarantee Program for Money...
A recent GAO report found that there are at least 161,000 abandoned mines in western states. The research, conducted in the states of...
This week TCS released a letter to Congress supporting the Salmon Solutions and Planning Act. The legislation was introduced by...
There are several amendments on the House Defense spending bill that is on the floor this morning. In addition to the important earmark...
Late last night the Senate completed their work on the Defense Authorization bill, S. 1390. The bill passed with an overwhelming...
The following is a statement by Taxpayers for Common Sense President Ryan Alexander on the 58-40 Senate vote to eliminate additional...
This week the Senate is considering the Defense Authorization bill, S. 1390. Several Senators have offered amendments regarding the use of...
A July 16 hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight on federal procurement...
(July 21) The Senate today took a small step for Pentagon reform and a giant step for fiscal sanity when it voted 58-40 to approve the...
The House Defense Appropriations Subcommitte today set the tone for the upcoming debate over Congresses’ biggest spending bill. Following...
Taxpayers for Common Sense sponsored a briefing for House of Representatives members and staffers Wednesday, July 15, titled Defense...
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense and the National Taxpayers Union sent a joint letter to all members of the House of Representatives...
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing Tuesday on the future of the V-22 Osprey, an aircraft with a...
President Obama came out swinging yesterday, issuing the first veto threat of his presidency to tackle a congressional sacred cow...
Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources completed work on the American Clean Energy Leadership Act (ACELA), passing...
Two Senate hearings on nuclear weapons this week showed that the Obama administration’s charge toward a smaller—and hopefully...
An independent cost estimate puts the price tag for the Knik Arm Crossing—a.k.a. Don Young’s Way—in Anchorage, Alaska at $686 million...
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has just released its second report on the progress of the Treasury Department’s in...
A friend of Taxpayers for Common Sense in Maine just alerted us to something very interesting. Tonight, National Geographic is going to...
The House of Representatives is expected Wednesday to vote on an economic stimulus package, H.R. 1, the ‘‘American Recovery and...
Despite energetic lobbying by the defense industry (and some lawmakers) the $825 billion stimulus bill now emerging from committee...
This morning, The New York Times published an excellent story about some of the problems with the financial sector bailout – the Troubled...
Of all the industries in line for a handout in this financially frightening time, the defense industry would seem to bring up the rear....
Hundreds of millions of dollars overbudget, four years overdue and the Capitol Visitor Center is still not finished. Although...
Just in time for a new war funding request to hit Capitol Hill, a trio of recently released documents recall just how badly the Pentagon...
The controversial National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), located in a former department store in the congressional district of Rep....
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...
Under the financial bailout, taxpayers are becoming silent investors in numerous banks and other financial institutions. While Uncle Sam...
Last week we told you about a congressman’s efforts to feed the already overstuffed Army modernization program called Future Combat...
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...
A report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) is at risk of...
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates fired a preemptive strike against potential cuts to the U.S. nuclear weapons program this week by...
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), on trial for failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts from Veco Corporation and its former...
The following is a letter from Taxpayers for Common Sense Action prior to upcoming Senate vote on the Defense Authorization Bill for...
The Department of Homeland Security blames its doubled cost estimates for the border fence on pricey fuel, labor and materials. But it’s...
Federal watchdogs confirmed our suspicions today when they revealed that the cost of building a 600+ mile fence along our southern border...
The so-called roadless rule, promulgated in the final days of the Clinton Administration, has once again been struck down by U.S....
The Congressional Budget Office today released a report providing some of the most comprehensive estimates we’ve seen to date on the...
Though two of the nation’s largest nuclear labs are no doubt sad to see their patron Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) depart Congress, the...
Anyone who has a TV knows the military spends tons of money for recruiting prospective troops into the services. Recently, while watching...
Nuclear weapons labs and the Senator who loves them closed a chapter yesterday when the Senate cut funding for a controversial program to...
At last, the Department of Homeland Security has given us some idea of what its border fence is going to cost—and it looks like a...
The Anchorage Daily News reports today that the state of Alaska will ask for an independent cost estimate of the Knik Arm bridge. This...
11:20 a.m. -- The administration’s request included $9 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, the organization within the Defense...
It’s a Friday afternoon, but I thought you might be interested in another veto statement from a few years back. The WRDA bill was called...
The Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Chairwoman
The Honorable Doc Hastings, Ranking Member
House Committee on Standards of Official...
Testimony of Steve Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's hearing on...
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Swain County), North Carolina
Projected Cost to Federal Taxpayers: $604 million
January 12,...
Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement from Jill Lancelot, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense:
The conferees on...
Oral Statement of Steve Ellis, Vice President of Programs, Taxpayers
for Common Sense
before
Senate Democratic Policy Committee...
Despite the call on Capitol Hill for fiscal belt tightening to deal with record deficits, the House has shown an unprecedented hunger for...
Our weekly reality-check for federal spending. View All
While Washington is wringing its hands about the automatic across-the-board budget cuts known as...
December 17, 2012
November 29, 2012