This Week In Waste – February 27, 2026
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.
The Taxpayers’ State of the Union
CAGW President Tom Schatz wrote “The Taxpayers State of the Union” address that recognized efforts being made by President Trump to reduce spending and regulations and offered suggestions about how to do even more to tackle the mounting federal debt. His February 23, 2026, Washington Times op-ed proposed reducing improper payments, eliminating the wasteful and ineffective Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and other measures to cut wasteful spending. Read more here.
CAGW Files Comments on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) GLOBE and GUARD Models
The Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing (GLOBE) and Guarding U.S. Medicare Against Rising Drug Costs (GUARD) models mandate the use of Most Favored Nation price controls for Medicare Part B and Part D, respectively. CAGW’s comments stated that GLOBE and GUARD open the door to socialized medicine, and that price controls on pharmaceuticals will stifle innovation, reduce jobs, and be a disaster for patients. The comments also called for CMMI, which has failed to save money or improve care, to be eliminated or at least subject to strict guardrails. Read more here.
Artemis Moon Mission Delayed Again
The U.S. has not landed on the moon since 1972. In 2017, President Trump called for that to change. But the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Artemis program, which is supposed to eventually land astronauts on the moon, is plagued with delays and cost overruns, including a helium leak on the Space Launch System rocket that was supposed to take off on February 21, 2026. Artemis is estimated to cost $93 billion between 2012-2025. Read more here.
Trump Declares “War on Fraud” During State of the Union Address
Citing billions of dollars in fraud in Minnesota and other states, President Trump declared a formal “war on fraud” during his State of the Union address that would be led by Vice President J.D. Vance. The Trump administration has already been working on efforts to reduce fraud, including the freezing of $10 billion in federal child care funding to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, while enforcing stricter payment verification. Read more here.
State Financial Officers Foundation Exposes $28 Billion in Fraud and Waste and Offers Help in War on Fraud
The State Financial Officers Foundation, which represents 40 state treasurers, auditors, and comptrollers across 28 states, offered to join President Trump’s crackdown on fraud. The group’s 2025 Oversight Report revealed $28 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse, including $836 million in improper Medicaid payments in Kentucky and $518 million in fraud and abuse among agencies and nonprofits that receive state and federal funding. Read more here.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) Introduces Legislation to Stop Lifeline Payments for Dead People
CAGW has been following waste and abuse in the Lifeline program for many years. The February 6, 2026 edition of This Week in Waste spotlighted a Federal Communications Commission Office of Inspector General finding that Lifeline providers in California, one of the Lifeline opt-out states, paid $3.8 million from 2020–2025 to provide phone and internet service to 94,000 deceased individuals. This abuse and similar problems across the country captured the interest of Sen. Ernst, who introduced the No Lifeline for Dead People Act on February 26, 2026. Read more here.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Joins California’s Billionaire Tax Campaign
Sen. Sanders joined the campaign to support a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on California’s 200 billionaires to help fund healthcare programs for middle-class and low-income residents of the state. Opponents correctly note that the measure would punish wealth creation, speed the exodus of high-income earners, move investment out of the state (or the country), and ultimately raise costs for all taxpayers. Several wealthy Californians have already left the state, and even some Democrats oppose the idea, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. Read more here.
