Taxpayers for Common Sense

Taxpayers for Common Sense TCS is a nonpartisan federal budget watchdog serving as an independent voice for American taxpayers. Donate Today! www.taxpayer.net/donate

TCS works with individuals, policymakers, and the media to increase transparency, expose and eliminate wasteful and corrupt subsidies, earmarks, and corporate welfare. Subscribe to receive our Weekly Wastebasket by sending an inquiry to [email protected]

TCS needs you to help us fight government waste.

We’re right once again—oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge is nothing short of fiscal delusion. Today’s lease sale ...
06/05/2026

We’re right once again—oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge is nothing short of fiscal delusion. Today’s lease sale only sold 10% of tracts offered & got just $3.7 million in bids. Only one private company bid in auction, the only other bidder is an Alaska state-run corporation:

This is not the first time AIDEA has stepped in to bid on Arctic Refuge lease sales because of a lack of industry interest. Although this was the first sale

HAPPENING NOW: 689,000 acres in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge available at auction for oil & gas development. Our latest Weekly...
06/05/2026

HAPPENING NOW: 689,000 acres in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge available at auction for oil & gas development. Our latest Weekly Wastebasket details our forecast. Spoiler: past sales have not generated meaningful $$ & today’s sale is unlikely to change the trend.

The federal government is set to auction nearly 689,000 acres, roughly the same area as Rhode Island, in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge tomorrow for

New leasing for oil & gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was proposed as an offset to the multi-trillion budget ...
06/05/2026

New leasing for oil & gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was proposed as an offset to the multi-trillion budget reconciliation package. Our analysis shows that even the highest projected revenue represents under 0.001% of this amount.

All recent leasing in the region analyzed by TCS clearly indicates that revenue from ANWR leasing cannot credibly serve as a meaningful fiscal offset.

Today’s oil & gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge is expected to fall shore of promised revenue while saddling taxp...
06/05/2026

Today’s oil & gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge is expected to fall shore of promised revenue while saddling taxpayers with future liabilities. Read more here:

Five Fast Facts about Oil and Gas Leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Taxpayers were promised $452 million from oil & gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge. Yet TCS projects the true out...
06/04/2026

Taxpayers were promised $452 million from oil & gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge. Yet TCS projects the true outcome to be around $3-30 million – all while shouldering taxpayers & local communities w/ massive risks.

Although this is the first sale mandated under OBBBA, it is the third mandated lease sale in the Arctic Refuge. During the first Trump Administration,

Locking in $70,000,000,000 for ICE and CBP through FY2028 cuts future Congresses out of the process. Less oversight. Les...
06/04/2026

Locking in $70,000,000,000 for ICE and CBP through FY2028 cuts future Congresses out of the process. Less oversight. Less accountability. Less control over taxpayer dollars. Read more:

Because Congress exercising its power of the purse isn’t an option, it’s an obligation imposed in the Constitution. And a legislative branch that acknowledges and defends its foundational role in governance is a prerequisite to making a government that works for taxpayers.

Just a year after the first Arctic Refuge lease sale, the only 2 private companies that acquired leases pulled out. The ...
06/04/2026

Just a year after the first Arctic Refuge lease sale, the only 2 private companies that acquired leases pulled out. The sale raised less than 1% of the $1 billion in promised revenue. With more sales coming, disappointing outcomes for taxpayers are ahead.

The Department of the Interior received no bids for the second congressionally mandated federal oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic Refuge.

Over six major U.S. financial institutions and numerous insurance companies have pledged not to finance or insure oil & ...
06/03/2026

Over six major U.S. financial institutions and numerous insurance companies have pledged not to finance or insure oil & gas development in the Arctic Refuge. If there is no interest from the industry, why should there be from the taxpayer?

Five Fast Facts about Oil and Gas Leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Despite 0 bidders and 0 revenue generated from previous oil & gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge, Dept. of Interi...
06/03/2026

Despite 0 bidders and 0 revenue generated from previous oil & gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge, Dept. of Interior announced a series of 4+ sales starting this Friday. More on this historically unsupported decision:

Although this is the first sale mandated under OBBBA, it is the third mandated lease sale in the Arctic Refuge. During the first Trump Administration,

Military right-to-repair will save taxpayer dollars & strengthen national security. We joined Project On Government Over...
06/03/2026

Military right-to-repair will save taxpayer dollars & strengthen national security. We joined Project On Government Oversight, Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), American Economic Liberties Project, National Taxpayers Union, SEMA Association, The Chamberlain Network, & U.S. PIRG in urging Congress to get it done.

We are writing to voice our strong support for the inclusion of military “right-to-repair” provisions in the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2027 NDAA).

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