(Washington, D.C.) -- In a letter today to Capitol Hill lawmakers, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) reiterated the need to hold the Department of Justice’s antitrust division accountable to taxpayers.  In the message, CCAGW President Thomas A. Schatz cited the group’s long-standing opposition to government intervention in the information technology industry.  Excerpts from the letter follow:

“Since the Grace Commission issued its report in 1984, CCAGW has been battling against the waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement of our tax dollars.  Our track record is unparalleled and unquestioned in its consistent mission to demand accountability.

“For seven years, our organization has published Prime Cuts, an annual compendium of waste-cutting recommendations that, if enacted, would save taxpayers $1.2 trillion over five years.  The latest edition, issued in June 1999, includes a proposal to cut the antitrust division’s budget by 35 percent.  Therefore, CCAGW opposes current versions of the Commerce Justice State Appropriations bill that include significant increases in the division’s budget.

“Earlier in the year, CCAGW also issued a report that cited the federal government’s technological ineptitude and challenged its attack on the high-tech industry.

“We are outraged by recent news reports questioning the motivation of taxpayer watchdog organizations that have long-standing and successful records of identifying and eliminating wasteful spending and regulations and opposing tax increases.  As one such organization, CCAGW has protested the recent trend of taxation through litigation as just the latest effort by politicians and bureaucrats to take money out of the pockets of hard-working Americans for their own selfish political ends.

“To prevent such abuse of tax dollars, members of Congress must exercise their oversight authority and remember just whose money is being spent — and wasted — in Washington.  The antitrust division funding battle is one of a series of conflicts over spending priorities.  It is also part of a multi-faceted effort to prevent the government from adversely affecting the most important industry for the nation’s future.”

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