This Week In Waste – January 16, 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.
Congress Has Opportunities to Rein In Federal Spending
As America celebrates its 250th Anniversary, the federal government has a $38.4 trillion national debt that will grow to $52 billion by 2035. The fiscal year 2027 budget process must take meaningful steps to get spending under control by cutting more wasteful spending. Read more here.
Minnesota Welfare Scandal Has Spread to Many Blue States
The Minnesota fraud scandal has already led to 95 indictments and could exceed $9 billion, with evidence of similar welfare fraud emerging in New York, California, Illinois, and Colorado. In California alone, officials admit up to $72 billion was mismanaged, including at least $20 billion lost to pandemic unemployment fraud. Read more here.
How Rate Caps Harm American Consumers
A January 12, 2026, Electronic Payments Coalition study warns that a 10 percent annual percentage rate (APR) cap would strip access to credit from between 175 and 190 million Americans, or nearly 90 percent of cardholders. Consumers with credit scores below 740, well above the national average, would be shut out of credit cards and forced to turn to riskier, higher-cost unregulated lenders. Read more here.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brings More Uniform Approach to Handset Unlocking Rules
In a victory for taxpayers, on January 12, 2026, the FCC reversed its mandate on Verizon to unlock phones after just 60 days. The mandate stems from requirements imposed by the FCC following Verizon’s purchase of valuable 700 MHz spectrum licenses between 2007 and 2008. CAGW, in its November 12, 2024, comments to the FCC recommended that the FCC “bring parity to the marketplace by granting Verizon’s request for a waiver of its unlocking requirements and further extend that grant to other mobile carriers that are similarly required to unlock handset devices prior to dispersal of funds owed for the devices.” Verizon had reported a 55 percent spike in handset fraud under the prior policy, which made its devices prime targets for theft and black-market trafficking. Read more here.
House of Representatives Passes SHOWER Act to End Regulatory Overreach
House passed H.R. 4593, the “SHOWER Act,” to roll back Biden-era rules that limited shower water flow, restoring consumer choice and regulatory certainty for manufacturers. The Senate should follow suit. Read more here.
