Troubles with TARP
By Leslie K. Paige
Barely sixty days after its establishment, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is itself, well, in big trouble.  Since the Treasury Department has already committed $290 billion of its initial $350 billion authorization, the TARP program is bumping up against its first hard ceiling.  The remainder of the total of $700 billion Congress authorized will only be made available after explicit congressional approval and outgoing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen has been noncommittal in public about whether he intends to seek access to the rest of the money. 

580,000 Square-Foot Money Pit

By Sam Leverenz and Sarah Maroney
On Tuesday, December 2, the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) opened its doors to its owners – the taxpayers - for the first time.  After six years of construction and countless revisions, what seemed like a never-ending project has finally reached completion.  While the CVC provides new services for visitors and a nice view of the Capitol, it is the $621 million price tag that has been making news. 

USDA Makes $49 Million in Payments to Ineligible Individuals

By John Frydenlund

In October, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report titled “Federal Farm Programs: USDA Needs to Strengthen Controls to Prevent Payments to Individuals Who Exceed Income Eligibility Limits.”  The report was requested by Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.

The Mayors’ Stocking Stuffers

Leslie K. Paige

In anticipation of the rapid passage of a $1 trillion stimulus package as soon as President-elect Obama and the new Congress take office in January, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its wish-list of what it called “shovel-ready” projects that the Conference claims can be completed in 2009 and 2010 and will create 847,000 new jobs.  With taxpayers already experiencing the worst holiday season in years, this is another big lump of coal in their stockings.

CAGW’s Project: Privacy

Sam Leverenz

Project: Privacy was created in 2008 and is affiliated with Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW).  CAGW’s Project: Privacy will examine government’s role in ensuring that every person’s information is protected and help citizens manage their privacy.  Through education and coalition building, Project: Privacy will build a bi-partisan network of groups and individuals to recommend effective privacy policy at all levels of government.Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.