Citizens Against Government Waste

Last updated
Citizens Against Government Waste
AbbreviationCAGW
Formation1984
TypeAdvocacy group
Headquarters1100 Connecticut Avenue NW
Location
  • Washington, D.C.
Region served
United States
President
Thomas A. Schatz
Website http://www.cagw.org

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the United States. It functions as a "government watchdog" and advocacy group for fiscally conservative causes. The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of CAGW, organized as a section 501(c)(4) organization and therefore is permitted to engage in direct lobbying activities. According to its website, "CAGW is a private, non-partisan, non-profit organization representing more than one million members and supporters nationwide. CAGW's stated mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the federal government."

Contents

History

CAGW was founded in 1984 by industrialist J. Peter Grace and syndicated columnist Jack Anderson. Grace was chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Grace Commission (also known as the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control). [1]

CAGW is located in Washington, D.C. Thomas A. Schatz has been president since 1992.[ citation needed ]

Publications

CAGW produces a number of publications critical of government expenditures known colloquially as "pork-barrel" projects. The CAGW-published Congressional Pig Book Summary (Pig Book) is an annual list of such projects and their sponsors. The 2008 Pig Book identified 10,610 projects in that year's congressional appropriations bills that constitute the discretionary portion of the federal budget for fiscal 2008, costing taxpayers $17.2 billion. [2]

Related publications include Prime Cuts, a list of recommendations for eliminating waste in the federal government and Porker of the Month, a monthly press release.

Since 1989, the CCAGW has examined congressional roll-call votes to determine which members of Congress are voting in what they view as the interest of taxpayers. CAGW makes public what legislators are engaging in "pork-barrel" spending based on 'key' votes for each congressional session.

Activities

CAGW and CCAGW seek to influence public policy through public education, lobbying, and mobilization for email and letter campaigns to elected officials. CAGW claims to have helped save taxpayers $944 billion through its campaigns.

CAGW was one of the critics of a $23.5 billion Air Force plan in 2001 to lease and then buy 100 refueling tankers from Boeing. Congress squashed the plan after it was revealed that an Air Force official inflated the price in exchange for an executive job at Boeing. [3]

CAGW was a critic of Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and his efforts to secure a $2.3 billion federal loan for a railroad company that once employed him as a lobbyist. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) cited an "unacceptably high risk to taxpayers" in denying the loan to the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) in 2007. [4]

CAGW named Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) its June 2008 Porker of the Month for accepting a preferential mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial which stood to benefit from a mortgage bailout bill he was pushing through Congress. [5]

Microsoft's antitrust case litigation

In 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that at least two dead people had sent a form letter by CAGW opposing the antitrust case against Microsoft to Mark Shurtleff, then Attorney General of Utah. State officials found that the decedents' family members had crossed out the names on the form letters and signed for them; another letter had come from the nonexistent city of "Tuscon, Utah". [6] [7]

Freeware initiative

In 2003, CAGW put out a press release opposed to what it called the "Freeware Initiative" in the State of Massachusetts, which it claimed would have required "that all IT expenditures in 2004 and 2005 be made on an open-source/Linux format." [8]

Responding to the press release, a state official denied the existence of such an initiative and said the state was simply considering ways to integrate disparate systems using open standards such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), XML (Extensible Markup Language) and Java. [9]

CAGW and tobacco

The St. Petersburg Times reported that CAGW "got at least $245,000 from the tobacco industry" and subsequently lobbied on its behalf. Internal tobacco industry documents made available by the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement indicate that CAGW and its affiliates supported the tobacco industry in several instances. Specifically, in 2001 when an industry-sponsored bill entitled the "Youth Smoking Reduction Act" was introduced in Congress, CAGW provided a letter of support, despite the opposition of most public health organizations. [10] [11] CAGW was also contacted by Phillip Morris to include ASSIST (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test), a federal tobacco control program, in their Pig Book. ASSIST was considered an imminent threat to industry activities at the time. [12]

Asked about his group's tobacco work, CAGW president Tom Schatz said, "We have always welcomed contributions to support the issues we support. Many of them have to do with fighting higher taxes and more regulations." [13] [14]

Other

Throughout its history, CAGW has been accused of fronting lobbying efforts of corporations to give them the appearance of "grassroots" support. [15]

According to the St. Petersburg Times in 2006, the Pig Book has been used to benefit corporate donors, specifically health clubs who donated to CAGW. It listed federal grants to YMCAs who compete with those health clubs as waste. CAGW's president countered that "The Ys are there because they qualify as pork. Period." [15]

A Senate Finance Committee investigating ties between CAGW (and other non-profits) and Jack Abramoff in 2006 stated in a report that the non-profits: 'probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."' [16]

