In the News

Trinity Uptown Bridges in Fort Worth Will Initially Span Dirt, Not Water

FORT WORTH — They’re not exactly bridges to nowhere, but when three new bridges in Fort Worth’s massive Trinity Uptown project are complete...

Critics Pan LIRR Plan to Spend Sandy Cash on Double Track

The Long Island Rail Road wants to spend $300 million in federal Sandy money to complete its Double Track effort between Farmingdale and...

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...

House could vote on CR next week

The House could move forward as early as next week with a fiscal 2014 continuing resolution, a spokeswoman for the House Appropriations...

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,...

We Don’t Need Earmarks to Get Congress Working Again

As long time political observers lament the failure of Congress to get anything done, every once in a while you hear a call for the return...

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...

Tax Reform Debate Should be Open for All to See

Nobody questions the necessity of keeping America's most vital national security secrets behind closed doors, whether it be the launch...

Five federal secrets that have come out in 2013

A generation after the internet appeared on the scene and more than a decade since New York City’s twin towers collapsed due to a terrorist...

Congress’ Session Ends With a THUD

Several weeks back I predicted that the appropriations season would be a window into Congressional dysfunction. But even accounting for my...

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...

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...

Truth-O-Meter: Eric Cantor says the federal deficit is “growing”

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., took aim at red ink in the federal government. Cantor...

Deficits falling (from way up)

In recent speeches, President Obama has repeatedly claimed that “our deficits are falling at the fastest rate in 60 years.” The White House...

Truth-O-Meter: John Boehner says Barack Obama has promised veto unless sequestration cuts are eliminated

As the nation hurtles toward another possible fiscal showdown, both President Barack Obama and House Republicans are engaging in a...

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...

Tax reform secrecy plan blasted

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) A Senate committee's decision to keep tax reform proposals secret for 50 years has drawn strong objections and calls for...

Truth-O-Meter: Obama says deficit is falling at the fastest rate in 60 years

President Barack Obama aimed to refocus the national debate and put the economy front and center with a speech at Knox College in Illinois....

Our Secretive Senate

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, wants to reform our tax system, and he wants it badly. His Senate career...

Conservative Groups Urge Open Rule on Defense Appropriations

Conservative groups and budget watchdogs on Monday urged House Republican leaders to abandon a plan to limit debate on the largest annual...

For Rahall, Representation Means Fighting for Resources

Nick Rahall knew exactly what he wanted to do when West Virginia sent him to Washington in 1976, and almost four decades later he is still...

Shhhh. Republicans Are Defending Earmarks.

Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are starting to quietly defend earmarks, three years after Congress...

All In W/ Chris Hayes: House passes Farm Bill with zero Democratic votes

Watch All In with Chris Hayes for the latest on the battle in Washington over food stamps and the Farm Bill, as the House passed a new...

Conservative groups push Republican leaders to open up Defense bill

A group of 11 conservative organizations are calling on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to keep the Defense Appropriations bill open to all...

House Speaker John Boehner says rushed farm bill was nearly the same as old one

House Republicans rushed a new farm bill to a vote last week. But it wasn’t really all that new, Speaker John Boehner argued. Sure,...

Immigration debate continues for Tennessee senators

Even though Tennessee's senators insist otherwise, critics say the immigration reform legislation they helped pass amounts to amnesty for...

Immigration Deal Would Boost Defense Manufacturers

The border security plan the Senate approved last week includes unusual language mandatingthe purchase of specific models of helicopters and...

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...

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...

House to Consider 100-Plus Farm Bill Amendments; Passage May Slip to Next Week

The House launched into debate of more than 100 amendments to the farm bill Wednesday, but there were signs that final passage might be...

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...

Earmarks 2.0: Plenty of Swag for Hawaii In Defense Bills

The end of earmarks and the loss of Hawaii’s senior U.S. senators might well have led to something bordering on an economic catastrophe for...

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...

Fraud Used to Frame Farm Bill Debate

Jimmy Thomas Sasser stood in silence in February as a federal judge sentenced him to four years in prison. For more than a decade,...

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...

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...

Crop insurance push made for conservation requirements

Rep. Mike Thompson wants the subsidized coverage to require compliance for eligibility. Among the differences between the current...

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...

‘Man cave’ found in EPA warehouse

The EPA has found itself at the center of controversy after a report revealed a government funded rec room in a warehouse meant for the...

On way out, Mack issued parting gifts

GOP Rep. Connie Mack IV gave his staff a parting gift as he left Congress in January: more than $61,000 in bonuses and raises. In the last...

Lobbyists for Banks to Beet Farms Feast on $1 Trillion Farm Law

After his side lost a fight over federal sugar aid in the Senate last month, Bob Simpson, the president of Jelly Belly Candy Co. of...

