The national debt stands at more than $22 trillion, with trillion-dollar deficits right around the corner. Entitlement spending continues to rise and is projected to make up 60 percent of spending for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Social Security will exceed its income in 2020 for the first time since 1982 and Medicare is set to […]
On November 14, 2018, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced that, for the 12th year running, it lost money. While this annual revelation has become something of a dog bites man story, the new, and more alarming news was that the $3.9 billion loss will outstrip its FY 2017 losses, which were $2.7 billion, […]
Publicly-funded broadband overbuild is an ongoing problem across the country. It is far easier to deploy new services alongside existing infrastructure than to build-out to those who remain in unserved areas. On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1625, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, which funds the government through September 30, […]
On September 6, 2018, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to evaluate the ill-famed ten-year anniversary of conservatorship for government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Committee members and witnesses addressed the inherent dangers of keeping the status quo as well as potential reforms to limit systemic risk. What was supposed to […]
When the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) launched on April 26, 2008, it was intended to modernize the Navy and become “the backbone of the future fleet.” After more than a decade, this dream has not come to fruition. In fact, the LCS seems unlikely to be deployed for a second consecutive year. The status of […]
On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to begin the process of creating a Space Force. While the idea was praised by some members of Congress, detractors point to concerns about the increased bureaucracy and costs associated with a sixth military branch. The President’s proposal follows Congress’ rejection of a similar plan […]
In a July 2016 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could improve its budget data in its justifications to Congress. The report found that the IRS, while it has taken steps to more effectively manage its budget, has not correlated its priorities to relevant appropriations accounts. In its […]
Citizens Against Government Waste was pleased to learn that presidential candidate and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker agrees that Congress and their official staff have been given a special exemption under the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare, and that it must be abolished. He joins fellow presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in calling […]
When Chicken Little said “The sky is falling!” and convinced his barnyard brethren of the same, the facts notwithstanding, he practically invented fear-mongering. Trade liberalization opponents are engaged in their own version of spreading false and misleading information by claiming that so-called “fast track” legislation is fraught with end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it perils. Just as the falling acorn […]
In what appears to be an unprecedented and illegal action, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has apparently for the first time hired a law firm to assist in the income tax audit and investigation of a taxpayer. In a May 13, 2015 letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) […]
