Welcome to This Week in Waste, a series by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that highlights how taxpayer dollars are being wasted on the local, state, and federal levels.

Texas Senate Passes Bill to Establish State DOGE Commission:

The Lone Star State became the latest state to move ahead and follow the Trump administration’s  lead and establish its own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  The Texas state Senate passed S.B. 14, which would create the Texas Regulatory Office.  This office would be charged with streamlining the regulatory process, eliminating unnecessary regulations, and making the state government smaller and more efficient.

Congressional Budget Office Releases Estimate of When U.S. Will Reach Debt Limit

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released an updated estimate of when the U.S. will reach the limit of its borrowing power.  The CBO found that the U.S. is already nearing the current debt limit of $36.1 billion, and the government is likely to run past that limit in August or September 2025.  Decades of reckless government spending has caused massive debt and deficits which leads to the government having to continually raise the debt limit.  Members of Congress should use this moment as a wake-up call to recommit to fiscal sanity.  

House Votes to Overturn Biden Refrigerator and Freezer Rules

The House of Representatives continued its work to overturn overreaching federal regulations that were approved during the Biden administration.  On March 27, 2025, the House passed H. J. Res. 24 and H. J. Res. 75 which rescinds Department of Energy regulations that imposed burdensome energy conservation standards on commercial and walk-in freezers.  These rules were unnecessary and would have raised prices for consumers and small businesses.

Drowning in a Sea of Paper Labels

A 63-year-old law mandating that drug information be sent to pharmacists on paper must be updated to allow digital transmission.  Read more here.

Flavor Bans Inflate Black Markets

Legislation in Nebraska and Oregon threatens to roll back historic declines in both youth and adult cigarette smoking.  Read more here.

Federal Procurement Must Be More Efficient

Leveraging the size of government when purchasing goods and services will increase efficiency and control costs for agencies.  Read more here.

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