In the News

River Industry Cites Olmsted Failure in Push for Taxpayer Aid

WASHINGTON • For years, the barge industry has complained that aging locks and dams hike the cost of waterborne cargo and pose an...

House Makes Proposal for Waterways Projects

A bipartisan group of congressional members has introduced legislation that would change the way billions of dollars of water infrastructure...

Taxpayers Turn U.S. Farmers Into Fat Cats With Crop Subsidies

A Depression-era program intended to save the nation’s farmers from ruin has grown into a 21st-century crutch enabling affluent growers and...

Bloomberg: Wal-Mart Connection Means Taxpayers Pay More for Rogers Airport Tower

Bloomberg yesterday took a look at the Rogers Municipal Airport, home to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s fleet of corporate jets, and finds the...

4 Examples Of Corporate Welfare In Action

While corporations are often painted as the independent drivers of the U.S. economic system, the beacons of small government success aren’t...

Hey Taxpayers, Here’s How You’re Subsidizing Wal-Mart

The operations of an airport in Rogers — a suburban city in Benton County, Arkansas, with a population nearly 56,000 — show the degree to...

11 Trillion Reasons

Here is a good line: Unenlightened farm policy with its massive subsidies for junk food ingredients has played a pivotal role in shaping our...

Antiquated U.S. farm policy fiscally foolish

In June, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives rejected, 195-234, a trillion-dollar farm bill that included agriculture...

Congress considers clipping rural Montana air service’s wings

The future of rural Montana air service could be in for a bumpy ride when Congress returns to work next month. Federally subsidized...

Transportation bill yields a THUD in the House

The Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill -- THUD for short -- is a $44 billion measure. House leaders put it...

Rep. Ted Yoho entangled in dispute over farm bill

The farm bill making its way through Congress includes a significant change — away from direct payments and toward crop insurance — in the...

The big insurance gamble for farmers and taxpayers

For the past 46 years Richard Barber has coaxed peanuts from the earth in western Marion County, but it wasn't until last year that for the...

U.S. House rejects bid to kill Piketon project

WASHINGTON — The House yesterday overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to strip $48 million from a proposed uranium centrifuge in Piketon, Ohio...

Vogtle reactors mean more clean energy

The City of Calhoun Electric Utilities receives the majority of its power from nuclear power. During the city council meeting on Monday,...

GOP’s cruel intentions

Last week, we saw the full measure of Republican cruelty. Discarding decades of precedent, the House GOP stripped the nation’s food stamp...

House Republicans finally pass a farm bill — with no money for food stamps

After a failed attempt earlier, the House GOP has finally passed legislation to fund U.S. farm policy for the next five years. The only...

New House farm bill cuts $12.9B, CBO finds

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Thursday released a new score on the split farm bill. The CBO said that the bill...

House to vote on farm bill in big test for Boehner, Republican leaders

The House will vote Thursday on a new farm bill in a major test for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the rest of the House GOP leadership...

House could vote on Piketon project money as soon as tonight

The U.S. House could vote as soon as later tonight on an amendment that would strip USEC of federal dollars. An amendment by Rep. Michael...

Congress’ Latest Ridiculous Investment

Today's post is a bad news/good news story. The bad news is that deep in the fiscal year 2014 Energy and Water Development Appropriations...

Leaders Struggle to Find Votes for Farm Bill Without Food Stamps

House GOP leaders’ plan to strip food stamps from the farm bill ran into trouble Tuesday when it failed to win over conservative groups who...

Another Toubled Department of Energy Loan Guarantee

Spectacular failure made Solyndra a household name and highlighted failures in the Department of Energy's loan guarantee program. Since...

Fight Over Genetically Modified Salmon Looms in Agriculture Spending Bill

The Alaska delegation could advance its fight against the commercial production of genetically modified salmon if the fiscal 2014 Senate...

Ohio farmers glum after U.S. House plows under farm bill

The House dealt a surprising defeat yesterday to a five-year, nearly $1 trillion bill regulating farm programs — a blow to Ohio farmers who...

Fiscal group enraged by limits on House farm bill amendments

Deficit hawks at Taxpayers for Common Sense are enraged Wednesday by limits imposed by the House Rules Committee on farm bill...

