Happy new year taxpayers... by kerminator Blog entry

Quite a year for budgeteers… the government almost shut down, the nation almost defaulted on its debt, and a Super(fail) Committee wasted months talking but came up with zero.

Through it all, Taxpayers for Common Sense has been on the front lines with common sense solutions to the budgetary crisis. We provided Congress with detailed recommendations of more than $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. We pushed for more transparency, keeping Congress from trying to enact major, unrelated policy legislation through the secretive Super Committee process. We went into the districts of new Members to talk about our work.

Along the way we’ve racked up some big victories for taxpayers:

Earmarks Be Gone!
"Earmarks have been banished from Congress thanks in no small part to [Taxpayers for Common Sense]" declared The Hill newspaper. It only took several years and tens of thousands of earmarks databased and analyzed, but the process of special interest giveaways that enabled political muscle to trump project merit has been stopped – at least for the 112^th Congress.

Ethanol Subsidy Sunk

When the ball drops at midnight on New Year’s Eve, join TCSers in toasting the end of $6 billion a year in tax credits to the profitable companies that blend ethanol (alcohol fuel from corn) into gasoline. Thanks to TCS’s years of effort behind the scenes and in the press, this money will not be going into the pockets of big oil companies like Shell and BP anymore.

Alternate Engine Joint Strike Fighter Fought Off

The Defense Department has long maintained that they were happy with the current engine for the Joint Strike Fighter and didn’t need Congress to waste hundreds of millions a year on designing an alternate. TCS swung into action and helped knock off this wasteful weapons system. Our efforts earned TCS one of The Hill newspaper’s Top Ten Lobbying Victories of 2011.

$36 Billion Taxpayer-backed Loan Guarantee Stopped

In his 2012 budget, the President asked for a $36 billion increase in federal loan guarantees for nuclear reactors. As a longtime opponent of this risky program, TCS riled up friends on the Hill and in the media to stop the budget boost dead in its tracks.

Wasteful Nuclear Lab Funding Torched

At the same time the country is reducing its nuclear arsenal, the Department of Energy is trying to build the Taj Mahal of nuclear labs on a seismic fault at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The price tag for the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) facility has ballooned from $600 million to $6 billion, and it still doesn’t have a proper construction design. Congress listened to our pleas and cut the funding level for the project by a third. That’s a start.

We Spell Taxpayer Relief: E-A-S Reform

When airlines were deregulated in the early 1980s, Congress created the Essential Air Service to provide subsidies to rural airports. This was supposed to temporarily ease the transition, but after decades the program is larger than ever and taxpayers were forced to provide subsidies up to $3,000 per passenger. TCS was able to embarrass lawmakers into reforms that capped subsidies at $1,000 per passenger and reduced the number of airports that are eligible. Don’t worry, we’re just getting started.

Taking the Stillwater Bridge National

While it’s just a bridge over the St. Croix River, TCS was able to highlight its extravagant design and more than $700 million price tag, making the Stillwater Bridge a poster child for misplaced transportation spending priorities. The two states involved, Minnesota and Wisconsin, have more than 2,000 deficient bridges combined that will be given short shrift if the project moves forward. And now readers of the New York Times and viewers of CBS News know about it.

In all, Taxpayers had more than 4,000 mentions in the press; testified 6 times before 5 different Congressional Committees; and met with scores of Congressional members and staff, including most of the new Members.

We’re grateful for the advocates, staffers, and reporters we worked with across the country. Most of all, we’re grateful for you – our supporters who make sure we have the resources we need to be an effective voice for taxpayers.

Thanks for your support in 2011! And we hope you’ll consider a year-end gift to make sure we’re ready for next year. We’re gonna need it – 2012 looks like it’s going to be another doozy. See you in January!

Taxpayers for Common Sense is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Donate today to help us make government work for taxpayers.