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CAGW releases the 2009 Pig Book!
At 10:00 a.m. EDT today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Tom Schatz released the 2009 Congressional Pig Book at a Washington press conference alongside CAGW's mascot, "PigFoot."
Despite all the promises of "change," CAGW’s “little pink book” exposes how Congress continues to waste vital taxpayer dollars on parochial and non-essential projects. The 2009 Congressional Pig Book profiles such outrageous examples of pork-barrel spending in the fiscal 2009 appropriations bills as $4,545,000 for wood utilization research; $1,900,000 for a water taxi service in Connecticut; and $237,500 for the restoration of the Rialto Square Theater in Joliet, Illinois.
As always, we will name the names of those responsible for this waste!
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| Just 2 days left to reach our goal! Your donation to Common Cause will help ensure Recovery Act transparency and accountability. |
Unless states enact transparency and accountability measures immediately, billions of dollars in economic stimulus funding could end up lining the pockets of lobbyists and contractors, funding the pet projects of special interests, or simply going to waste.
We can't let that happen. That's why Common Cause is working hard to launch a massive grassroots effort to ensure Recovery Act funds go where they're supposed to: towards boosting the economy, improving our infrastructure, and creating jobs.
Donate today, before it's too late to make sure our tax-dollars are spent wisely!
Since the Recovery Act was announced, Common Cause has led the charge for:
Will you help us make sure these important safeguards become a reality? The Recovery Act offers America an opportunity to rebuild our economy, but it won't work if we don't make sure the process is fair and transparent.
Click here to donate now. We have just 2 days left to meet our $50,000 goal.
Thanks for all you do,
Arn Pearson
and the rest of the team at Common Cause
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As part of my [Diane Faure] Master's thesis at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, I am conducting a study on the role played by nonprofit organizations' websites in establishing a relationship with their online donors. [...]
If you have made an online donation to any kind of nonprofit organizations, then I would really appreciate it if you took my survey (see link below). All responses are anonymous, and the survey takes only 4-6 minutes to complete!
http://usc.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_3CR4Qf8cZTzUhXS&SVID= Prod
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about : contact : TCS home : donate
Dear Fellow Taxpayer,
The price tag for the government's response to the economic crisis keeps growing.
As you've probably heard, the $787 billion stimulus was signed into law on Tuesday. This afternoon a $75 billion Homeowner Stability Initiative was unveiled by the Obama Administration. GM and Chrysler are back in Washington asking for $22 billion more in taxpayer help. And we're still looking for details on the Treasury's plans for the second half of the $700 billion bank bailout program.
The need for an independent, experienced, fiercely dedicated budget watchdog is growing by-the-minute.
If you have not done so yet, and can support our work, please consider making a donation today.
We need your support to hold the federal government, state agencies, and government contractors accountable for the billions being directed from Washington. Many people have asked me what role TCS can play in bringing oversight and transparency to the spending of our tax dollars? With a new administration vowing to be more transparent and www.recovery.gov on-line, what does TCS add?
Well, we add a lot:
- 100% Independence
We take no money from political parties, the government, corporations, or labor unions. The only person we work for is you, the taxpayer. We don't pull punches out of fear of upcoming elections, Wall Street's reaction, or having our budget cut by some political boss. Non-partisan, objective, and speaking the truth—whether you are going to like what you hear or not.
- Experience
We've been down this road before. Our budget specialists have plumbed the depths of the federal budget for years. We have an intimate knowledge of dozens of waste-prone programs and agencies (post-Katrina FEMA contracts, the Army Corps of Engineers, Iraq contracting, etc.) and have seen nearly every trick in the legislative book.
- Unmatched Commitment
My staff has been called a lot of things: hard-working, efficient, dogged, even scrappy…and that's just by our allies. But one thing we've never been called: lazy. Nearly every day someone fires-up their computer before dawn. The oil in our office burns well past midnight. And weekends—they're a great time for kids' soccer matches and made-from-scratch pancakes, as well as earmark databasing and catching-up on archived C-Span hearings.For fourteen years, TCS has been a crucial voice for taxpayers on Capitol Hill. We have exposed the big spenders and fought for greater transparency. In the midst of a financial crisis and an unprecedented federal response, taxpayers need a strong and independent voice in Washington now more than ever.
Please help strengthen the voice of taxpayers in Washington and support our work today.
Sincerely,
Ms. Ryan Alexander
PresidentP.S. We depend on the support of people like you. Please make a donation in support of our work today. And to stay on top of breaking news concerning the management of your tax dollars, visit us at www.taxpayer.net.
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It's despicable, but it really happened.
Just one week after taxpayers bailed out insurance giant AIG with $85 billion, the company blew nearly half a million dollars at the swanky St. Regis golf resort.
They spent $23,000 at the spa, $150,000 on meals and wine, and even treated their dogs to the $545/night "Pamper Your Pooch" package.
Congress and the Bush administration are handing out billions in taxpayer money to banks and corporations like AIG without adequate safeguards against abuse. In fact, just yesterday they decided to give the company another $37.8 billion! [1]
Now, more than ever, we need vigilance and oversight, and we need our leaders to make responsible decisions that protect taxpayers.
That's why we need U.S. PIRG (our national federation) on Capitol Hill, watch-dogging the execution of this so-called rescue plan.
https://www.texpirg.org/
Instead of walking around the golf course, Ed Mierzwinski and John Krieger (my go-to guys on our Wall Street Oversight campaign) were meeting with our representatives on Capitol Hill trying to improve the bailout so it works better for all of us, not just the fat cats (and their pampered pooches).
We're going to convene a major summit of economists and reformists to write an economic policy that puts permanent checks and balances on our financial system to be passed in the first 100 days of the next Congress.
We've also proposed a government chartered consumer watchdog organization to counter the power of the financial services industry.
We know that we got to this point because the most powerful and entrenched special interests have manipulated the rules and re-written the laws. They will do everything in their power to take our money and run without the systematic reform that is needed. I promise you that we are not going to let that happen.
But to do all that, we need additional support from folks like you.
https://www.texpirg.org/
Having our advocates on Capitol Hill doesn't cost you $545/night, but it does take some funding. And unlike the corporate lobbyists, we get our money a little at a time, from a whole lot of regular people.
Thanks in advance for making a contribution, and I look forward to reporting to you with a victory on this campaign.
Sincerely,
Joe Rupp
TexPIRG Citizen Outreach Director
JoeR@texpirg.org
http://www.TexPIRG.org
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/
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