Farm bill’s subsidy for sugar under pressure

Tucked into a sweeping $1 trillion farm bill being debated in the U.S. House this week and next is a provision that may define the future of...

Politics drives farm bill policy

The U.S. farm subsidy program can be an important tool in stabilizing crop prices and ensuring a consistent food supply. The federal program...

Opposition to House Farm Bill Spans Political Spectrum

As the House prepares to vote this week on a new five-year farm bill, advocacy groups from across the political spectrum are lining up to...

Farm bill cuts judged both too much, not enough

A year after they failed to pass a farm bill and suffered for it in several big congressional races, House Republicans think they’ve finally...

Sushi Aid in $1 Trillion Agriculture Bill Angers Watchdogs

Tucked deep in the 1,198-page U.S. House agriculture policy legislation is an initiative to guarantee prices for sushi rice. So too is...

Nuclear Power, Part 2: Nukenomics

Can the nuclear industry stand on its own two feet financially? It all depends on whom you ask. "There are plenty of cost estimates out...

Boehner decides to support farm bill

Speaker of the House John Boehner on Wednesday pledged his support for the farm bill scheduled to come to the House floor next week — a...

The farm bill, food stamps, and the future of crop subsidies

This week, the Senate passed a five-year, half-trillion dollar farm bill on a bi-partisan 66-27 vote. Now, it's on to the House of...

Letter: Redirect tax dollars to those most in need

I don't think anyone would dispute the claim of the May 31 letter "CA editorial got it wrong" that the SNAP program suffers from fraud and...

Senate’s new farm bill will waste billions on subsidies, critics say

To deficit hawks and critics of American farm policy, they are a clear example of wasteful government spending, lavishly rewarding farmers...

The Senate is voting on a $955 billion farm bill. Here’s what’s in it.

On Monday evening, the Senate will vote on a massive farm bill that will set the course of U.S. food policy for the next decade. The old...

Changes to dairy subsidies may take Boston out of equation

WASHINGTON — No one would mistake Boston for a bovine bastion. So it may come as a shock that the eyes of the nation’s dairy farmers are...

Rep. Mike Thompson wants crop insurance to require conservation

One of the big drawbacks of federally subsidized crop insurance — the new mode for subsidizing farmers — is that it has detached...

After deadly storms, how can costs be controlled?

The nation is still reeling from deadly tornadoes across the Midwest and preparing for hurricane season, but advocacy groups continue to...

House members push alternative farm bill that cuts subsidies

As the House and Senate tackle competing versions of the farm reform bill, two congressmen from Wisconsin are proposing an alternative bill...

Faking farm savings;  It’s a time-honored tradition in Washington to do as little as possible and look good while (not) doing it

Sometimes it appears common sense and reality can't penetrate the Capitol's marble-lined walls. This financially costly phenomenon struck...

Bid to end crop insurance subsidy for tobacco worries burley growers

Kentucky tobacco growers are up in arms over a new proposal to eliminate federal crop insurance programs for tobacco. On Monday, Sen....

Senators target tobacco crop insurance subsidy

Taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance for tobacco production would be eliminated under a farm-bill amendment introduced Monday by U.S. Sens....

The Farm Bill Trough Is Opening Again

Sooey! That old-fashioned farmer's call, meant to summon hogs to the trough, is also an appropriate warning signal for taxpayers and...

Flood Insurance Amendment Could Lead to More Borrowing, Critics Say

An amendment to water resources legislation that would freeze flood insurance premiums for five years could force the Federal Emergency...

Shelby provision in water bill would benefit state docks

WASHINGTON — Ports that move large amounts of energy resources, including the Port of Mobile, would share a new pot of federal money to...

The long-term effects of corn ethanol subsidies

On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a massive five-year farm bill. It would cut spending but also create new subsidies for...

Critics taking aim at water resource bill

WASHINGTON — Environmental and fiscal deficit hawk groups teamed up Monday to criticize the water resources infrastructure bill by Sen....

Conservative groups: Sugar program must go

Leading conservative groups, including Americans for Tax Reform and Club for Growth, are calling for an end to the federal government's...

Landlords Double as Energy Brokers

The trophy high-rises on Madison, Park and Fifth Avenues in Manhattan have long commanded the top prices in the country for commercial real...