Beware of the Beach House Bailout

Six months ago, Hurricane Sandy devastated the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast and, $60 billion dollars later, taxpayers continue to pay...

Should Emergency Disaster Relief Funding Be Offset With Budget Cuts?

A devastating tornado struck Moore, Okla. and surrounding areas on Monday, killing dozens and leaving little but rubble in its wake....

Delay sought on hike in premiums

U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are throwing their support behind a bill to delay steep increases in flood insurance...

All In With Chris Hayes

Oklahoma senators voted against Sandy relief - but now their state will need aid Chris Hayes talks to Oklahoma State Representative Mark...

Obama Pledges Storm Aid; Some in Congress Talk of Finding Cuts to Offset It

WASHINGTON — President Obama vowed Tuesday to marshal the resources of the federal government to help the victims of Oklahoma’s killer...

The Truth-O-Meter Says: Will Weatherford says expanding Medicaid would ‘drastically’ expand country’s deficit

The Florida House did the nation a solid by refusing to expand subsidized health insurance to 1 million low-income Floridians, argues...

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...

How Contractors Raked in $385 Billion to Build and Support Bases Abroad since 2001

Outside the United States, the Pentagon controls a collection of military bases unprecedented in history. With U.S. troops gone from Iraq...

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....

Appropriator background challenges Kingston in Senate primary

WASHINGTON — Jack Kingston’s 20-year career in the U.S. House has been shaped by his work on the powerful Appropriations Committee, where he...

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...

5 key players in IRS mess

It's not every day that the central figures in a Washington scandal are the people who speak Tax Code jargon for a living. But now that...

DOT nominee’s role in contracts could draw questions

Anthony Foxx promotes clean mass transit on two fronts — as the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., and as an in-house lawyer for a company that makes...

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...

Water infrastructure bill could drain taxpayer dollars with little oversight

The Water Resources Development Act of 2013 gives more than $12 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers - with little oversight It could...

Sequestration and How Not to Govern

Before heading home last week, the Senate and the House passed a sequester work-around to spare us from what had become the most visible...

TCS: FAA budget transfer a “gimmick”

  On Tuesday, President Obama held a wide-ranging White House news conference. He addressed Syria, the Boston Bombings, and Guantanamo...

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...

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...

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...

Experts: Coming debate will lay building blocks on energy taxes

A panel of experts expressed pessimism Wednesday that lawmakers can tackle broad-based tax reform this Congress, but they stressed that the...

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...

Should Obama Twist Arms?

A burning question in Washington these days is whether President Barack Obama is using all available power to woo lawmakers and advance his...

Medical device makers see nearly invisible excise tax to expand health insurance as an industry threat

WASHINGTON - Say you break your leg, but still need to get around. You'll want crutches, right? Search the Internet and you'll find a...

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...

Obama’s proposed spending on small modular reactors criticized from 2 sides

A modest increase in spending for the U.S. Department of Energy's program to promote small modular nuclear reactors found in President...

Sens. Feinstein and Boxer keep racking up seniority

WASHINGTON — Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have served longer together than any other pair of California senators — 20 years — and will...

Harris aims to protect MD from government regulations

WASHINGTON — Rep. Andy Harris is more concerned about what federal agencies could do to the 1st Congressional District than what they could...

Can good government gum things up?

LATELY AND ironically, I'm wondering whether good government is bad for governing. I say lately because of that gun vote in Washington...

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....

Immigration bill may set funding, regulatory gaps in border security

The Senate’s pending immigration bill sets aside $3.5 billion for additional surveillance of the country’s southern border, or roughly $1.79...

U.S. House Clears Bill Obscuring Federal Workers’ Assets

Detailed financial disclosures from senior federal employees and congressional aides wouldn’t be posted in searchable online databases under...

Obama’s 2014 budget has more new taxes than he talked about

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama touted a proposal this week to collect $580 billion in new taxes from the wealthy to reduce the nation’s...

Plenty to love, loathe in Obama’s 2014 budget

Congressional Republicans and Democrats began voicing their displeasure over U.S. President Obama's 2014 budget plan, saying it didn't go...

Budget scalpel blunted as book detailing program trims is cut

President Obama’s new budget is slimmer in one major way he left out the details of the specific spending cuts he wants Congress to...

Westinghouse Electric Co. sets sights on federal funds

Westinghouse Electric Co. plans to apply again for a federal program designed to help fund the development of mini-sized nuclear reactor...

Multiple military camouflage uniforms an example of government waste, GAO finds

Four different branches of the U.S. military are spending millions of dollars to equip troops with combat uniforms in seven different but...

Water bill moving in U.S. Senate ‘like a greased pig’

WASHINGTON • The porcine reference comes from Steve Ellis, of Taxpayers for Common Sense, an advocacy group that pays special attention when...

