(Washington, D.C.) – Today in the nation’s capital, America’s premier waste watchdog released its July WasteWatcher articles on government waste:

Will Obama’s IGs Be Blood Hounds or Lap Dogs?

By Roger Morse

Federal statutes currently allow for 69 inspectors general (IG) at all cabinet departments, large agencies, and other designated federal entities.  These offices are charged with overseeing how tax dollars are spent.  Since they are, in effect, “first responders” to potential waste, fraud, and mismanagement within the government, IGs are granted broad powers to ensure a level of independence over those they are auditing or investigating…

PASS ID

By David Williams

In 2005, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) put on a full court press to stop the implementation of the REAL ID Act.  After being attached to a supplemental appropriations bill and being voted on without hearings or any debate, REAL ID was going to be an expensive national ID card that would have put tax dollars and privacy at risk.  REAL ID was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2008.  Due to states opting out and logistical problems, that deadline has been pushed to the end of 2009, a date that is still impossible to meet…

Fahrenheit 451 Redux at the EPA

By Roger Morse

In legendary science fiction writer Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451, the government suppressed independent thought and analysis for the good of the people.  It was better to keep the populace ignorant of differing opinions than to challenge the status quo in the society described in that book…

Beach Houses:  Owned By the Rich, Paid For By Everyone

By Liya Palagashvili

Washington’s next fiscal giveaway: a bailout for wealthy homeowners living along risky, hurricane-prone coastlines.  Attempting to find a solution to rising homeowners’ insurance rates, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on July 2, 2009 to discuss the Homeowners’ Defense Act as a possible solution…

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.