More of the Same Wasteful Farm Bill Spending

About a year ago, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a new, five-year farm bill, well in advance of the last bill's expiration date of...

CCAGW Signs Letter to Hill on Dairy Reform Gone Sour

WASHINGTON — Yesterday, Tom Schatz, President of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), issued a letter to the both the...

Farm product subsidies are criticized

U.S. taxpayers spent nearly $7 million last year promoting California wine overseas, and millions of dollars more to advertise agricultural...

I-Team 10 investigation: Subsidies a cash crop for farmers

  For years, farmers have been getting taxpayer subsidies in the way of direct payments from the government, even in years when they...

Port of Rochester funds in U.S. Senate bill

The U.S. Senate is expected to take up a controversial water resources bill this week that boosts the Port of Rochester. U.S. Sen. Kirsten...

Amid budget cutbacks, U.S. shipping sector seeks more federal funds

WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - As Congress imposes deep spending cuts on everything from national defense to child care, shipping industry...

Facing Dilemma, Oil Industry Stays Neutral On Tax Parity For Renewables

The oil and gas industry is, for now, staying neutral on just-introduced legislation extending favorable tax treatment the fossil fuel...

Washington Notes: U.S. taxpayers footing huge bill for rural airport customers

WASHINGTON - Following another congressional report on waste duplication in the federal government, Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, and Mark...

Held up by MOX(y)

Sometimes, even in Congress, one can overplay one’s hand protecting turf. Consider the South Carolina delegation’s sharp objection to...

Political role reversal on the Tennessee Valley Authority

Some Republican lawmakers are criticizing President Obama for suggesting the government consider selling the Tennessee Valley Authority....

Monongahela locks and dams would get $2 million from spending plan

President Barack Obama's $3.8 trillion budget proposal calls for imposing annual per-vessel fees on the barge industry to pay for an $8...

A Perfect Storm of Wildlife Habitat Loss—and How to Stop It

Bob Marshall recently described on this blog how the biofuels mandate from the Bush administration has had an unpleasant result: the...

10 Tax Laws That Hurt the Economy Most

If you watch the budget battles in Washington, it might appear the only discussion about taxes is whether they should be increased, cut, or...

Letter: Crop insurance is not a safety net, but a hammock

ENID, Okla. — A March 26 Enid News & Eagle editorial, “Crop insurance simply is the cost of doing business,” claims that federal crop...

New Estimates Question Savings from Farm Bills

Farm bills passed by the full Senate and the House Agriculture Committee in 2012 would cost billions more this year if they were enacted...

Conservatives call for big cut in U.S. crop insurance subsidy

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - A coalition of fiscal conservatives on Tuesday called for a steep cut in federal subsidies for crop...

Repealing oil industry tax subsidies would be good for taxpayers

Former Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) served up the usual field-tested oil industry talking points last week. The Hill readers may have been...

Waste-Busting “Golden Fleece Award” To Go To Small Modular Reactors

Award to Focus Attention on Federal Tax Dollars Being Lavished on Unproven Nuclear Reactor Technology Developed By Profitable Global...

Congress listening more to Renewable Fuel Standard opponents

Thomas Elam has made his voice heard as the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standard is in the midst of a 45-day...

TCS: Trim the farm bill and cut oil subsidies

This month, 13 groups sent a letter to Congress identifying budget savings worth $100 billion over the next decade. They would draw from the...

State Of The Union: Obama Renews Call For Elimination Of Some Corporate Tax Loopholes

Solving the never-ending budget crisis and reducing the deficit will require corporate tax reform, Obama said. Obama called for tax reform...

Hill Briefing Shreds Renewable Fuel Standard

This morning I attended a briefing on “The Renewable Fuel Standard: Pitfalls, Challenges, and the Need for Congressional Action in 2013.”...

USEC under Obama 2.0 - in the race for state guarantees

(Translated from original text) Changes in the top echelons of the U.S. government related to the beginning of the second term of...

NMMA makes case to Congress on fuel standard

The National Marine Manufacturers Association made its case with several other groups Tuesday to federal lawmakers on the negative impact of...

Analyst warns of RFS threat to US poultry industry

A US analyst has warned that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is causing the cost of chicken and turkey to rocket, leaving many producers...