Morning Transportation

LAST-MINUTE REPRIEVE: Only two days before the FAA was set to end funding for 24 contract towers — the first of three batches that included...

Price Increases for U.S. Military Gear Dwarf Most Nations’ Defense Budgets

Here’s an example of what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was talking about in his Wednesday speech on reforming the way the Pentagon buys...

Congressional spending requests less transparent, critics say

In the more than two years since earmarks were banned to make congressional spending more transparent, lawmakers have fallen back on an...

Monsanto Provision Tucked in Spending Bill Draws Critics

A plan to let farmers grow genetically modified crops developed by Monsanto Co. (MON) during legal appeals has drawn criticism from...

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...

U.S. deal with Saudis means $253 million for Lockheed training unit

Lockheed Martin Corp. has received a deal worth $253 million to build fighter-jet flight simulators and other training systems for Saudi...

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...

Tiny US airports refuel annually on federal pork

ARDMORE, Okla. -- Along a country road in southern Oklahoma, there is a place that doesn't make sense. It is an airport without...

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...

Bypassing Sense

With $16.4 trillion in U.S. debt and the possible sequester as daily topics in America, our state is on the verge of building a $244 million...

Spiraling down: Why the Bypass will wreck Albemarle

The Taxpayers for Common Sense, in an October report subtitled "Two trillion in common sense cuts to avoid the fiscal cliff," calls the...

The Army Corps of Engineers Excels at Wasting Money

As budget watchdogs, we know that some federal agencies are more wasteful than others in almost every sense. For nearly two centuries, the...

In office spending, local congressmen Owens and Gibson reveal preferences

U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, paid out $31,000 in end-of-the-year bonuses to his congressional office employees, according to House...

Southland ports could see more tax revenue

WASHINGTON — The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are in an unusual position in today's era of Washington austerity: They could soon...

Little-noticed CR provision may block long-anticipated policy change

New guidelines for selecting and designing federal water projects released by the Obama administration on Friday were praised by...

Menendez Aided Donor in Failed Bid to Prevent Merger

When Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. President Raul Alarcon Jr. wanted to block the merger of two corporate rivals, he found an ally in...

Truth-o-Meter: Harry Reid says deficit has been reduced by $2.5 trillion in past two years

During a recent floor speech, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., touted his chamber’s role in cutting the deficit. "In the last...

Parting bonuses ‘taxpayer-funded wet kiss goodbye’

Area lawmakers in Washington spiked their staffs’ pay at the end of 2012, often by more than $10,000 a person, according to a Dayton Daily...

Michele Bachmann pushes for highway project, but steers clear of ‘earmark’ label

A moratorium on congressional earmarks isn’t stopping Rep. Michele Bachmann from pushing for federal funding for a home-state highway. The...

The saddest bit of legislative text we’ve seen all week

"(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS—It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the existing revenue sources for inland waterways system construction and...

The Smoke and Mirrors of the Congressional Budget Process

This week budget committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate will be considering budget proposals for Fiscal Year 2014....

Report: Southeast U.S. Ratepayers Will Be Gouged For Billions Of Dollars In Excess Costs If Nuclear Reactor Projects Proceed

New Study Focuses on "Uneconomical" Reactor Projects in FL, SC, and GA Financed by "Advance Cost Recovery" Schemes; Lessons Seen for IA, UT,...

Tech giants, private prisons big players on immigration reform

Washington (CNN) -- Big tech firms and private prisons represent two industries vigorously lobbying to influence the scope of legislation...

Obama’s Budget Talks With Ryan Obscure Immediate Needs

Paul Ryan, chief House Republican budget writer, today unveils his 2014 budget. Patty Murray, his Senate Democratic counterpart, will craft...

Despite Talk of Cuts, Members of Congress Push More Spending

Like many House Republicans, Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho supports “drastically reducing discretionary spending” and warns that further growth...

Sequestration Sets Up a New Business as Usual

So here we are in a post-sequester world: Has the planet stopped spinning? Has anything really changed? And what have we...

Schafer portrait among many that draw criticism

FARGO – A portrait of Ed Schafer hung last April in a gallery in the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington is...

The Truth-O-Meter Says: Al Cardenas says of $60B Congress approved after Hurricane Sandy, ‘only 10 percent was for disaster relief’

In the weeks since Congress approved aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy, conservatives have explained their opposition by saying the bill...

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...

Energy Department investment in SMRs wins Golden Fleece

One year ago, the Obama administration committed nearly half-a-billion dollars to develop small modular reactors (or SMRs). The goal:...

Feds Continue to Hire Despite Sequestration

The sequester cuts may be in place, but many federal agencies appear to still be hiring. At a time when furloughs are on the table, by...

Taxpayer Dollars Spent on Official Government Portraits

Long before cameras were invented, our founding fathers kept their images alive with painted portraits. Paintings of George Washington,...

