In 1984, J. Peter Grace and Jack Anderson created Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) to act as a voice for the American taxpayer.  CAGW's mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the federal government.  Twenty-two years after its inception, CAGW is the nation’s premier taxpayer group, comprised of more than 1.2 million members and supporters across the country.  In this time, CAGW has saved taxpayers $1.04 trillion.

On November 4, 2008 voters elected Barack Obama President hoping that he could put a stop to the growing federal deficit and financial crisis.  During his campaign, President-elect Obama pledged to go through the federal budget line-by-line in order to eliminate wasteful spending.

CAGW’s Prime Cuts 2009 seeks to help the new President and Congress create a more efficient and resourceful government.  The 700 recommendations provided by CAGW would save taxpayers $269.9 billion in the first year and $1.9 trillion over five years. 

The 2009 version of Prime Cuts features many vital recommendations for the new administration.  With a $1 trillion budget deficit for fiscal year 2009 and a federal debt in excess of $10 trillion, this year’s list is more important than ever.  Elimination of wasteful programs is a good first step in putting the nation’s financial system back on track.
 
            Included in Prime Cuts 2009 is the elimination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP).  The program aims to help agricultural producers promote U.S. products overseas; however, MAP funnels millions of dollars to large corporations.  If eliminated, it would save taxpayers $231 million over five years.

Also recommended for elimination is the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC).  Created in 1992, the NDIC is Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) expensive pet project.  The NDIC is an ineffective and wasteful program that costs millions each year.  Taxpayers would save $115 million over five years if the NDIC was eliminated.

One of the more expensive projects on this year’s list of recommendations for elimination is the New Moon/Mars initiative.  The initiative is a Bush Administration plan to continue NASA’s exploration of Mars and to return to the Moon by 2020.  In just one year the elimination of the New Moon/Mars initiative would save taxpayers $1.5 billion, and $11.5 billion over five years.