The debt of our nation is soaring. The U.S. Government has spent more than $13 trillion above what it has taken in. The Obama Administration and Democratic majority in Congress have passed policies causing government to grow faster than ever adding more than $1.4 trillion in additional debt this fiscal year alone.
Congressmen Keep Pork Projects Cooking
Despite the moratorium on all earmarks agreed to by House Republicans on March 11, 2010, and a ban on earmarks to for-profit companies adoptedby House Democrats the previous day, both sides of the aisle are finding ways to circumvent their own rules.
Carolina on Taxpayers Minds
Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) has never been accused of being a fiscal hawk. In fact, he is quite well known for bringing home the bacon. CAGW’s 2010 Congressional Pig Book documented 41 earmarks worth $55 million requested by Rep. Clyburn.
The DISCLOSE Act: Free Speech for Some, Hefty Price for Others
The House of Representatives is currently embroiled in a battle overH.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act. The legislation has caused a firestorm among lawmakers and politically active organizations as it seeks to use the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruling as an excuse to […]
Playing Politics with The Anthrax Vaccine
The anthrax attacks of October, 2001 may seem like a distant memory to many Americans, but the incidents created widespread alarm, prompting a debate within the U.S. government over how to better protect the nation from the critical threat of chemical and biological weapons attacks.
Pigs on the Wing–The Aerial Refueling Tanker Contract Dispute Continues
The battle to build the Air Force’s next generation of aerial refueling tankers continues to fuel wasteful lobbying and insider dealing in Washington D.C. The $35 billion deal is as closely contested as ever, which is no surprise given the amount of money at stake. Defense Industry Daily’s initial valuation of the program in January 2007 predicted the contracts could exceed $100 billion.
Making Fiscal Sense in New Jersey
Politicians frequently stand on soapboxes and tell voters what they want to hear, but often fail to back their words up with action after they are elected. President Obama did this during the 2008 presidential race when he promised that people would be able to keep their doctor if healthcare reform passed and assuredeveryone making less than $250,000 thatthey would not be hit with any new tax increases. Now that the healthcare bill has passed,citizens are discovering that that their doctors are dropping private insurers and most taxpayers will have to pay moreto provide health benefits for everybody.
Government Acquisition Waste
When purchasing necessary items, the government buys from private businesses, both large and small. For contracts greater than $100,000, companies go through a convoluted and highly regulated bidding process, which allows losing bidders to file a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The protest filing procedures are complicated and costly. Although the number of […]
Congress Spends Without a Budget
Deficits are soaring and spending continues unrestrained. Americans are infuriated at a government that does not appear to care about how much is being spent or even if the spending has any relation to the amount of revenue coming into the government. Neither President Obama nor Congress appear to care how much this spending will […]
The Ongoing Farce of the “Emergency Supplementals”
As the House of Representatives rushed to finish legislative business in advance of the Memorial Day recess, the fate of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010Supplemental Appropriations Bill was pushed off until lawmakers returnon June 8. The bill allocates $37.5 billion to support ongoing war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Unfortunately, it also piles on tens of billions of dollars in additional funding for dozens of non-emergency items, all of which add to the $1.56 trillion annual deficit and the national debt, which topped $13 trillion on May 25, 2010, according to the Congressional Budget Office.