Coalition seeks fuel standard repeal through legislation

A coalition of groups seeking to reform or repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates the use of biofuels such as ethanol, is...

Congress Urged to Begin Extensive Reform of RFS

US - "The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is broken, but Congress can fix the rule by acting now and opening an inclusive, robust debate that...

Strange bedfellows unite for Hill fight over renewable fuels policy

A strange-bedfellow coalition of environmentalists, hunger advocates, oil refiners and boat manufacturers is taking to Capitol Hill to push...

Rep. Earl Blumenauer says cutting direct subsidies to farmers would save $28.4 billion over 10 years

Rep. Earl Blumenauer says ending the direct payment farm subsidy program "could save up to $28.4 billion over ten years that could be used...

AGRIBUSINESS: RFS opponents launch new Hill campaign

  A coalition of opponents of the Renewable Fuel Standard held a telephone news conference today to announce they are launching a new...

Ethanol slowdown not enough, say mandate critics

Never in the history of corn-based ethanol have so many Nebraska ethanol plants been idle. “This would be the largest drop we’ve ever...

Ohio nuclear centrifuge project uncertain

WASHINGTON — As the 113th Congress gets under way and President Barack Obama begins a second term, some possible shifts in federal energy...

Strange bedfellows unite to bash RFS

The country’s Renewable Fuel Standard has done something few things in Washington can: bring together a diverse set of interests for a...

Unusual allies fight renewable fuel standard

Humanitarians, environmentalists, farmers’ advocates and refiners on Monday came together to demand changes to a renewable fuel mandate they...

Sen. Murkowski backs calls to reevaluate biofuel mandate

The Senate Energy Committee’s top Republican said Monday that she is “in good company” with congressional calls to reevaluate a...

ACE responds to Big Oil’s ethanol, RFS criticism

The Environmental Working Group joined a variety of other organizations today to call for the reform of the renewable fuel standard (RFS),...

Fate of Piketon plant murky

WASHINGTON — As the 113th Congress gets under way and President Barack Obama begins a second term, some possible shifts in federal energy...

Stand Up for the RFS; Don’t Forget to Comment

The petroleum industry is continuing its campaign to dismantle and repeal the renewable fuel standard (RFS). The Environmental Working...

Farm Bill’s Corporate Welfare Is Unacceptable

One of the lesser discussed components of the recent fiscal cliff deal was a nine month extension of the farm bill, a trillion dollar piece...

Record Taxpayer Cost Is Seen for Crop Insurance

WASHINGTON — The worst drought in 50 years could leave taxpayers with a record bill of nearly $16 billion in crop insurance costs because of...

House Goes Senate One Better with Pork Laden Sandy Bill

House Republicans last week blasted Senate Democrats for filling the fiscal cliff deal with pet projects and pork barrel spending. That...

Solving the Fiscal Impasse Starts and Ends at the Pentagon

As Afghan President Hamid Karzai returns to the United States this week, he will meet President Barack Obama at a time when the overwhelming...

In ‘fiscal cliff’ bill, White House was key to corporate tax breaks

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - As the U.S. Congress rushed last week to approve a "fiscal cliff" tax bill that raised income taxes on the...

Fiscal Cliff Winner: Tax Breaks for Oil and Gas Industries

The fiscal cliff deal reached in Washington proved to be a winner for the oil and gas industry on two counts. First and foremost, the...

Tax reform more likely after ‘fiscal cliff’ agreement, say House Republicans

GOP tax-writers in the House say the “fiscal cliff” agreement has made them more confident that a tax overhaul can be passed in 2013 that...

Some Connecticut companies get breaks in fiscal cliff deal

Washington -- While lawmakers championed the fiscal cliff deal as the mechanism that keep taxes on the middle class from rising, they also,...

Fiscal Cliff’ Bill Includes Tax Help for Select Industries

The "fiscal cliff" bill that prevented income taxes from rising for most Americans also renewed special tax breaks for a variety of...

Electric Motorcycle Maker Gets Home-State Help in Tax Deal

(Updates with comments by Zero Motorcycle executive starting in 18th paragraph.) Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The fine print of Congress’s Jan. 1...

