• Withholding Funds
    Nov 19, 2008  - According to some of the most recent reports, it is clear that Senator Ted Stevens has indeed lost his bid for reelection for Senate in Alaska (read article here). Yesterday, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and I wrote a letter to the Chairmen of the Appropriations Committees in both houses, asking that ... More
  • Taking out the Trash
    Oct 17, 2008  - Many of you watched the final presidential debate on Wednesday night, and the candidates were asked, “What would you cut from the federal budget”.  If the answers given were unsatisfactory to you, the National Taxpayer’s Union (NTU) and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), have teamed up t... More
  • An Appetite for Earmarks
    Sep 18, 2008  - You would think that Senator Ted Steven’s (R-AK) legal battle would be the sole occupant of his time, but according to an article in The Hill yesterday, it seems that his insatiable appetite for earmarks hasn’t been abated one bit.  According to the article, Stevens has managed to garner mo... More
  • New Taxes for Energy that Won’t Produce
    Sep 16, 2008  - I am sure many of you have been paying attention to the debate (or lack thereof) on energy in Congress.  Well now the majority has decided to take up a bill after months of pleas from Republican members of the House.  However, this bill is designed to fail, and worse yet it increases spend... More
  • National Earmarks for Security
    Sep 12, 2008  - It’s no secret that this Congress has had a problem passing appropriations bills on time.  Last year, we resorted to passing a giant omnibus bill at the last minute, and this year we likely will recess until after the election by passing a continuing resolution (CR), to fund the government at i... More
  • We Will Never Forget
    Sep 11, 2008  - I know most of you will never forget where you were on September 11, 2001. I know I certainly won’t. That day has been permanently ingrained in the minds of Americans.  The attacks still resonate in the hearts and minds of Americans. But when we remember the 7th anniversary of that fateful day,... More
  • Take a Bite Out of Your Paycheck
    Sep 11, 2008  - Yesterday I blogged about the new CBO numbers on the deficit and the remarkable jump in the deficit figures. If that is extended over the full 2008-2018 period, CBO projects that spending will average 21.1% of GDP. Federal revenues have never exceeded 20.9% of GDP (a level reached in 1944, 2000). Ke... More
  • CBO Makes its Estimate
    Sep 9, 2008  - Today, the Congressional Budget Office released its latest figures on the deficit, and they aren’t good.  According to the report the federal government will run a deficit of $407 billion for the budget year that ends on Sept. 30.  Furthermore, CBO expects that if current policies remain... More
  • Spending Addiction
    Aug 19, 2008  - According to a recently released report by Taxpayer’s for Common Sense (TCS), House members will receive $290 million more in earmarks this year, than in last.   This increase is also accompanied by an increase in approved projects, which will swell by about 200 this year.  These ... More
  • Guest Blog: Congressman Paul Ryan
    Aug 12, 2008  - Congressman Ryan (WI) is the Ranking Member from the Committee on the Budget, and the main designer of the American Roadmap.  America is on an unsustainable fiscal course. Today, the unfunded liability of just our two largest entitlement programs – Medicare and Social Security – is $40... More