The WasteWatcher
The WasteWatcherCongressional Oversight Needs Improvement
The House and Senate convened for the 111th Congress facing a record budget deficit and are currently considering a massive “stimulus” spending package. Now, more than ever, increased oversight of federal programs is essential to ensure that...
The WasteWatcherTroubles With TARP
Barely sixty days after its establishment, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is itself, well, in big trouble.
The WasteWatcherThe Mayors’ Stocking Stuffers
In anticipation of the rapid passage of a $1 trillion stimulus package as soon as President-elect Obama and the new Congress take office in January, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its wish-list of what it called “shovel-ready” projects that...
The WasteWatcherCAGW’s Project: Privacy
Project: Privacy was created in 2008 and is affiliated with Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW). CAGW’s Project: Privacy will examine government’s role in ensuring that every person’s information is protected and help citizens manage their...
The WasteWatcherFat Corporate Welfare Payouts
On November 4, 2008 Barack Obama won the battle for the Presidency. On January 20, 2008, he will face many difficult challenges. The national economic and financial crisis will place a heavy burden on the federal government. With a $1 trillion...
The WasteWatcherUSDA Makes $49 Million in Payments to Ineligible Individuals
In October, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report titled “Federal Farm Programs: USDA Needs to Strengthen Controls to Prevent Payments to Individuals Who Exceed Income Eligibility Limits.” The report was requested by Senator...
The WasteWatcherNew Grace Commission Needed
Just five days after his historic election, President-elect Obama vowed to review every Executive Order signed by President Bush during the past eight years. He made it clear that he intends to overturn some of them. The President-elect should take...
The WasteWatcherRAC-king Up Medicare Savings
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its most recent analysis of improper payments in the Medicare program on November 17, 2008. The good news is that vigorous cost recovery programs have helped whittle the percentage of...
The WasteWatcherThe "Not-So-Big Three" Beg for a Bailout
The so-called “Big Three” domestic automakers, General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford have kicked into overdrive to lobby Congress to salvage what is left of their business operations using taxpayer funds. General Motors, which has entered negative...
The WasteWatcherThe 111th Congress: House of Card Check
Ironically, as Congress debates a bailout for the auto industry partly as a result of its massive, union-stimulated legacy costs, there are widespread expectations that Congress and the Obama administration will quickly try to push though the so-...
The WasteWatcherThe Sun, the Moon, and the Stars
On November 17, 2008 the Washington Post reported that President-elect Obama “wooed” federal employees in seven federal agencies at the behest of American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO President John Gage. The Post stated that the...
The WasteWatcherACORN: Taxpayer Seed Money Underwriting Corruption and Voter Fraud?
Voter registration and vote fraud is once again front and center as November 4 approaches. As in previous elections, the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, or ACORN, is at the center of political and legal storms.
