Thomas A. Schatz joined Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and its lobbying affiliate, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), as director of government affairs in 1986. He has been president of both organizations since 1992.

CAGW was founded by the late businessman J. Peter Grace and late Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Jack Anderson in 1984 following the completion of President Ronald Reagan’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (the Grace Commission). A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization, CAGW works to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government and has more than one million members and supporters nationwide. According to official Office of Management and Budget and CAGW estimates, implementation of Grace Commission and other CAGW waste-cutting recommendations has helped save taxpayers $2.3 trillion.

Mr. Schatz is a nationally-recognized spokesperson on government waste. He has been interviewed on hundreds of radio talk shows and his editorials on fiscal policy have appeared in publications nationwide. He has testified numerous times on government waste issues before committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, as well as before state and local legislative and regulatory bodies.

During his 36 years with CAGW, Mr. Schatz has helped make CAGW a “leading government watchdog on fiscally conservative issues, like taxes and earmarks,” according to National Journal. He has been named one of the “top lobbyists” in Washington for the past 11 years by The Hill. The newspaper also cited CAGW for its leading role in successfully pushing for the congressional earmark moratorium, which was identified as one of the “top 10 lobbying victories” of 2010.

Prior to joining CAGW in 1986, Mr. Schatz spent six years as the senior legislative assistant for Representative Hamilton Fish Jr. and two years practicing law and lobbying. During his tenure with Rep. Fish, he worked as a staff member of the House Republican Research Committee Task Force on High Technology Initiatives. At CAGW, his work in technology and telecommunications has included co-authoring two books and leading efforts to adopt legislation and regulations that benefit both taxpayers and consumers.

Mr. Schatz holds a law degree from The George Washington University. He graduated With Honors from the State University of New York at Binghamton with a bachelor's degree in political science and has been named a “Notable Alumni.” He is married to Leslee Behar and has two daughters, Samantha and Alexandra, and four grandchildren.