Budget Watchdog All Federal

18:13

Pocket Rescissions: $810 Million and a 45-Day Clock

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/09/29

It's the last week of fiscal year 2026, and for once there's no shutdown drama. A continuing resolution runs through December 11. But late Friday, the White House sent Congress $810 million in "pocket rescissions." That's money Congress appropriated and the president signed into law, which the administration now plans to hold until it expires at midnight Wednesday. Congress won't vote on it. The calendar will decide instead. TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research and Policy Josh S...

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25:32

Hey Big Spender: Three Trillion-Dollar Numbers, One...

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/09/17

This week, three numbers, one fiscal year. The Congressional Budget Office projects $1.1 trillion in net interest on the national debt in fiscal year 2027. The Pentagon is asking for $1.5 trillion. And in Dallas on September 9th, the president promised every adult citizen $5,000 if Republicans hold Congress. Multiply it out and that is roughly $1.2 trillion, about the size of the interest bill. Host Steve Ellis is joined by TCS Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell and policy analyst Ga...

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14:17

Beef Prices: What Executive Action Can and Can't Do

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/09/01

Ground beef hit a record $6.90 a pound in spring 2026 and has stayed there — $6.89 in July. And in August, the Trump administration responded three times in eight days: a 300,000 metric-ton import quota, a signed proclamation, and a social media post promising ranchers could process and sell their own cattle. Objections came from inside the president's own party, with more than a dozen Republican senators and 21 House Republicans raising concerns. So TCS went to the paperwork. Steve Ellis and...

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18:52

Steam Dream: Redesigning a $22 Billion Carrier for Looks

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/08/21

There is an iron law of building complicated things, and it applies to your kitchen renovation exactly the same way it applies to a nuclear-powered warship: the most expensive moment in any project is the moment somebody changes their mind after the work has started. A new presidential memorandum directs the Navy to plan for ripping electromagnetic catapults out of carriers already under construction and putting steam-powered ones back in. The Washington Post reports the Navy is also quietly ...

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18:00

Punting on First Down

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/07/31

The House passes a CR with two months left on the clock. A punt is a concession you make when you've run out of downs. The House made this one on first down. With more than two months left in the fiscal year and none of the twelve appropriations bills finished, it passed a continuing resolution funding the government at fiscal year 2026 levels through December 4th, largely on party lines. Appropriations Chair Tom Cole calls the bill clean. Steve Ellis and TCS Director of Research and Policy J...

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33:59

How to Cut Half a Trillion Dollars from the Pentagon...

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/07/13

The Pentagon's FY2027 budget request comes in at $1.54 trillion — a 45% increase over current spending. TCS teamed up with the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) on a new report, How to Cut a Half a Trillion Dollars from the Pentagon Budget Request and Strengthen National Security, identifying nearly $500 billion in defensible cuts to acquisition programs. Gabe Murphy (TCS) is joined by POGO's Greg Williams and Virginia Burger to walk through the methodology and the specifics: munitions r...

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33:04

250 Years, 85% of the Debt in 25

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/06/26

America turns 250, and the fiscal ledger is sobering: $39.3 trillion in national debt — 85% of it accumulated in just the last 25 years. TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research & Policy Josh Sewell set aside the holiday Wastebasket they planned to write and instead take a hard look at how the republic arrived here. From the $430 million in daily debt averaged across 250 years, to $8 trillion in interest payments since 2010, to a new $88 billion emergency supplemental that stret...

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25:58

Inside the NDAA Markup

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/06/05

The House Armed Services Committee spent all of Thursday, June 4th, marking up the National Defense Authorization Act, and what happened inside that room was anything but routine. TCS Policy Analyst Gabe Murphy was there for the debate, and he joins Steve Ellis to break down an unprecedented fight over the Pentagon's $1.14 trillion top line, a bipartisan push on military right to repair that actually passed by voice vote, and a series of amendments on Iran war funding that exposed just how po...

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41:47

Repair Priorities 2026

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/05/22

America has spent $1.5 trillion on federal surface transportation since the early '90s. Roads and bridges: same condition as 2001. So where did the money go? Steve Ellis talks with Beth Osborne of Smart Growth America about Repair Priorities 2026, a new TCS-partnered report tracking how states actually spend federal highway dollars — and why expansion keeps winning over maintenance, no matter how much Congress appropriates. They cover the data gaps, the accountability failures, and a House co...

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31:44

100 Cents on the Dollar: National Debt Crosses a...

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/05/01

The U.S. economy grew at a solid 2% annual rate in the first quarter of 2026. So why is Taxpayers for Common Sense sounding the alarm? Because at the same moment, the national debt held by the public crossed 100% of GDP — a threshold once considered unthinkable. TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell break down why good economic news and a historic debt milestone aren't reassuring — they're a warning. If we're running a $1.9 trillion deficit when times are g...

