(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today expressed its opposition to S. 1637, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act, due to the plethora of special interest tax breaks added since its introduction.  The bill was originally intended to repeal a $5 billion per year export subsidy that was declared illegal by the World Trade Organization, and replace it with other incentives to help U.S. exporters.  Congress used this opportunity to include $170 billion in targeted tax breaks. 

“Members of Congress have gone hog wild with this legislation, adding special interest, corporate welfare provisions to an otherwise unrelated bill,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said. “Unfortunately for taxpayers, this type of behavior represents the status quo in Washington, especially in an election year.”

Here is a list of some questionable tax breaks in the bill:

- $519 million by Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) for small aircraft producers, including Learjet and Cessna;

- $482 million for insurance companies;

- $310 million by Sens. John Breaux (D-La.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) for shipbuilders such as Northrop Grumman;

- $189 million by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) for Oldsmobile dealers;

- $92 million by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a devoted racing fan, for NASCAR;

- $64 million for tax breaks on horse sales;

- $15 million by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Bob Graham (D-Fla.) for the cruise ship industry; and  

- $8 million for U.S. bow and arrow makers on arrow components and “youth bows.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.