Even without earmarks, Merkley’s Senate Appropriations Committee post is still a plum position

WASHINGTON — Though freshman Sen. Jeff Merkley snagged a spot on the coveted Senate Appropriations Committee, he won’t have a perk that...

EPA Funding Reductions Have Kneecapped Environmental Enforcement

Republicans have spent the past two years on the warpath against the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency. As the EPA...

Defense Cuts May Not be as Bad as the Pentagon Would Have us Believe

Soldiers are not above politics and the dire warnings we’ve been hearing for months about sequester “gutting” the military may have been...

Defense cut damage viewed as overblown

WASHINGTON — The warnings only grew more dire as the deadline approached. Automatic cuts to national defense, Pentagon leaders insisted,...

Portman once had high hopes for deal

WASHINGTON — With all the finger-pointing and name-calling over the so-called sequester, it’s easy to forget there were once high hopes for...

Cut federal spending in a smart way: Our view

In certain circles, the fashionable view is the automatic budget cuts that kick in today won't be so bad. The cuts - $85 billion this year...

Did Obama go too far in warnings of sequestration?

 WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Barack Obama has warned Americans about the dire consequences of allowing the automatic across-the-board...

What Congress Could—But Won’t—Do on Sequestration

The automatic across-the-board budget cuts know as sequestration are only three days away and the only thing that appears certain is that...

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...

Closed Campgrounds Not a Scare Tactic in No-Leeway Budget Law

Longer lines at airports. Closed campgrounds at national parks. Fewer meat inspectors. In warning of the consequences of $1.2 trillion in...

Up with Chris Hayes: Sequestration

Yesterday, TCS Vice President Steve Ellis discussed sequestration on the Up w/ Chris Hayes show on MSNBC with three other...

PolitiFact’s guide to sequestration

It’s Washington’s latest case of economic hostage-taking: If Congress and President Barack Obama don’t reach a deal by March 1, the federal...

There’s plenty to cut at the Pentagon

(CNN) -- Over the past few weeks we have been bombarded with tales of woe from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and...

5 Reasons Not to Worry About the ‘Dreaded’ Sequester

With the automatic spending cuts kicking in next week, it’s tough to separate fact from bluster. Both the Obama administration and...

The Truth-O-Meter Says: Barack Obama says sequestration cuts will be indiscriminate

Over the past few years, President Barack Obama and Congress have lurched from one fiscal crisis to another. The latest, known as...

The True Source of Our Deficit Woes

Under the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011, across-the-board cuts to federal spending will go into effect if Congress cannot agree on...

Congressmen wary of ‘wasteful, unrelated’ hurricane spending

One month after voting in support of a $60 billion relief package for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, some lawmakers in Bucks and Burlington...

Government is wasteful enough that sequestration is acceptable, witnesses say

 A House hearing exploring ways to curb waste and duplication in government on Tuesday showcased an apparent consensus that there may be...

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...

It’s ‘common sense’ – or is it? The politics of Obama’s new favorite phrase.

Washington - In these early days of his second term, President Obama isn’t just promoting legislation on guns and immigration. The president...

Sen. Mitch McConnell says he didn’t push for fiscal cliff provision aiding donor pharmaceutical company

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell says he didn’t push for a special provision tucked into the fiscal cliff deal — which he negotiated — that...

Toomey votes against Sandy relief measure, citing deficit and non-emergency items

WASHINGTON — Deficit spending and non-emergency items like repairing the Smithsonian's roof prompted Sen. Pat Toomey to vote against Sandy...

You pay bill for some legislators’ dry cleaning, art, iPhones

OLYMPIA — A few days after Washington lawmakers approved a budget deal to lower state spending last year, small-government Rep. Gary...

Approval of Sandy bill sparks new fight over disaster money

Washington - A long-awaited $50.5 billion Hurricane Sandy-relief bill is heading to President Obama for his signature -- and with that comes...

Disaster aid could reach president’s desk today

An hour before Northeast residents celebrate Congress' final approval of Sandy relief funds this evening, senators will be asked to...

Hurricane Sandy Response Stirs Up Capitol Hill Lobbyists

Lobbyists representing interests more than a thousand miles from Hurricane Sandy’s landfall competed with East Coast beach towns and...

More bridges to nowhere

It’s deja vu all over again. Remember the “bridge to nowhere”? That was the proposed span from Ketchikan Alaska to Gravina Island —...

Another Shocker! Sandy Relief Bill Is Loaded With Pork

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, hammered Congress over their failure to pass a Sandy relief package in a timely manner. ...

Watchdogs warn billions in hurricane aid could go elsewhere

Lawmakers in Washington have quibbled over disaster spending in the wake of the largest hurricane ever to roll up the East Coast. Yet...