Congress Aids Oregon Electric Motorcycle Maker in Budget

The fine print of Congress’s Jan. 1 budget deal includes a tax credit rewritten by Oregon lawmakers to benefit home-state motorcycle...

5 Countries On The Naughty List For Dirty Energy

We’re making a list, we’re checking it twice… No, this list isn’t about whose wish will be fulfilled on December 25th. Instead, it’s a...

Report: No Future in Oil Shale, Utah’s “Rock That Burns”

VERNAL, Utah - It isn't working out and it's costing taxpayers money. Those are two reasons a congressional watchdog group opposes oil shale...

150 million reasons it’s hard to cut spending

WASHINGTON -- Don't mess with Big Bird. And don't even think about touching Medicare. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney ran into...

Group Says Billions of Dollars Risked on Oil Shale Speculation

The nonpartisan budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense reported this week that billions of taxpayer dollars have been risked over...

Right, left call for defense cuts

Fiscal conservatives and liberal Democrats are calling on party leaders to include “substantial defense savings” in a deficit-reduction...

Hall Bill to Create Millions in New Taxpayer Handouts for Oil Shale Just as Taxpayer Report Finds that Billions Already Risked on Failed Experiments

Last month, Representative Ralph Hall (R-TX) introduced a bill (H.R. 6603) to create $50 million in new taxpayer-funded handouts for oil...

Barge Lines Want U.S. to Pay Costs of River Improvements

The threat to barge traffic posed by low water levels on the Mississippi River portends more disruptions if the U.S. government doesn’t pay...

Subsidies for Oil Shale Development: Billion-Dollar Boondoggle?

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - As Congress looks to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff," opponents of a proposal recently introduced in Congress (H.R....

Will Big Oil Keep Its Subsidies in a Fiscal Cliff Deal?

America's most profitable industry banks billions in subsidies—but there's little talk in Washington of putting these handouts on the chopping block. ...

Watchdog group opposes $50 million oil shale subsidy

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan budget watchdog group, is protesting a Texas congressman's proposal to...

Worse Than Solyndra!

Remember how the failure of solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra, which had received $535 million in federal loan guarantees, supposedly showed...

Report calls out oil shale subsidies

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that will hand out $50 million of increased subsidies...

Study: Taxes Paid for Failed Oil Shale Subsidies

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- A nonpartisan taxpayer group says their new study brings to light just how many failed oil shale experiments were...

Watchdog group opposes oil shale research subsidy

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — A national government watchdog organization wants to put an end to subsidies for research and development of...

Taxpayers group urges Salazar to ditch Bush-era royalty

A new report urges the Interior Department to scrap a George W. Bush administration policy designed to subsidize the development of oil...

Oil Shale Subsidy Called a Boondoggle by Taxpayer Watchdog

 A federal subsidy that would funnel $50 million to the oil-shale-development industry -- which is still not commercially viable, and may...

Taxpayers for Common Sense slams oil shale subsidies

WASHINGTON — A new report by a nonpartisan taxpayer advocacy group is calling for the end of subsidies for oil shale development, saying...

Oil shale bill rankles taxpayer advocacy group

DENVER—A taxpayer advocacy group is objecting to a Texas Republican's proposal to subsidize research on developing oil from oil...

Happy Thanksgiving! How much did your tax dollars underwrite the feast?

Nearly 400 years ago, at the very first Thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony, Native Americans and pilgrims dined together on a meal of deer,...

Navajos ban uranium mining

Navajos (Dinés) who have lost family members from radioactive contamination – and those fighting new proposals for uranium development –...

Eighty-Eight to Congress: ‘Let the Wind PTC Expire!’ (challenging Big Wind, Big Government, and Big Environmentalism)

“The PTC was created in 1992 to get the wind industry off the ground. Yet 20 years later, we have little to show for it.” When it comes to...

Western bypass a waste of money

By: Randy Salzman | Charlottesville The Taxpayers for Common Sense, in an October report titled “Sliding Past Sequestration: Two trillion...

It’s Back: SmarterSafer.org Leads Effort To Oppose New Federal Beach House Bailout Proposal

It's Back: SmarterSafer.org Leads Effort To Oppose New Federal Beach House Bailout Proposal SmarterSafer.org - a coalition of leading...

