This Week In Waste – June 12, 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.
Congress Should End This Abysmal Obamacare Failure
In a June 11, 2026, op-ed in The Hill, Congressman Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) and Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) President Tom Schatz made a case for eliminating the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Contrary to the Congressional Budget Office’s prediction that CMMI would save $2.8 billion between 2011 and 2020, CMMI instead lost $5.4 billion and stands to lose another $1.3 billion between now and 2030, while having less than a 6 percent success rate when testing new models. Read more here.
CAGW Participates in Congressional Roundtable on Military Spending
On June 9, 2026, the House Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee held a roundtable, “Getting Taxpayers a Better Bang for Their Buck from Military Contracts.” CAGW Director of Policy and Research Sean Kennedy participated in the roundtable to discuss the potential for saving money and increasing efficiency by modernizing military procurement. He said, “By agreeing to more favorable contracts, learning the lessons of today’s conflicts, and empowering the private sector, the Pentagon can set itself on a more efficient and effective procurement pathway.” Read more here.
Restricting Private Labels is Anti-Consumer
On June 11, 2026, Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) reintroduced the misnamed American Innovation and Choice Online Act. This legislation would ban online platforms from advertising their own private label products alongside competitors’ products on their websites. Not only would this bill harm large online businesses but also smaller businesses that use these platforms to sell products and services. This legislation is anti-competitive and would harm consumer choice. Read more here.
The Costly Consequences of Telecommunications Equipment Theft
Two reports released during June 4, 2026, Telecom Industry Summit: Protecting Critical Communications Infrastructure, show the costs of telecommunications equipment theft, including copper wire, to the industry and consumers. Besides the economic cost, these thefts disrupt 911 systems and other emergency communications systems. Read more here.
Price Controls Reduce Development and Access to Vital Cures
Price controls, like those included in the Inflation Reduction Act and Most Favored Nation policies, threaten to reduce the development of new and innovative lifesaving treatments, creating an invisible graveyard of patients who never receive the medicine they need. Read more here.
VA Deploys New Electronic Health Records System (EHR) at Four Additional Medical Facilities
In a win for taxpayers and veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to expand use of its new EHR. CAGW has long urged the completion of this decades long modernization effort that will allow for interoperability between the VA and the Department of Defense and help streamline the transition of healthcare for service members between the two agencies. Read more here.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) Vetoes Bill Limiting Credit Card Swipe Fees
On June 3, 2026, Gov. Polis vetoed SB 26-134, the “Payment Cards Networks’ Fees” bill, which would prohibit interchange fees on taxed portions of credit card transactions. If the bill had been signed into law, it would have burdened consumers in Colorado by forcing them to use different payment methods for a single purchase, created additional obstacles for small businesses, and invited extensive litigation. Read more here.