How Obama has done on fulfilling 1st term promises

WASHINGTON -- Hope and change. That's what Barack Obama promised -- again and again and again -- as he was campaigning for president in...

Puerto Rico Gets Emergency Sandy Money, Despite Being More Than 1000 Miles from Major Damage

Puerto Rico, an island 1500 miles from the major damage along the Atlantic coast inflicted by Hurricane Sandy, is slated to receive millions...

Superstorm destruction was good news for jolly prophet of doom

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. -- Superstorm Sandy made Orrin Pilkey smile. For more than 40 years, the renowned coastal geologist has preached a...

House Approves $50.7B For Sandy Victims

Update at 7:35 p.m. House Passes Measure The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to approve $50.7 billion in aid for victims of...

Sandy relief package passes with extra spending intact

The House on Tuesday passed a $51 billion disaster relief package intended to aid the victims of October's Superstorm Sandy, but it is also...

Sandy Aid Under Fire in House

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to vote today on its superstorm Sandy aid package, a crucial test that could...

All eyes on Congress over Sandy aid package

Congress should realize that the people of New York and New Jersey and their elected officials are watching closely as they prepare to vote...

Sandy relief bill faces ‘not-so-fast’ criticism

WASHINGTON — Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a ‘‘not-so-fast’’ campaign against a $50.7 billion Hurricane Sandy aid package...

Fear of Earmarks Sparks Split in Sandy Aid Bill

When House Republicans decided to ban earmarks in 2010, they boasted the move would change the way Washington does business. It has, though...

Critics Complain Sandy Aid Tied to Other Projects

Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Sandy aid package that Northeastern...

Watchdog sees pork in Sandy relief bill

As Congress takes up the second slice of relief money for Superstorm Sandy, the influential Club for Growth said Monday it will seek to...

House to vote on Sandy disaster aid today

WASHINGTON — The House was poised Tuesday to begin consideration of a multi-billion-dollar disaster aid bill for victims of superstorm...

Pork must be cut from Sandy aid bill

Today, when the House of Representatives plans to vote on the $51 billion Sandy aid package, it is imperative that all the pork be...

House expected to vote on Sandy aid today

WASHINGTON — The House was poised today to begin consideration of a multibillion-dollar disaster aid bill for victims of Superstorm...

Fiscal cliff solution is 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...

Budget watchdogs see wasteful spending in $51bn Sandy relief bill

As Congress takes up the second slice of relief money for Superstorm Sandy, the influential Club for Growth said Monday it will seek to...

Sandy Pork And The Lesson Of Katrina

Although Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Atlantic Coast more than 2 months ago, the debate over disaster relief is still raging. While more than...

Objections raised over additional projects lumped with Sandy relief

Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package that...

House to Take Up Storm Relief Bill Amid Battle Over Spending

WASHINGTON — The House will move ahead this week with a multibillion-dollar package to provide aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy, but the...

Billions in Sandy aid package headed elsewhere

WASHINGTON Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package that...

Fiscal conservatives, watchdogs mount opposition to House vote on Sandy disaster aid

Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package that...

Critics hit Sandy storm disaster aid add-ons

A $51 billion GOP-crafted Superstorm Sandy relief package scheduled to hit the House floor Tuesday includes billions of dollars in...

Critics Complain Sandy Aid Tied to Other Projects

Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package that...

Sandy relief package swells aid for past disasters

Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion...

NOT SO FAST! Campaign by conservatives, watchdog groups aims to trim $30 billion in ‘pork’ from long-delayed Sandy relief package

Not so, um, fast, Sandy victims. Conservatives and watchdog groups are waging a campaign they call Not So Fast aimed at trimming about $30...

Sandy relief bill swells aid for past disasters, House set to vote Tuesday on smaller version

WASHINGTON — Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a “not-so-fast” campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package...

Michigan is among a handful of states that may not get money from SuperStorm Sandy relief bill

It appears Michigan will be left out of a massive federal spending bill intended to primarily help the victims of Superstorm Sandy. The...

New Jersey lawmaker calls for ‘clean’ Sandy bill

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Rob Andrews of New Jersey is asking colleagues to approve a Hurricane Sandy disaster package that focuses only...

Pork is Not Kosher: N.J. Democratic Rep Andrews Demands Sandy Bill be ‘Stripped of All Pork’

New Jersey’s Democrats are still reeling from Washington’s perennial ‘business as usual’ mentality after the first Sandy Aid bill contained...

Sandy relief votes, politics will continue this week in Congress

WASHINGTON — The aftermath of Superstorm Sandy for Northeastern lawmakers comes down to: Show us the money. Members of the U.S. House of...

Watchdog: $51B Sandy bill larded with extra spending, group says

WASHINGTON — A taxpayer group has found plenty to criticize in legislation that would spend $51 billion helping victims of superstorm...