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13:46

Drilling Won't Fix Gas Prices. Here's the Math.

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/04/17

Gas prices are above $4 a gallon. Crude oil is past $100 a barrel. And Washington is doing what Washington does — pointing to federal leasing as the fix. But is it? TCS President Steve Ellis sits down with TCS Vice President Autumn Hanna to break down exactly how global oil markets work, why a domestic leasing policy can't move a global price, and what the numbers actually say about royalty rates and pump prices. The math is precise, and the conclusion is clear: raising the royalty rate on ne...

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16:56

The President's FY2027 Budget Request

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/04/10

The president has released his fiscal year 2027 budget request — and buried inside the rhetoric about "historic paradigm shifts" and the end of "fiscal futility" is a $1.5 trillion Pentagon spending request. A 44% increase in a single year. And that's before the Iran War supplemental reportedly in the pipeline. TCS President Steve Ellis brings in national security analyst Gabe Murphy and Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell to cut through the numbers: what the administration is actuall...

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21:09

Flood Insurance Realities

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/03/30

Taxpayers for Common Sense doesn't just watch Congress — sometimes it sits at the witness table. Last week TCS President Steve Ellis testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance on flood insurance, repetitive loss properties, and mitigation. With reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program on the horizon, we take you inside the hearing room to hear the case he made to lawmakers: the NFIP is $40 billion in the hole, we know which properties ke...

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25:35

Iran, War Powers, and the Budget

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/03/13

Two weeks into the U.S. military campaign against Iran — launched without congressional authorization — the costs are staggering. Estimates put taxpayer exposure at up to $28 billion already, with no clear end in sight. TCS President Steve Ellis sits down with TCS policy analyst Gabe Murphy to break down what we know: the human toll, the daily cost of operations, the shifting justifications from the White House, and what Congress has — and hasn't — done about it. From the narrow defeat of War...

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36:51

The Farm Bill Lives

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/03/06

While breaking news about U.S. military action against Iran dominates the headlines, a consequential piece of legislation quietly cleared a major hurdle in Washington. In the early morning hours of March 5th, after a 20-hour marathon markup session, the House Agriculture Committee voted 34-17 to advance the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 — dubbed "Farm Bill 2.0." With the priciest farm programs already locked in through last year's reconciliation bill, what's left may look slim...

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19:43

Trump Tariff Takedown

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/02/20

In a historic 6-3 ruling the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump's sweeping global tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), holding that the Constitution's taxing power belongs squarely to Congress — not the executive branch. TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell break down the ruling in real time. The court's majority, which included Trump appointees Gorsuch and Barrett alongside Chief Justice Roberts and th...

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14:51

Why Golden Dome is Bad for American Taxpayers

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/02/11

TCS President Steve Ellis and Policy Analyst Gabe Murphy break down President Trump's Golden Dome missile defense program—an ambitious vision to shield the entire United States from nuclear attack. With potential costs ranging from $3.6 to $6 trillion and fundamental technical challenges that make near-perfect interception virtually impossible, Golden Dome represents fiscal irresponsibility on a massive scale. Congress has already approved over $24 billion without even seeing a basic architec...

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14:32

Short Shutdown

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/01/30

Congress faces a partial government shutdown at midnight over Department of Homeland Security funding—but the border enforcement operations at the center of the fight will continue largely uninterrupted. Last summer's reconciliation bill locked in $170 billion for immigration enforcement through 2029, sitting outside the annual appropriations process. This means agencies like FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard could shut down while ICE operations continue with their massive funding increase. TCS ...

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18:05

Pentagon Plus-Up: Trump's $1.5 Trillion Defense Proposal

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2026/01/09

Just when you thought Pentagon spending couldn't get more out of control, President Trump proposes a 50% budget increase in one year—rocketing Defense spending from $901 billion to $1.5 trillion. That's $500 billion more... and tariffs won't cover it. On Budget Watchdog All Federal, host Steve Ellis and TCS policy analyst Gabe Murphy break down why this "dream military" proposal is fiscal madness, explore a new executive order targeting defense contractor stock buybacks, and examine why Congr...

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15:56

Inside the $12 Billion Farm Bailout

Budget Watchdog All Federal ·

2025/12/12

The Trump administration has announced a $12 billion agricultural bailout package as trade wars squeeze American farmers—a familiar scenario from the first Trump administration. TCS Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell joins host Steve Ellis to break down the "Farmers to Family Bridge Aid" package, examining who receives payments, what's actually in the relief, and whether a one-time check provides real certainty.

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