This Week In Waste – December 19, 2025

Welcome to This Week in Waste, a series by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that highlights how taxpayer dollars are being wasted in the federal, state, and local levels of government and efforts to fight back against this spendthrift behavior.

This Week in Waste will be taking a break during Christmas and the New Year and wishes all its readers happy and joyful holidays. Be sure to watch for our next issue in January.

CAGW Files Comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Regarding C-Band Spectrum

The FCC’s auction of upper C-band spectrum will benefit taxpayers while promoting 5G deployment and national security. The first auction in 2020 generated $80.9 billion for taxpayers, more than the initially estimated maximum of $60 billion. CAGW’s comments suggested that the FCC should ensure that incumbent users are fully reimbursed for relocation costs and maximize the public value of the auctioned spectrum. Read more here.

Pentagon Fails to Learn From Shipbuilding Misadventures

The Navy and Coast Guard continue to repeat past shipbuilding failures by approving construction before designs are complete, virtually guaranteeing delays and cost overruns. A Navy frigate program once projected to cost $22 billion is three years behind schedule, while the cost of Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) rose by 57 percent from 12.5 billion in 2012 to $19.6 billion in 2023. Read more here.

Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) Chairs Hearing on Improper Payments

Sen. Ernst criticized the Social Security Administration at a Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship December 10, 2025, hearing, demanding stronger safeguards against improper payments. Budget-focused watchdogs discovered more than $186 million in improper Social Security payments in 2023, justifying the call for tougher fraud prevention measures. Read more here.

iRobot’s Sale to a Chinese Company Again Shows How Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan’s Tenure Was a Disaster

iRobot’s bankruptcy and planned sale to its main Chinese supplier illustrate the devastating consequences of former FTC Chair Lina Khan’s overzealous antitrust enforcement. Read more here.