In 2007, CAGW supported a bill that would limit damages resulting from malpractice lawsuits. [17] Many consumer watchdog groups opposed the bill. [18]

"Chinese Professor" ad

The CAGW launched an ad, now commonly referred to as "Chinese Professor" for the 2010 midterm elections, which portrays a 2030 conquest of an indebted United States by China. Local Asian American extras were used to portray the Chinese students, although the actors were not informed of the nature of the shoot. [19] Columnist Jeff Yang said that in the campaign there was a "blurry line between Chinese and Chinese-Americans". [20] Larry McCarthy, the producer of "Chinese Professor," defended his work by saying that "this ad is about America, it's not about China." [21] [22]

CARES Act

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the group received assistance between $150,000 and $350,000 in federally backed small business loan from Truist Bank as part of the Paycheck Protection Program, saying that the funds would allow them to keep 17 jobs. Their loan was seen as notable, since they campaign against excess government spending and are small-government advocates. CAGW said it was the first time they have accepted government money. Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times quipped that "We're all socialists now, apparently", calling CAGW an anti-debt crusader. [23] [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom DeLay</span> American politician (born 1947)

Thomas Dale DeLay is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. A Republican, DeLay represented Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He served as House majority leader from 2003 to 2005.

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax. We believe that power should be minimized." The organization is known for its "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", which asks candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to oppose all tax increases. The founder and president of ATR is Grover Norquist, a conservative tax activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad Burns</span> American politician (1935–2016)

Conrad Ray Burns was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Montana and later became a lobbyist. He was only the second Republican popularly elected to represent Montana in the Senate and was the longest-serving Republican senator in Montana history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Doolittle</span> American politician (born 1950)

John Taylor Doolittle, is an attorney and an American politician. Elected to Congress in 1990, he served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing California's 4th congressional district. In the 109th Congress, he held a leadership role as the Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House. He was succeeded in the House of Representatives by Tom McClintock. Before being elected to Congress, he had served in the California State Senate from 1984 to 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Delahunt</span> American politician (born 1941)

William David Delahunt is an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He is a former U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 10th congressional district, serving from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Delahunt did not seek re-election in 2010, and left Congress in January 2011. He was replaced by Norfolk County District Attorney Bill Keating. He is currently an attorney with the firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Ney</span> American politician (born 1954)

Robert William Ney is an American politician from Ohio. A Republican, Ney represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until November 3, 2006, when he resigned. Ney's resignation took place after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal. Before he pleaded guilty, Ney was identified in the guilty pleas of Jack Abramoff, former Tom DeLay deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy, former DeLay press secretary Michael Scanlon and former Ney chief of staff Neil Volz for receiving lavish gifts in exchange for political favors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Abramoff</span> American Republican lobbyist and felon (born 1959)

Jack Allan Abramoff is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction and 21 other people either pleading guilty or being found guilty, including White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional aides.

Michael Scanlon is a former communications director for Rep. Tom DeLay, lobbyist, and public relations executive who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges related to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. He is currently assisting in the investigation of his former partners Abramoff, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed by separate state and federal grand jury investigations related to the defrauding of American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials.

The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American tribes who were seeking to develop casino gambling on their reservations. The lobbyists charged the tribes an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon grossly overbilled their clients, secretly splitting the multi-million dollar profits. In one case, they secretly orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Safavian</span> Former US Government official

David Hossein Safavian is an American former lawyer who worked as a congressional aide, lobbyist, and later as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration. A Republican, he served as Chief of Staff of the United States General Services Administration (GSA). He is a figure in the Jack Abramoff lobbying and corruption scandal, having worked with the lobbyist on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw account. After serving with Abramoff as a lobbyist, in 1997 Safavian co-founded lobbying firm Janus-Merritt Strategies with Republican activist Grover Norquist.

Citizens for America (CFA) was a United States conservative grass-roots organization founded by President Ronald Reagan's "Kitchen Cabinet" to support President Reagan's national defense and economic initiatives. CFA called itself "President Reagan's Lobby" and was led first by drugstore magnate Lewis E. Lehrman and later by Gerald P. Carmen, who had served as administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations mission in Geneva, Switzerland. CFA was organized as an IRS 501 (C) (3) and (4) non-profit. Among the early employees was Jack Abramoff, who was later terminated for cause.

"Team Abramoff" is the team of lobbyists assembled by Jack Abramoff when he worked at Greenberg Traurig, primarily of former aides to prominent Congressional politicians. Their work is embroiled in the Jack Abramoff scandals.

