Oppose Ag-Only Farm Bill: Spends More Than Senate Bill; Changes Make Subsidies Permanent
July 11, 2013
Congress is on the verge of heading home for a five-week vacation (“home work period” is the euphemism they use). In the run-up to...
Early last year, the President signed the “FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012,” authorizing spending for the Federal Aviation...
Support McClintock amendment to cut Essential Air Service funding....
A new study by M.J. Bradley and Associates prepared for the American Bus Association Foundation, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and the Reason Foundation reveals lower consumer and taxpayer costs and reduced emissions associated with motorcoach travel as compared with Amtrak’s rail system. ...
Propsals would cut wasteful spending and increase transparency....
Essential Air Service (EAS) reforms passed as part of last year’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization bill were intended...
A press release from TCS on the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority being awarded the most recent "Golden Fleece."...
In a small victory for taxpayers, the Department of Transportation (DOT) last week issued an order terminating Essential Air Service...
Over the weekend, Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney published a piece about the ridiculous proposal to build the Charlottesville...
Federally subsidized crop insurance is on pace to cost at least $27 billion – 57 percent – more than was promised in the last farm bill...
As you have no doubt heard by now, an interstate bridge collapsed on a major travel corridor in Washington State. The bridge spans the...
Over the past decade, extreme weather and storms have become increasingly commonplace – including coastal storms, wildfires, droughts,...
This bill is irresponsible and we urge you to oppose it and amendments that will make the bill worse....
Taxpayers for Common Sense and eight other organizations allied on this issue urge scrutiny of S.601, the Water Resources Development Act of 2013...
The Essential Air Service (EAS) is a federal subsidy program created in the 1970s as part of airline deregulation. Though the program was...
Dear Taxpayer,
Classic inside baseball. Above is just one nugget Taxpayers for Common Sense came across while reading page 237 of...
The current CR and spending bills theoretically mimic the FY13 appropriations bills, but we’ve started looking to see where lawmakers added and subtracted dollars....
In a great piece about the proposed Charlottesville (VA) Bypass, James Bacon from Bacon’s Rebellion lays out several significant problems...
Recently, TCS was invited to Charlottesville, Virginia to speak with citizens and reporters about a project we have opposed since the...
January 11, 2012
Dear Representative,
As you know, the House of...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2012
CONTACTS:
Steve Ellis
202-546-8500...
The following is a written statement of Ms. Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on H.R. 4348, the transportation...
Left-Right coalition identifies practical steps Congress could take to slash deficits, save natural resources....
Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) Vice-President Steve Ellis testified about federal subsidies for western water contractors and...
Our new website and digital toolkit is live in BETA testing....
The House today passed a 90-day extension of the nation’s federal transportation program (H.R. 4348) by a vote of 293-197. This...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2012
CONTACTS:
Steve Ellis, Taxpayers for...
For Immediate Release
March 29, 2012
Contact: Steve Ellis
(202) 546-8500 x126
Statement...
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 joined an ideologically diverse coalition in a letter to the Senate urging them to oppose Amendment...
Despite initial plans to move ahead with debate and of a transportation bill, political reality set in late yesterday and today for House...
The administration's FY 2013 Presidential Budget Request proposes a $476 billion six-year reauthorization bill. This is much higher...
Last Updated: February 19, 2012
The FY2013 Presidential Budget Request was released this morning (2/13/2012). TCS staff will be posting...
Taxpayers for Common Sense, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Reason Foundation, National Taxpayers Union, and Natural Resources Defense...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives as they consider H.R.7, the American Energy...
Taxpayers for Common Sense today released the following in reaction to the House’s most recent transportation bill:
The House today...
Senate leadership is busy patting themselves on the back in the wake of Senate Finance Committee approval of a slate of “pay-fors” to...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to members of Congress as they consider legislation on FAA...
[Updated 2/1/2012]
The Natural Resources Committee today passed three energy-related bills today, and the royalties that would result...
After 23 extensions, Congress is finally on the verge of reauthorizing the nation’s air program for the next four years. This would be...
Today the House Natural Resources Committee considered the energy portions of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (the...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to House and Senate conferees before they meet today to negotiate differences between...
TCS Hill Briefing: Don’t Drill and Drive: Weakening the “User-Pays” Highway Funding Principle Would Endanger Our Nation’s Transportation...
An outline of the House majority’s new transportation reauthorization proposal — The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act — was...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined the Delaware Riverkeeper and Water Protection Network to compile a report analyzing the wasteful Army...
With the March 31, 2012 expiration of nation’s surface transportation legislation steadily approaching, House leaders informed...
Ms. Ryan Alexander
President Taxpayers for Common Sense
Written Testimony submitted to the...
Both the House and Senate are poised to begin deliberations over different versions of transportation reauthorization legislation. Though...
According to a business plan released by the California High Speed Rail Authority this week, the costs for a high speed rail connection...
Updated 9/28/2011
Reports of a meeting between House Republican leadership and Rep. John Mica (R-FL), Chair of the Transportation and...
Taxpayers for Common Sense joined other groups in support of the two amendments Senator Hagan (D-NC) filed to the Flood Insurance Reform...
