Taxpayers for Common Sense

{{Short description|US federal budget watchdog organization}}

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.{{Cite book|title=All roads lead to Congress : the $300 billion fight over highway funding|last=Panagopoulos, Costas.|date=2008|publisher=CQ Press|others=Schank, Joshua.|isbn=9780872894617|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=164|oclc=167763994}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Andrzejewski |first=Adam |title=U.S. Senator William Proxmire's Golden Fleece Award Turns 46 Years Old |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/06/30/us-senator-william-proxmires-golden-fleece-award-turns-46-years-old/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Forbes |language=en}} The first revived Golden Fleece was awarded to the Federal Aviation Administration for allowing the local governmental authority operating Tampa International Airport to lease non-aviation airport property to commercial interests at below then-market rates.{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Mike |date=2000-07-05 |title=Golden Fleece Award Making a Comeback |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/07/05/golden-fleece-award-making-a-comeback/26072a42-4b4b-45d0-9eb1-b1115753a31c/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |issn=0190-8286}}

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".{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/magazine/08wwln_safire.html?ei=5070&en=f20ee30ccdba3b33&ex=1188619200&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1188504097-MmdkUN6Oz4er0JO7R7V1uQ |title= Bridge to Nowhere |author=William Safire |author-link=William Safire |work=New York Times |date= October 8, 2006}} The project received a $223 million earmark in 2005 and was later cancelled on September 21, 2007.{{Cite news |date=2008-09-01 |title=Palin "bridge to nowhere" line angers many Alaskans |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-palin1-idUSN3125537020080901 |access-date=2022-06-07}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2020-07-06 |title=Groups critical of taxes, spending not opposed to PPP loans |url=https://www.rollcall.com/2020/07/06/groups-critical-of-taxes-spending-not-opposed-to-ppp-loans/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Roll Call |language=en}} TCS said it was the first time they had accepted government money.{{Cite web |title=TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE - Coronavirus Bailouts - ProPublica |last1=Syed |first1=Moiz |last2=Willis |first2=Derek |work=ProPublica |date= 7 July 2020|access-date=9 July 2020 |url= https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/taxpayers-for-common-sense-0ad162b87a9a6032f51d1da37bf3f70c}}{{Cite news |title=After railing against federal spending, GOP lawmakers, conservative groups benefit from government aid program |author=Tom Hamburger |author2=Aaron Gregg |author3=Anu Narayanswamy |newspaper=Washington Post |date=8 July 2020 |access-date=9 July 2020 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-railing-against-federal-spending-gop-lawmakers-conservative-groups-benefit-from-small-business-loans/2020/07/08/4c57769e-c08b-11ea-b178-bb7b05b94af1_story.html}}