Group’s goal is to curb harmful, wasteful spending

Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2012 Dear EarthTalk: What is the "Green Scissors" campaign, which I understand can help the environment and has...

Schumer Hints at More Medicare Cuts

Schumer Hints at More Medicare Cuts By Brianna Ehley Pub Date: Oct 10, 2012   As part of a “grand bargain” to avoid the fiscal cliff...

Western Bypass Named Among Eight Most Wasteful Projects In U.S.

By: Rob Graham A recently released report is giving ammunition to opponents of the western bypass. It comes from a group called "Taxpayers...

Managing the Pain of Likely Cuts

With spending cuts looming and lawmakers eyeing major entitlement and tax reform in the coming months and years, no sector--transportation...

$11.4 Billion Cut in Federal Transportation Spending Recommended

$11.4 Billion Cut in Federal Transportation Spending Recommended Pub Date: Oct 09, 2012 Written By: Larry Ehl The fiscal cliff and...

Stop Giving the One Percent Tax Breaks on Beachfront Vacation Homes

Stop Giving the One Percent Tax Breaks on Beachfront Vacation Homes Pub Date: Oct 02, 2012 By Christopher Moraff Tomorrow night...

U.S can’t afford giveaways for mining, oil companies

U.S can't afford giveaways for mining, oil companies Written by Ryan Alexander    Thursday, 04 October 2012 14:51 When you're in a...

You can reduce the deficit without touching entitlements. But that won’t make it more popular.

You can reduce the deficit without touching entitlements. But that won’t make it more popular. The Washington Post Posted by Suzy Khimm...

Ryan Alexander, Taxpayers for Common Sense, discusses how the U.S. could avoid the fiscal cliff with cuts almost twice the size of sequestration.

How to Avoid Fiscal Cliff With Less Pain CNBC Mon 01 Oct 12 | 04:50 PM ET Ryan Alexander, Taxpayers for Common Sense, discusses how the...

National budget watchdog group takes aim at Colubia River Crossing project

National budget watchdog group takes aim at Columbia River Crossing project By: Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian Tuesday, October 02,...

Yank CRC funding, federal budget watchdog urges

A federal budget watchdog this week targeted the Columbia River Crossing among a long list of projects and programs it says should be axed...

How to cut $2 trillion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense

How to cut $2 trillion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense Washington Business Journal Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2012, 6:20am...

Fiscal Cliff: Candidates Fiddle While America Does a Slow Burn

Fiscal Cliff: Candidates Fiddle While America Does a Slow Burn October 2, 2012   “Continued split government is just one reason to...

Large energy cuts can help avoid sequestration

Report: Large energy cuts can help avoid sequestration By Zack Colman - 10/01/12 01:06 PM ET   A spending watchdog group said Monday...

Taxpayer group maps out an escape plan for 2013’s ‘fiscal cliff’

Taxpayer group maps out an escape plan for 2013's 'fiscal cliff' By Erik Wasson - 10/01/12 12:42 PM ET   The nonpartisan Taxpayers for...

US group urges $2 trillion alternative to fiscal cliff “time bomb”

US  group urges 2 trillion altenative to fiscal cliff "time bomb" By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Sun Sep 30, 2012 4:55pm EDT (Reuters)...

4 Reasons Why All Americans Should Worry About Wind Industry Layoffs

4 Reasons Why All Americans Should Worry About Wind Industry Layoffs By Raz Godelnik | September 25th, 2012   Last week the American...

Washington lawmakers - All earmarks considered pork

By: Gene Smith Taxpayers for Common Sense states that in 2011 there were 39,294 earmarks for a total of more than $130 billion. It is...

Bipartisan “Green Scissors” Campaign Aims to Save the Environment—and Taxpayer Dollars

By Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss Dear EarthTalk: What is the “Green Scissors” campaign, which I understand can help the environment and has...

‘No More Solyndras Act’ Takes a Beating from All Sides (US News)

Solyndra has long been a favorite buzzword of Republicans looking to criticize the Obama administration for everything from irresponsible use of taxpayer money to an energy policy that plays favorites....

House passes bill to limit Solyndra-style loan guarantees (Los Angeles Times)

The bill would limit the Energy Department's power to issue loan guarantees for new green-energy projects, a move stemming from Solyndra's failure....