Kevin A. Ring is a former American attorney and congressional staffer; he served Republicans in both the House and the Senate, including U.S. Representative John T. Doolittle (R-CA). He also served as a counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights Subcommittee.

U.S. Family Network, Inc. (USFN) was founded in 1996 by Ed Buckham, who also served as the organization's consultant. USFN was a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) corporation founded in Virginia, with its principal offices located in the District of Columbia in the same building as Buckham's consulting firm Alexander Strategy Group and Tom DeLay's political action committee Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC). USFN received $500,000 from the NRCC and $1 million from lobbyist Jack Abramoff's Russian clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Feeney</span> American politician (born 1958)

Thomas Charles Feeney III is an American politician from Orlando, Florida. He represented Florida's 24th congressional district. He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobbying in the United States</span>

Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interest groups hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is often perceived negatively by journalists and the American public; critics consider it to be a form of bribery, influence peddling, and/or extortion. Lobbying is subject to complex rules which, if not followed, can lead to penalties including jail. Lobbying has been interpreted by court rulings as free speech protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Since the 1970s, the numbers of lobbyists and the size of lobbying budgets has grown and become the focus of criticism of American governance.

The Jack Abramoff CNMI scandal involved the efforts of Jack Abramoff, other lobbyists, and government officials to change or prevent, or both, Congressional action regarding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and businesses on Saipan, its capital, commercial center, and one of its three principal islands.

An earmark is a provision inserted into a discretionary spending appropriations bill that directs funds to a specific recipient while circumventing the merit-based or competitive funds allocation process. Earmarks feature in United States Congress spending policy, and they are present in public finance of many other countries as a form of political particularism.

Pablo E. Carrillo is a one-time admiralty lawyer from New Orleans, Louisiana, who was U.S. Senator John McCain's chief of staff. In that capacity, Carrillo led McCain's investigations of the Jack Abramoff tribal lobbying scandal and the KC-X Boeing tanker scandal, which McCain referred to extensively throughout his campaign.

Todd Boulanger is an American lobbyist. He was senior vice president of Cassidy & Associates and was a figure in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

References

  1. ↑ "Remarks on Receiving the Final Report of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control in the Federal Government". President Ronald Reagan Speech October 28, 1985. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Pig book puts pet spending in spotlight". NBC News. 3 April 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Right-Left Coalition Denounces Boeing Corporate Welfare Deal". CommonDreams.org. Archived from the original on July 17, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Sen. Thune avoids being named 'Porker of the Year'". Rapid City Journal. 16 March 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  5. ↑ "CAGW Names Sen. Dodd Porker of the Month" (Press release). June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015.
  6. ↑ Menn, Joseph; Sanders, Edmund (August 23, 2001). "Lobbyists Tied to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters". Los Angeles Times .
  7. ↑ Robyn Weisman (August 23, 2001). "Report: Phony 'Grassroots' Campaign Orchestrated by Microsoft". Archived from the original on 2007-01-28. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  8. ↑ Citizens Against Government Waste: NewsRelease_09302003b
  9. ↑ | InfoWorld | News | 2003-10-03 | By Paul Roberts, IDG News Service
  10. ↑ , Letter supporting Youth Smoking Reduction Act by CAGW
  11. ↑ , Letter against Youth Smoking Reduction Act by several public health agencies
  12. ↑ , Recap of ASSIST Meeting
  13. ↑ When tobacco needed a voice, CAGW spoke up and profited, St. Petersburg Times, April 2, 2006
  14. ↑ (kpx21c00)
  15. 1 2 For price, watchdog will be an advocate, St. Petersburg Times, April 2, 2006 Archived November 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ "Senate Report: Five Nonprofit Groups Sold Clout to Abramoff". Washington Post. 2006-10-12.
  17. ↑ "Citizens Against Government Waste". Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  18. ↑ http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/nw/?postId=5176%5B%5D
  19. ↑ Yang, Jeff (2010-10-27). "Politicians Play The China Card". Tell Me More. NPR . Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  20. ↑ Lyden, Jacki (2010-10-27). "Critics Say Political Ads Hint Of Xenophobia". NPR . Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  21. ↑ Smith, Ben (2010-10-22). "Behind The Chinese Professor".
  22. ↑ Osnos, Evan (November 6, 2012) "The Year China-Bashing Went Mainstream", The New Yorker .
  23. ↑ Sullivan, Andy (6 July 2020). "Small-government advocates, lobbyists tap $660 billion U.S. pandemic-aid fund". WKZO. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  24. ↑ Danny Westneat (6 July 2020). "Local anti-tax groups find even they need big government aid sometimes". seattletimes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.