Taxpayers for Common Sense

Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) is a nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. TCS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; its 501(c)(4) affiliate is Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action). The current president of TCS is Stephen Ellis. Founded in 1995 by Jill Lancelot and Rafael DeGennaro, TCS states that its mission is to ensure that the federal government spends taxpayer money efficiently and responsibly.[1]

In 2000, former United States Senator William Proxmire asked Taxpayers for Common Sense to revive the Golden Fleece Award, which was awarded to federal programs that most Americans would agree were wasteful.[2] The first revived Golden Fleece was awarded to the Federal Aviation Administration for the Tampa International Airport.[3]

TCS creates databases of the earmarks that appear in congressional spending bills. TCS is credited with labeling the Gravina Island Bridge proposal in Ketchikan, Alaska, as the "Bridge to Nowhere".[4] The project received a $223 million earmark in 2005 and was later cancelled on September 21, 2007.[5]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the group received $178,500 in federally backed small business loan from Citibank as part of the Paycheck Protection Program.[6] TCS said it was the first time they had accepted government money.[7][8]

References
  1. Panagopoulos, Costas. (2008). All roads lead to Congress : the $300 billion fight over highway funding. Schank, Joshua. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. p. 164. ISBN 9780872894617. OCLC 167763994.
  2. Andrzejewski, Adam. "U.S. Senator William Proxmire's Golden Fleece Award Turns 46 Years Old". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  3. Allen, Mike (2000-07-05). "Golden Fleece Award Making a Comeback". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  4. William Safire (October 8, 2006). "Bridge to Nowhere". New York Times.
  5. "Palin "bridge to nowhere" line angers many Alaskans". Reuters. 2008-09-01. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  6. "Groups critical of taxes, spending not opposed to PPP loans". Roll Call. 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  7. Syed, Moiz; Willis, Derek (7 July 2020). "TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE - Coronavirus Bailouts - ProPublica". ProPublica. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  8. Tom Hamburger; Aaron Gregg; Anu Narayanswamy (8 July 2020). "After railing against federal spending, GOP lawmakers, conservative groups benefit from government aid program". Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2020.


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