House Passes Solyndra Act Aimed at Obama (New York Times)

The House passed legislation on Friday that would phase out a Department of Energy loan guarantee program for clean and renewable energy projects....

Yikes! Zombie Solar Projects Could Rise from the Dead! (Clean Technica)

The impending Zombie Apocalypse is real and it’s coming to a solar power project near you! At least, that’s what a group of four conservative organizations is saying in a new statement. T...

DepSecDef Carter Warns Of Training Shortfalls If Sequester Happens; HASC Hearing Marked By Shouting, Silliness (AOL Defense)

CAPITOL HILL: Congress and the Obama administration should thank their lucky stars that hardly anyone watched this morning's House Armed...

Green Scissors for Congress

When you’re in a hole, you stop digging. And when you’ve got a $1.3-trillion deficit and $15.7 trillion in debt, you’ve got to start...

Split Among House Republicans Over How Deeply to Cut May Delay Farm Bill (New York Times)

By Ron Nixon WASHINGTON — The first major overhaul of the nation’s nutrition and farm program is in jeopardy because of a split in the ranks...

N.J. Will See No Gain in Federal Transportation Aid (NorthJersey.com)

By Herb Jackson The state Department of Transportation will get nearly $1 billion to spend on projects such as eliminating the Little Ferry...

Number of Georgians on Food Stamps Balloons (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

By Daniel Malloy and Katie Leslie Nearly one in five Georgians now gets federal assistance to put dinner on the table. As Congress debates...

Energy Issues Electrify Ohio Senate Race (Chillicothe Gazette)

Energy Issues Electrify Ohio Senate Race By Deidre Shesgreen WASHINGTON -- When it comes to energy issues, Democrat Sherrod Brown and...

Congress Keeps Free Mail While Pushing U.S. Postal Cuts (Bloomberg)

  Lawmakers intent on dictating how the U.S. Postal Service cuts billions from its spending are among those helping themselves to a favorite...

Energy And Environment Update (JDSUPRA)

In This Issue: Energy and Climate Debate; Congress; Administration; Department of Defense; Department of Energy; Department of Interior;...

Congress Passes Transportation Bill, Halts Student Loan Rate Increase (BostonHerald.com)

WASHINGTON — Congress, in a rare display of bipartisanship, on Friday sent to President Barack Obama a roughly $105 billion transportation...

Road funding, interest break for 160,000 Missouri students finally approved (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

June 29–WASHINGTON — As usual, Congress waited until the eleventh hour to tackle big issues. But as result of legislation escaping today, an...

Congress Passes Student Loans, Highways, Flood Aid, Deficit Impact Disputed (Examiner.com)

What does the Highway Trust Fund, flood insurance, the Keystone Pipeline and student loan interest have in common? Nothing really, but they...

Congress Approves a $127 Billion Transportation and Student Loan Package (New York Times)

Congress gave final approval on Friday to legislation that combines a two-year transportation measure with bills to extend subsidized student...

Congress Passes Transportation Bill, Halts Student Loan Rate Hike (LA Times)

WASHINGTON — Congress, in a rare display of bipartisanship, on Friday sent to President Obama a roughly $105-billion transportation bill that...

Pryor, Boozman win on Flood Insurance (Arkansas News)

WASHINGTON — Congress today approved a five-year reauthorization of the nation’s flood insurance program after removing a requirement that...

Congress Can Save $700 Billion by Ending Environmentally Destructive Programs (Living Green)

Congress could move a long way toward solving the nation’s twin problems of spiraling budget costs and environmental degradation simply by...

Where Did the Senate Get the Extra Money to Pay For Its Bill? (DC Streets Blog)

By Tanya Snyder Congressional leaders announced opaquely last week that they’d "moved forward" on a deal on the highway section of the...

Doggy Glitter Gets a Share of Farm Bill Billions (Washington Examiner)

By Susan Ferrechio What does sparkly styling spray for dogs have to do with the 2012 farm bill? It's among the thousands of products U.S....

With An Uninterested Private Sector, Federal Loans May Be Only Option For DKRW (Wyoming Public Radio)

By Tristan Ahtone Listen to the story DKRW’s proposal to build a coal-to-liquids plant in Medicine Bow may provide jobs and tax revenue...

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...