Citizens Against Government Waste
Abbreviation | CAGW |
---|---|
Formation | 1984 |
Type | Advocacy group |
Headquarters | 1100 Connecticut Avenue NW |
Location |
|
Region served | United States |
President | Thomas A. Schatz |
Website | http://www.cagw.org |
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a
History
CAGW was founded in 1984 by
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 "
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.[citation needed]
Since 1989, the CCAGW has examined congressional
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
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.
Microsoft's antitrust case litigation
In 2001, the
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 (
CAGW and tobacco
The
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
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
CARES Act
During the 2020
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Pig book puts pet spending in spotlight". NBC News. 3 April 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ "Right-Left Coalition Denounces Boeing Corporate Welfare Deal". CommonDreams.org. Archived from the original on July 17, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ "Sen. Thune avoids being named 'Porker of the Year'". Rapid City Journal. 16 March 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ "CAGW Names Sen. Dodd Porker of the Month" (Press release). June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015.
- ^ Menn, Joseph; Sanders, Edmund (August 23, 2001). "Lobbyists Tied to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Robyn Weisman (August 23, 2001). "Report: Phony 'Grassroots' Campaign Orchestrated by Microsoft". Archived from the original on 2007-01-28. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ^ Citizens Against Government Waste: NewsRelease_09302003b
- ^ | InfoWorld | News | 2003-10-03 | By Paul Roberts, IDG News Service
- ^ [1], Letter supporting Youth Smoking Reduction Act by CAGW
- ^ [2], Letter against Youth Smoking Reduction Act by several public health agencies
- ^ [3], Recap of ASSIST Meeting
- ^ When tobacco needed a voice, CAGW spoke up and profited, St. Petersburg Times, April 2, 2006
- ^ (kpx21c00)
- ^ a b For price, watchdog will be an advocate, St. Petersburg Times, April 2, 2006 Archived November 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Senate Report: Five Nonprofit Groups Sold Clout to Abramoff". Washington Post. 2006-10-12.
- ^ "Citizens Against Government Waste". Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/nw/?postId=5176[permanent dead link]
- ^ Yang, Jeff (2010-10-27). "Politicians Play The China Card". Tell Me More. NPR. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
- ^ Lyden, Jacki (2010-10-27). "Critics Say Political Ads Hint Of Xenophobia". NPR. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
- ^ Smith, Ben (2010-10-22). "Behind The Chinese Professor".
- ^ Osnos, Evan (November 6, 2012) "The Year China-Bashing Went Mainstream", The New Yorker.
- ^ Sullivan, Andy (6 July 2020). "Small-government advocates, lobbyists tap $660 billion U.S. pandemic-aid fund". WKZO. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ Danny Westneat (6 July 2020). "Local anti-tax groups find even they need big government aid sometimes". seattletimes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
External links
- Official website
- Campaign finance reports and data at the FEC
- Organizational Profile – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)
- Independent Expenditures and Outside Spending at OpenSecrets.org(by year)
- "Citizens Against Government Waste Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
- Citizens Against Government Waste coverage on C-SPAN