Today, TCS Vice President Steve Ellis will be testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water...
On Tuesday, September 12th, the Obama Administration released the text of the “American Jobs Act” which includes $447 billion in tax...
After negotiations between majority leaders in the House and Senate, a bill was introduced that would extend the surface transportation...
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action sent a letter to the Senate, encouraging it to pass H.R. 2553, which would reform the wasteful...
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to the House of Representatives urging strong reforms of the wasteful and outdated...
Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure John Mica (R-FL) released a summary of his transportation...
A coalition of local organizations released an alternative to the proposed $700 million Stillwater Bridge replacement. This alternative...
The Municipality of Anchorage (Alaska) filed suit in U.S. District Court challenging the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the...
Letters to the editor, June 14
Joshua Sewell • Washington, D.C. Policy Analyst, Taxpayers for Common Sense
It is disappointing to...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced an additional $2 billion in grant money for developing high speed rail (HSR)...
Taxpayers for Common Sense on PBS Nightly Business Report: May 17, 2011
Taxpayers for Common Sense VP Steve Ellis commenting on the...
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....
The House Appropriations Committee released the final Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the federal government for the rest of the 2011...
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense sent a letter to Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, in support of H.R. 1309 the “Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011.”...
Today, Vice President Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense testified on behalf of the SmarterSafer Coalition at a House Financial...
Taxpayers for Common Sense was mentioned numerous times on Capitol Hill this February. CSPAN video provided below:
February 7,...
Today Taxpayers for Common Sense delivered to leadership in both the House and Senate a report on how Congress can quickly cut nearly...
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) told a local newspaper this week that she supports a ban on earmarks – but then turned around and said that...
The Co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform gave their proposals to fellow Commission members today....
Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense participated in a discussion on "Making Environmental and Fiscal Responsibility a Priority."
TCS was...
Today, TCS presented testimony to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on "Reauthorization of the National Flood...
Taxpayers for Common Sense and National Taxpayers Union joined together in opposition to H.R. 1264 - The Multiple Peril Insurance Act of...
Chairman James Oberstar
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
2165 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC...
Earlier this week, our attention was pointed to a new earmark policy released by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public...
The IWTF was created to pay for construction and maintenance on much of the nation’s most used waterways. Funded by a tax on fuel used...
Taxpayers for Common Sense recently joined a number of other organizations in opposing attempts to further weaken cost-sharing...
Taxpayers for Common Sense submitted comments to the Federal Register concerning revisions to how the nation's water resources are...
TCS Vice President Steve Ellis was invited to testify before a House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee holding a hearing...
Earlier this week, the Senate passed its version of the jobs bill—a bill which is flawed from a transportation and taxpayer perspective. ...
Today the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on H.R. 4225, a bill sponsored by Rep....
The House of Representatives last night voted overwhelmingly – 335-85 – to extend the nation’s transportation program (SAFETEA-LU), which...
Today Congressmen Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Tom Petri (R- WI), along with 23 other cosponsors from across the country, introduced the...
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discussed the looming insolvency of the highway trust fund today with Secretary of...
On June 4th, Rep. John Olver (D-MA) led the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and...
Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their stimulus project list. The first thing that comes to mind is that the Obama...
This week more than 70 Representatives sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama asking for his commitment to restoring Columbia and...
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...
In case you missed it, the American Association of State and Highway Officials (AASHTO) earlier this week announced its proposal for a...
The Senate yesterday approved an $8 billion transfer from the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (the House passed the same measure...
Recently it was brought to our attention that Alaskans for Don Young has been running radio ads claiming that Taxpayers for Common Sense...
The Anchorage Daily News reports today that the state of Alaska will ask for an independent cost estimate of the Knik Arm bridge. This...
Last week, USA Today had a story about how the decline in miles traveled by America’s drivers, largely the result of historically high...
With the average price of a gallon of gasoline over $3.601 and diesel well over $4.002, it’s no surprise that political solutions to the...
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...
Dear Member of Congress:
For many years, our organizations have examined the standard operating practices of the Corps of Engineers and...
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...
The following is a written statement from Steve Ellis, Vice President for Programs at Taxpayers for Common Sense on the Senate passage of...
Washington, D.C. - The following is a statement by Keith Ashdown, Vice President of Policy at Taxpayers for Common Sense on H.R. 3 -...
The following is a prepared statement by Steve Ellis, Vice President at Taxpayers for Common Sense on the House Energy & Water...
Despite the call on Capitol Hill for fiscal belt tightening to deal with record deficits, the House has shown an unprecedented hunger for...
Washington, DC -- Taxpayers for Common Sense would like to applaud Congressman Tancredo for his leadership and defense of taxpayers in...
Wasington, DC -- Last night Congress struck down the $2.5 Auburn Dam project for the fifth time in a decade through a major bi-partisan...
As the House overwhelmingly passed its version of the budget-busting new highway bill last week 317–85, divisions brewed between...
Our weekly reality-check for federal spending. View All
Volume XVIII No. 37
Possible action in Syria has become the most recent excuse du jour for Pentagon boosters...
July 11, 2013