Budget Watchdog All Federal
The podcast dedicated to making sense of the budget, spending, and tax issues facing the nation. We cut through the partisan rhetoric and talking points to bring you the facts about what's being talked about, bandied about, and pushed in Washington. Budget Watchdog All Federal is brought to you by Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Episodes
115 episodes
100 Cents on the Dollar: National Debt Crosses a Historic Threshold
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 consi...
Drilling Won't Fix Gas Prices. Here's the Math.
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 ...
The President's FY2027 Budget Request
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...
Flood Insurance Realities
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, repetit...
Iran, War Powers, and the Budget
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 Elli...
The Farm Bill Lives
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 ses...
Trump Tariff Takedown
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 Congre...
Why Golden Dome is Bad for American Taxpayers
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 t...
Short Shutdown
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...
Pentagon Plus-Up: Trump's $1.5 Trillion Defense Proposal
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 co...
Inside the $12 Billion Farm Bailout
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 E...
FEMA Reform: Billion-Dollar Disasters and the Push for Taxpayer Protection
With nearly 30 billion-dollar extreme weather events in 2024 alone, disaster costs are spiraling out of control—and Congress is finally taking action. Steve Ellis sits down with TCS Director of Research Josh Sewell and Policy Analyst Tyler Work...
Half a Billion and Counting: The Hidden Cost of National Guard Deployments
Nearly half a billion dollars spent, families separated over the holidays, small businesses operating short-staffed, and violent crime was already declining. TCS Policy Analyst Gabe Murphy breaks down the mounting taxpayer costs of National Gua...
Shutdown Postmortem
After 43 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has ended. But at what cost? Steve Ellis and Josh Sewell break down the $60 billion price tag taxpayers absorbed for absolutely nothing. Beyond the waste, the Trump administration u...
The Antideficiency Act, Explained
In the midst of a full government shutdown, the Trump administration has taken an unprecedented step: firing thousands of federal workers while government funding remains frozen. The problem? This might violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, a law on...
TCS Turns 30
Celebrate our 100th episode and TCS's 30th anniversary! Join President Steve Ellis, co-founder Jill Lancelot, and former President Ryan Alexander as they reveal the untold story behind Taxpayers for Common Sense. From killing the infamous Bridg...
Government Shutdown Countdown
With just days until a potential government shutdown, TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell break down the looming crisis facing taxpayers. From the controversial "pocket rescission" maneuver to the unprecede...
NDAA 2026 and Pentagon Accountability
This episode of Budget Watchdog All Federal dives into the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, examining critical taxpayer protection measures at stake. Host Steve Ellis and policy analyst Gabe Murphy discuss the Pentagon's...
20 Years After Katrina: Are We Still Paying Premium Prices for Poor Planning?
Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, we're still making the same costly mistakes. Despite spending over $122 billion on flood control since the 1920s, average annual flood damages had tripled even before Katrina hit. ...
Up in Smoke: The Methane Waste Crisis Costing Taxpayers Billions
The EPA's delay of methane waste standards will cost taxpayers $170 million as billions of cubic feet of natural gas escape into the atmosphere instead of reaching markets. Host Steve Ellis explores this fiscal and health crisis with TCS Vice P...
Rule by Tariff: When Trade Policy Meets Wishful Thinking Economics
In this episode, TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research Josh Sewell tackle the Trump administration's tariff bonanza and explain why counting tariff chickens before they hatch is a recipe for fiscal disaster. They break down how tar...
Who Pays When Disaster Strikes, Now?
The Trump administration is proposing fundamental changes to federal disaster response, shifting from FEMA's current model toward block grants that give states more control. The goal: reduce federal bureaucracy and empower local decision-making...
Warrior's Right to Repair - When Military Equipment Breaks, Who Gets to Fix It?
What happens when a CT scanner breaks down in Afghanistan and soldiers can't repair it themselves? Or when the Navy has to fly contractors out to sea just to fix basic equipment? This episode dives into the Pentagon's "right to repair" problem ...
Feeding the World Without Frying the Planet with Michael Grunwald
New York Times bestselling author Michael Grunwald joins host Steve Ellis to discuss his forthcoming book "We Are Eating the Earth: the Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate,"...
One Big Beautiful Bill, Many Ugly Problems
Senate Republicans are scrambling to craft their version of President Trump's massive budget reconciliation package before a self-imposed July 4th deadline – and they're making the House's already bloated bill even worse. The Senate Armed Servi...