Strip the pork from aid bill

Come Tuesday, when the House of Representatives plans to vote on the $51 billion Sandy aid package, it is imperative that all the pork be...

Storm in Congress over disaster-aid bill

Washington -- Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package...

Hurricane Sandy relief package swells aid for past disasters elsewhere

Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Hurricane Sandy aid package that...

Hurricane Sandy Relief Package Swells Aid For Past Disasters

WASHINGTON — Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package...

Sandy relief: $50.7B package swells aid for past disasters, group argues

WASHINGTON (AP) - Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid...

CNN’s GUT CHECK for January 11, 2013

CNN's GUT CHECK | for January 11, 2013 | 5 p.m. - n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news...

New Jersey Democrat wants pork-free Sandy storm aid bill

New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rob Andrews is demanding his colleagues strip pork payouts from a massive aid bill intended to help victims of...

Pessimistic DOD Prepares for the Worst

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pessimistically announced Thursday that the DOD has “no other choice but to prepare for the worst,” and plans...

Morning Transportation

GET ‘EM IN THIS WEEK: The House Rules Committee has set a deadline of 4 p.m. Friday for amendments to the Hurricane Sandy storm aid bill...

Roof repairs, FBI salaries, and more—all part of disaster relief bill, group says

Not everything in the disaster relief bill, aimed at helping victims of this fall's Superstorm Sandy, relates to the storm. "The upshot is...

Will HUD, Amtrak, Ohio get in on Hurricane Sandy relief action?

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress don't want to appear insensitive (again) to the post-disaster needs of New Jersey and New York. Their...

Group says Sandy bill would finance unrelated projects

WASHINGTON – A taxpayer group has found plenty to criticize in legislation that would spend $51 billion helping victims of Superstorm...

For a lesson on Washington, examine tax breaks in fiscal cliff law

WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said his vote was a vote for the average guy. So did Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan of...

Aid effort gets fishy

WASHINGTON — The bid to pass Hurricane Sandy aid could hit a snag over the controversial provision to insert $150 million for fisheries as...

How Sandy Aid is Shaping Up as House Prepares for Vote

The Republican-controlled House is expected to vote next week on the remaining $50.7 billion in Sandy aid, after $9.7 billion in flood...

4 Common Sense Ways Congress Should Deal With Our Finances

Last week the 113th Congress was sworn in. While newly elected members of Congress are still finding their way around the House and Senate...

N.C. lawmaker launches legislative debate over sand-pumping projects

A North Carolina lawmaker has fired the opening shot in a bid to extend the federal government's commitment to pumping sand onto beaches to...

Obama signs porkless Sandy bill, Reid offends Katrina victims

On Sunday, President Obama signed a long-awaited bill to provide emergency federal aid to Hurricane Sandy victims in New York, New Jersey...

Nightly News: Cutting the deficit - or - raising money for projects?

With the nation’s debate at nearly $16.5 trillion, increasing at $140 million an hour, the White House and Congress agreed to increase taxes...

Reid offends Katrina victims, while Obama signs porkless Sandy bill

WASHINGTON - Comparing disasters is probably never a good idea because regardless of the size it's a travesty for those directly affected....

Taxpayers for Common Sense’s Stephen Ellis on Hurricane Sandy Relief

Washington, DC Justin Hyde, Yahoo Autos Senior Editor Topic: An estimated 14.5 million cars were sold in the United States in 2012. ...

Congress OKs $9.7B in Sandy relief, as conservatives question call for more aid

Washington –  Congress approved a $9.7 billion aid bill for victims of Superstorm Sandy on Friday, amid a gusty debate between those who say...

Congressional special: Pulled pork with extra sauce

It takes real skill to spot the hidden pork packed into Congressional bills. Some of it is easy to spot, like the $20,000 new car for a...

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,...

Chris Hayes guest: 112th Congress succeeded most at ‘erosion of civil liberties’

On UP with Chris Hayes on Sunday, the host and his group of panelists discussed the fact that the 112th Congress seemed to succeed in...

UP with Chris Hayes: Hurricane Sandy relief, a look back at the 112th congress, Chicago’s homicide rate

On Sunday’s Up w/ Chris Hayes, we’ll discuss the negotiations — and the roadblocks — that have held up the relief bills for Hurricane Sandy...

Congress approves scaled-back Sandy aid bill

Washington (CNN) -- Congress approved a $9.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package on Friday following delays over fiscal cliff bickering,...

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...

Boehner has mixed record on fulfilling promises

House Speaker John A. Boehner’s lofty pledges to break with precedent and run Congress in a more inclusive, transparent manner ended up a...

Broad $60.4B Sandy relief bill criticized as ‘pork’

In more than 100 pages of legislation detailing the $60 billion disaster aid plan Congress considered, there’s almost no mention of specific...

The Austin Chronicle: Headlines

• Austin Police are investigating the suspicious death of a 13-year-old girl who was found unconscious outside a home (not her own) in...

