In the News

Op-Ed: Divide and Conquer: Turning Us Against Them

The lead story in the Dec. 14, 2009 edition of the Washington Post began: “The Senate cleared for Obama’s signature on Sunday a $447 billion...

Mitch McConnell’s Close Ties with Humana Founder

In 2005, David A. Jones Sr., founder of health insurance giant Humana Inc., needed help raising money for a Louisville, Ky., parks project...

Congress Needs to Clean House

This week at Taxpayers for Common Sense we are taking advantage of the slow pace of Washington while Congress is out of town to do a big,...

A Call for Tax Reform Transparency

For the first time in nearly three decades, Congress is trying a blank slate approach to tax reform. But a big part of the process has been...

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...

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...

Tax Reform Is Too Important For Secrecy and Backroom Deals

At Taxpayers for Common Sense, were thrilled when Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced that the Senate Finance...

House OKs farm bill - but leaves out food stamps

After two embarrassing failures to pass a farm bill, usually a popular bipartisan exercise marrying crop subsidies with food stamps, House...

The Congress That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

For budget watchdogs, summer does not mean simply the arrival of school breaks and trips to the beach. Summer is also appropriations season...

Blog del Narco: Bill Calls for 40 helicopters on the Border with Mexico & Boon to US Companies

A fleet of 40 helicopters will be deployed along the border with Mexico if the security amendment included in the immigration reform bill is...

Nearly One in Five Members of Congress Gets Paid Twice

To solve the debt crisis, Americans—who are already suffering in these tough economic times—will have to make even more sacrifices, Rep....

Chris Coons named to Senate Appropriations Committee

Sen. Chris Coons was appointed on Thursday to the Senate Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful committees in Congress. The...

Cotton Amendments Left Out Of Farm Debates

Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Dardanelle, saw several of his amendments fall by the wayside Wednesday without debate as the House launched a marathon...

Senators fight to cut more farm bill spending

Senators critical of the level of spending in the giant $955 billion farm bill are fighting for floor votes after the Memorial Day recess on...

Fact check: Sanford-Colbert Busch debate

In a spirited debate between South Carolina congressional candidates Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Mark Sanford, we found a couple of...

Stimulus waste trackers now tracking Sandy relief funding

MADISON – After overseeing transparency and accountability of the massive $840 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, tracking...

A Reasonable Food Fight

President Barack Obama wants to revamp Washington’s global food aid system. His 2014 budget request would transfer much of the program from...

Pro Deep Dive: The Energy Sector and the Implications of Tax Policy

FOR VIDEO OF THIS EVENT, CLICK HERE Join the POLITICO Pro Energy team for a look at how potential tax policies and the 2014 budget will...

How to Reform the Tax Code

Washington is a town marked more frequently by disagreement than consensus, but there is one point on which almost all parties agree: The...

West Virginia Republican Files Secret Spending Requests

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito’s (R-WV) first several terms in Congress could best be described as “free-spending” — obtaining tens of millions...

When Does ‘Appropriator’ Become a Dirty Word? Perhaps in Georgia’s GOP Primary

Candidates in the Georgia Republican Senate primary are jostling for the furthest right starting block in what’s likely to be a crowded...

A powerful voice pays off for Maryland during federal budget cuts

(Reuters) - Many members of Congress looked pretty helpless this week as they fought to save cherished programs in their states from...

Lawmakers try to shield Army Corps of Engineers from cuts

As the government prepares for years of austerity, a bipartisan group of senators is aiming to give the agency that maintains ports and...

Senate limits debate on the CR

Congress will be knee deep in the Continuing Resolution this week, as lawmakers work to avert a government shutdown. Steve Ellis, vice...

End of earmarks caused area water projects to dry up

WASHINGTON • For decades, members of Congress used earmarks to direct the Army Corps of Engineers on which water projects to build, and...

Claire McCaskill re-introduces Earmark Elimination Act in Senate

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., re-introduced bipartisan legislation that would permanently ban earmark spending in Congress. The Earmark...

Even Without Earmarks, Tax Breaks And Special Deals Fill Bills

Congress likes to say it no longer does earmarks, the provisions that direct federal dollars to serve local interests or campaign...

‘Fiscal cliff’ bill filled with ‘pork’

The rancorously debated "fiscal cliff" bill approved by Congress this week was supposed to be a straightforward way for the country to avert...

Compromise added billions in special tax breaks

WASHINGTON — In the last-minute dealmaking to stop the nation from tumbling over the so-called fiscal cliff, Congress and the White House...

‘Fiscal cliff’ bill riddled with special tax breaks for select industries

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

A fiscal cliff solution, served with a side of tax breaks

WASHINGTON — There are breaks for movie producers and racetracks, a little gift for Captain Morgan rum and tax credits galore for makers of...

Should the NFL, NHL, and PGA benefit from tax loopholes?

By George Jackson This week, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) released 'Wastebook 2012' -- an oversight report that recommends cutting more than...

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...

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...

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...

Huelskamp leads push to waive some tarriffs

Huelskamp leads push to waive some tariffs By Mary Clarkin - The Hutchinson News - mclarkin@hutchnews.com While tariffs and duties on...

Downsizing the military

Washington's looming defense "sequester" would slash the Pentagon's budget by $55 billion a year. Would that imperil the nation? posted on...

Akin parses stand on pet projects in Mo. Senate bid after getting aid from conservative group

Akin parses stand on pet projects in Mo. Senate bid after getting aid from conservative group JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Rep. Todd...

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)...

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...

House Farm Bill Favors Arkansas Rice Growers (Arkansas News)

By Peter Urban WASHINGTON — The House Agriculture Committee takes up a 557-page farm bill this week that offers greater protection to Southern...

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...

Republican Flood Insurance Bill Gets Positive Initial Reception (Insurance Journal)

A Republican draft of legislation to reform the federal flood insurance program would renew the program for five years, phase out most rate...

House’s planned flood insurance reforms ‘good start,’ but not ‘perfect’ (IFA Web News)

A draft proposal to reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a “good start,” although it is not a “perfect piece of...

Steve Ellis’s Testimony On Reauthorization Of The National Flood Insurance Program (Out of the Storm News)

Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, was the smartersafer.org representative testifying this week before the Senate...

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...