This Week in Waste – June 6, 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.
Mayor Bowser’s Billion-Dollar Mistake
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is proposing a billion-dollar taxpayer handout to the Washington Commanders to replace the Robert F. Kennedy stadium. Named CAGW’s May Porker of the Month, Bowser wants to extend the Ballpark Fee on businesses, while the city is struggling with escalating housing prices, failing schools, and a near-bankrupt public transportation system. The plan will end up like other cities that have built stadiums at the expense of taxpayers under the guise of “revitalization,” which end up benefiting team owners and failing to deliver the promised community benefits. Read more here.
Trump’s Rescissions are the Next Step to Save Taxpayer Dollars
On June 3, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget submitted President Trump’s $9.4 billion rescissions package to Congress. It includes cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and unnecessary foreign aid programs. The proposal is a good start, and CAGW suggests that future rescissions packages include recommendations from CAGW’s 2024 Prime Cuts report. Read more here.
CAGW Files Reply Comments on “Next Generation” Broadcasting Standards
CAGW filed reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission regarding a petition from the National Association of Broadcasters seeking a rulemaking to impose a government mandate for all broadcasters and multichannel video program distributors to switch to a “Next Generation” broadcast technology known as ATSC 3.0. The use of the technology has been voluntary and there is not demand or reason to change to a costly and unnecessary mandatory process. Read more here.
Senator Peters Believes the Time is Right for SAMOSA
Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) reintroduced the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act on June 4, 2025. The Senate ran out of time to act on SAMOSA last session, after the House passed it in December 2024. Software asset management has long been a priority for CAGW. The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste co-signed a December 8, 2022, letter on in support of SAMOSA Act, highlighting that “SAMOSA’s reporting and accounting requirements will lead to fewer redundancies in software purchasing and bolster competition among vendors that will lower prices.” Read more here.
NTIA Revamps BEAD Program Guidance to Reduce Regulations and Speed Up Deployment
CAGW has chronicled the myriad problems with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program guidance, which has prevented any of the funds from being used to connect a single business or household since the program was enacted in 2021. On June 6, 2025, the Department of Commerce updated the BEAD program to address many of the problems cited by CAGW. The new guidelines will provide more flexibility and speed up funding to deploy broadband to unserved and underserved communities. Read more here.