‘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...

Earmarks included in fiscal cliff deal

The VP of Taxpayers for Common Sense discusses tax incentives in the fiscal cliff bill that cater to special interests. Rush...

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...

Maligned loopholes survive ‘fiscal cliff’ deal to the tune of $1 trillion

Even as Washington says it wants to eliminate the credits and loopholes in the tax code, the “fiscal cliff” deal Congress agreed to this...

Some critical of ‘pork’ in Sandy aid bill

 WASHINGTON — With budget watchdog groups charging that a proposed $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy relief package is larded with spending for...

Hurricane Sandy pork

 Many news outlets are reporting that President Obama‘s proposed $60.4 billion federal aid bill for Hurricane Sandy victims is packed with...

Loss of Inouye Means Loss of Clout for Hawaii

HONOLULU — No man is an island. But in Hawaii, Daniel K. Inouye sure seems like one. After he died last week at 88, this state went into a...

DC Watch: Farm bill unlikely to be part of fiscal cliff efforts

With the clock ticking down to the end of the year, there is still no agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)...

What the Sandy Bill Teaches Us About Our Spending Problem

Among all the discussion about the outlines of a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, one thing is notably absent: details about spending cuts....

Groups: Sandy Relief Bill Filled with Pork Unrelated to Disaster Relief

Conservatives and taxpayer watchdog groups have examined the Senate's $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill and have discovered it funds...

Congress Piles the Pork into Hurricane Sandy Relief

The millions of dollars for projects unrelated to recovery from Hurricane Sandy included in the Sandy relief act is the latest in a long...

Editorial: Pass Hurricane Sandy aid at the right size

Even if states devastated by Hurricane Sandy don’t need exactly $60.4 billion in federal aid to fund disaster relief, Congress should not...

Hawaii loses economic engine with Inouye’s passing

 HONOLULU -- HONOLULU (AP) Saving Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard from threatened closure. Helping Hawaii emerge as a premier location for the...

Over $9 Billion in Sandy Bill for Transportation Spending That Won’t Occur for Two Years

Taxpayers for Common Sense vice president Steve Ellis e-mails reporters a list of projects getting funded in the $60.4 billion Sandy relief...

A car for the Justice Department inspector, and more in Sandy relief bill

Writing a bill for disaster relief from Hurricane Sandy surely is fairly straightforward, with aid concentrated say on loans and...

Hurricane Sandy Recovery Package Packed With Extra Spending

WASHINGTON — The Senate has quietly tucked hundreds of millions of dollars to fund parochial needs into a $ 60 billion supplemental spending...

Club For Growth, Heritage: Sandy Bill Packed With Pork

Two conservative groups on Monday said that a $60 billion bill meant to fund Hurricane Sandy relief efforts is filled with pork that is...

Conservative groups complain Sandy aid bill contains unrelated spending

Conservative groups say the Senate’s $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy supplemental bill is loaded with millions of dollars in spending...

K Street gathers strength behind Hurricane Sandy relief bill

Lobbyists for beach and coastal towns have sprung into action on a $60.4 billion relief package for communities damaged by Hurricane...

Senate debates $60.4 billion Sandy aid package

Washington - Democrats on Monday began trying to push $60.4 billion in emergency spending for Superstorm Sandy victims through Congress by...

Study Says Farm Bills Would Add to, Not Cut, Deficit

 For weeks, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have lobbied for their stalled farm bills that cut farm and food program...

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...

Sandy relief bill gets add-ons to lure GOP votes

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate's $60.4 billion superstorm Sandy relief bill contains more than $20 million for Alaska's fisheries and $188...

Porked-up Sandy relief bill storms into Senate

The Senate’s emergency spending bill to cover costs from Hurricane Sandy includes millions of dollars that will never touch the affected...

Good case that farm bill would add to deficit

A piece from Ron Nixon in The Washington Post is worth reading because it takes a crack at the conventional wisdom that a farm bill will cut...

Libertarian and environmental groups unite against five-year farm bill

WASHINGTON -- Conservative and taxpayer groups joined the Environmental Working Group (EWG) today to oppose passage of a five-year farm bill...

Conservatives, Environmentalists Find Common Cause Against Tying Farm Bill To Fiscal Cliff

WASHINGTON — Although they may be natural enemies in the modern, legislative landscape of Washington, environmentalists and fiscal...

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....

5-year farm bill could impact fiscal cliff talks

WASHINGTON — Many politicians and experts view the fiscal cliff as a looming economic crisis, but to those backing a new farm bill, it also...

About to run aground on EPA rules, coal-fired ferry seeks to rewrite the law

When is an earmark not really an earmark? A fresh bit of Congressional finagling raises that question in regard to yet another...

