The WasteWatcher: The Staff Blog of Citizens Against Government Waste

The WasteWatcher

The WasteWatcher is the staff blog of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW). For questions, contact blog@cagw.org.



Rhetorical Flim-Flam

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — CAGW Staff

In the wake of the March 13 vote on a one-year moratorium on congressional earmarks, it is time for a post-mortem on who said what in the heat of the battle.  The amendment, offered by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) to the fiscal year 2009 budget resolution, failed by a vote of 29-71.  But the earmark fight is far from over; the comments made by the appropriations cardinals and various earmark apologists are fodder for future skirmishes.

A Challenge That Should Not Be Met

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — CAGW Staff

Six years ago, President Bush called for the establishment of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), “a new compact for global development defined by new accountability for both rich and poor nations alike.”

Deepwater in Hot Water

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — CAGW Staff

The Coast Guard’s air and sea fleet are aging, with most of the fleet dating back to the 1950s and 1960s.  Responding to the need to update the fleet and react to a shifting threat, the Coast Guard created the Integrated Deepwater System in 2002, which, according to the Coast Guard’s website is “a critical multi-year program to modernize and replace the Coast Guard’s aging ships and aircraft, and improve command and control and logistics systems.  It is the largest acquisition in the history of the Coast Guard.  Integrated Coast Guard Systems has been managing the IDS contract since it was awarded in June, 2002.”  However, there are serious concerns with the procurement of aircraft and the National Security Cutter.

Department of Defense and Lavish Expenditures

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — CAGW Staff

What do earmarks for $10 million for the National World War Two Museum in New Orleans, $18 million for a chapel in Fort Hood, and $5 million for a fence near San Diego have in common?  The House of Representatives deemed them to be important enough to include as earmarks in the committee report on H.R. 5658, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2009.

Un-FIT!?

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — Elizabeth Wright

In April, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that the House Republican Policy Committee had created the “Fiscal Integrity Task Force (FIT).”  Taxpayer groups in Washington were elated.  Finally, Republicans in Congress were rediscovering their fiscal soul.  The goal of the FIT, according to Rep. Boehner, is “to put fiscal integrity into government budgeting, taxing, and spending, and to demand that Congress run the federal government like a family budget.”

Corn Ethanol is Not a Panacea

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — Elizabeth Wright

All is not rosy with corn ethanol and other biofuels, according to a February 7 Scientific American online article.  The article reported on the release of two new research studies that show that converting corn to ethanol is leading to increased clearing of the Amazon rainforest and higher costs of food.  Plus, for those who argue that global warming is man-made, the researchers highlighted in the Scientific American article report that corn ethanol production may be making the situation worse.

Federal Government – The Ideal Tenant?

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — CAGW Staff

Apparently, the federal government has an aversion to commitment, at least in terms of property.  According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released on January 24, 2008, for the first time in history the federal government is predicted to lease more property than it owns.  Based upon information gathered from the General Services Administration (GSA), which handles many of the government’s leases, from 2003 to 2006, federally-leased space increased from 160 million square feet to 172 million square feet; conversely, federally-owned space decreased from 180 million square feet to 174 million square feet.

“Emergency” Supplementals

May 31, 2008 - 17:00 — CAGW Staff

“Hope for the best, but plan for the worst” is the approach most Americans try to take when it comes to setting aside funds for a rainy day.  For the government, however, national emergencies, and the supplemental appropriations bills that tend to accompany these emergencies, have become just another excuse to spend money on non-emergency, routine projects and favored pork-barrel items that failed to win funding through the normal appropriations process.

Earmarks Invade DC

April 30, 2008 - 17:00 — Thomas Schatz

An op-ed in the May 17 Washington Post by Colbert King showed that earmarks know no boundaries.  King cited $56 million in projects in the District of Columbia’s budget that were “initiated and approved by the [city] council without extensive executive branch review.” 

Pentagon’s Travel System Still Grounded

April 30, 2008 - 17:00 — CAGW Staff

There are a lot of reasons to complain about air travel:  overbooking, rising costs, delays, cancellations, uncomfortable seats, and rude passengers, among others.  With all of these hassles, travelers do have a plethora of online travel services to try and obtain the cheapest flight.  With the immense of amount of travel undertaken by the federal government and especially the Department of Defense, an online travel system sounds like a marriage made in heaven.  Unfortunately, combining logic and the federal government is as easy as putting a square peg in a round hole.

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