Mission/History

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing more than one million members and supporters nationwide.  CAGW’s mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency at all levels of government.  Founded in 1984 by the late industrialist J. Peter Grace and syndicated columnist Jack Anderson, CAGW was established to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of the President’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, also known as the Grace Commission.

In 1982, President Reagan directed the Grace Commission to “work like tireless bloodhounds to root out government inefficiency and waste of tax dollars.”  For two years, 161 corporate executives and community leaders led an army of 2,000 volunteers on a waste hunt through the federal government.  The search was funded entirely by voluntary contributions of $76 million from the private sector; it cost taxpayers nothing.  The Grace Commission made 2,478 recommendations which, if implemented, would save $424.4 billion over three years, an average of $141.5 billion a year all without eliminating essential services.

The 47 volumes and 21,000 pages of the Grace Commission Report constituted a vision of an efficient, well-managed government that is accountable to the taxpayers.  CAGW has worked to make that vision a reality and helped save taxpayers $2.4 trillion through the implementation of Grace Commission findings and other recommendations.

At a White House luncheon honoring members of the Grace Commission shortly before he left office in 1988, President Reagan called CAGW, “An organization whose only loyalty is to the one special interest group that we should support because we all belong to it – the United States taxpayers.  You put the issue of waste and inefficiency front and center on the public agenda. … And that’s why the work of Citizens Against Government Waste is so vital – vital in the battle against budget deficits and vital to the strength and resiliency of the democratic system and public confidence in our government.”

CAGW’s membership has grown from 5,000 members in February 1988 to more than one million members and supporters today.  This phenomenal growth is the result of taxpayers’ ongoing frustration with the squandering of their hard-earned money in the nation’s capital.

CAGW is nationally recognized as the primary source of information on government waste. CAGW’s waste findings have been featured in virtually every national newspaper and newsmagazine, including The New York Times, Time, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, as well as on television, radio, and podcasts, including “20/20,” “60 Minutes,” “Dateline,” “Hannity,” “The Ingraham Angle,” “The Alan Nathan Show,” “Squawk Box,” and “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”

In carrying out its mission, CAGW authors and publishes original research, investigative reports, the WasteWatcher blog, the annual Prime Cuts catalogue of recommendations to reduce wasteful spending, and a renowned exposé of pork-barrel spending, the Congressional Pig Book.  CAGW also testifies before Congress and regulatory bodies, hosts briefings, and makes presentations before civic groups.

CAGW’s record of success stems entirely from the voluntary support provided by individual, foundation, and corporate contributors.