Coloradans speak out against subsidizing oil shale

Grand Junction, Colo. (KKCO) – People in Colorado are speaking out at a house science subcommittee meeting in Washington D.C. on...

Worse Than Solyndra!

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

Taxpayer group irked by GOP plan to subsidize oil shale research

DENVER — A Texas Republican’s proposal to subsidize research on developing oil from oil shale is prompting objections from taxpayer...

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...

Obama, Congress at an impasse on fiscal cliff

In January, Bush-era tax cuts expire and across-the-board spending cuts kick in. The clock is ticking and Congress appears no closer to...

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...

Fight Over Ferry Prompts Questions on Definition of Earmarks

To its critics, the S.S. Badger is a relic and a menace, a coal-fired car ferry that dumps tons of raw coal ash into Lake Michigan each year...

Implications of States’ Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational and Medical Use

The recent passage of state laws in both Washington and Colorado legalizing small amounts of cannabis sativa for personal use will have profound implications far beyond the borders of those states. ...

Columbia River Crossing Bridge knocked by taxpayer group

The watchdog taxpayer group, Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS), has included the Columbia River Crossing Bridge in its list of what it terms...

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,...

Congress prepares for bailout of flood insurance program amid Sandy claims

Hurricane Sandy-related claims are pouring into the troubled government-run National Flood Insurance Program — and Congress is girding for...

Navajos ban uranium mining

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

How Sandy revealed the follies of federal flood insurance programs

The mess that is now the Jersey Shore is a potent reminder of nature’s fury, but also of misguided government overreach. Driven by Sandy’s...

Let’s stop subsidizing living in harm’s way

Our nation is recovering from a natural disaster. Again. This time it’s Sandy. A few months ago, it was the drought. Last year, there was...

Rebuilding Resilience: We have to stop subsidizing people to live in harm’s way

Our nation is recovering from a natural disaster. Again. This time it's Sandy. A few months ago, it was the drought. Last year, there was...

NFIP May Need Additional Borrowing Authority to Pay Sandy Claims

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will likely need to go to Congress for additional borrowing authority to pay claims from...

Flood insurance program serves vital role after storms

WASHINGTON — The most significant source of compensation for many homeowners and businesses hit by Hurricane Sandy will be the National...

Obama plans Asia trip amid budget fight

With less than two months left for Washington to avoid an impending fiscal crisis that could drive economic recovery into a tailspin,...

Nearly all of ag wants farm bill action

On Tuesday, the day that Congress starts its lame-duck session, 235 groups representing nearly every facet of agriculture sent a letter to...

Schumer, Gillibrand seeks funds for coastline

WASHINGTON -- New York's U.S. senators said Wednesday they will seek $500 million to $1 billion in federal funding for seven Army Corps of...

Ten sure things on Election Day

Written By: Beth Morrissey & Greg Barber Ten of the city’s members of Congress are asking their constituents to send them back to...

OMB claims big cuts in overhead spending but cannot offer details

By: Sean Reilly By the Obama administration’s count, agencies trimmed some $4 billion in overhead spending in the first half of fiscal...

The battle to represent Sarasota and Manatee counties in Congress is ramping up

The battle to represent Sarasota and Manatee counties in Congress is ramping up By JEREMY WALLACE H-T Political Writer Published:...

Buchanan-Fitzgerald battle heats up

Buchanan-Fitzgerald battle heats up By Jeremy Wallace, Herald-Tribune Tuesday, September 25, 2012   The battle to represent Sarasota...

Obama says Romney could take away middle class tax deductions

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in a battle for the trust of the middle class. The group might be hard to define, but most...

Mitt Romney and the 47 percent (Capital Insider)

By George Jackson Republican Nominee Mitt Romney says there's a great divide in America -- between those who want to take wealth and pass it...

Groups: Flawed “No More Solyndras Act” Would Still Leave Taxpayers At Risk Of Costly Energy Boondoggle Defaults (PR Newswire)

Taxpayers for Common Sense, Heritage Foundation, National Taxpayers Union, and Competitive Enterprise Institute Outline Troubled Projects...

Yet More Solyndras (National Review)

Congress returns this week and plans to kick off their short stint in Washington before heading back to the campaign trail with a bill misleadingly called the “No More Solyndras Act.” ...

Sen. Mary Landrieu Ranks 25th in Taxpayer Money Spent on Travel

WASHINGTON — Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu spent $16,748 in taxpayer money on chartered plane flights around the state for her and...

Transportation Bill Jammed with Budget Gimmickry (Dallas News)

President Barack Obama’s signing ceremony for the federal transportation bill was like the graduation ceremony for a school’s most unruly,...

Critic says change priorities;  Budget watchdog calls on Corps of Engineers to refocus efforts

When the New Orleans levees breached in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and flooded 80 percent of the city, eyes in Washington turned to Steve...

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...