Budget Watchdog All Federal

Taxpayers For Common Sense
  • 4.6 (10)
  • Government
  • Updated Monthly

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. 

  1. Jun 26

    250 Years, 85% of the Debt in 25

    America turns 250, and the fiscal ledger is sobering: $39.3 trillion in national debt — 85% of it accumulated in just the last 25 years. TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research & Policy Josh Sewell set aside the holiday Wastebasket they planned to write and instead take a hard look at how the republic arrived here. From the $430 million in daily debt averaged across 250 years, to $8 trillion in interest payments since 2010, to a new $88 billion emergency supplemental that stretches the definition of "emergency," Ellis and Sewell make the case that the nation's fiscal trajectory is a bipartisan problem requiring bipartisan solutions — and that the next 250 years depend on the choices made now.

    33 min

  2. Jun 5

    Inside the NDAA Markup

    The House Armed Services Committee spent all of Thursday, June 4th, marking up the National Defense Authorization Act, and what happened inside that room was anything but routine. TCS Policy Analyst Gabe Murphy was there for the debate, and he joins Steve Ellis to break down an unprecedented fight over the Pentagon's $1.14 trillion top line, a bipartisan push on military right to repair that actually passed by voice vote, and a series of amendments on Iran war funding that exposed just how politically charged this budget season has become.

    26 min

  3. May 22

    Repair Priorities 2026

    America has spent $1.5 trillion on federal surface transportation since the early '90s. Roads and bridges: same condition as 2001. So where did the money go? Steve Ellis talks with Beth Osborne of Smart Growth America about Repair Priorities 2026, a new TCS-partnered report tracking how states actually spend federal highway dollars — and why expansion keeps winning over maintenance, no matter how much Congress appropriates. They cover the data gaps, the accountability failures, and a House committee's quiet vote against a basic "fix it first" requirement — all with the program's September reauthorization deadline approaching. The funding is close. The policy to use it right isn't.

    42 min

  4. May 1

    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 considered unthinkable. TCS President Steve Ellis and Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell break down why good economic news and a historic debt milestone aren't reassuring — they're a warning. If we're running a $1.9 trillion deficit when times are good, what happens when they're not? Steve and Josh examine the structural drivers behind the debt, the systematic dismantling of every fiscal guardrail Congress has ever built, the misuse of budget reconciliation, and why Washington's political class — in both parties — keeps finding new ways to avoid the hardest decisions. This isn't a partisan story. It's an arithmetic one.

    32 min

  5. Apr 17

    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 to break down exactly how global oil markets work, why a domestic leasing policy can't move a global price, and what the numbers actually say about royalty rates and pump prices. The math is precise, and the conclusion is clear: raising the royalty rate on new federal leases — from 12.5% to 16.67% — would have a maximum impact on pump prices of 6/100ths of a cent per gallon. That's less than a rounding error. Meanwhile, the US is already producing oil at record levels — 13.6 million barrels a day in 2025 — and Americans are still paying over $4 at the pump. The frustration is real. The straight answers are here.

    14 min

  6. Apr 10

    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 that's before the Iran War supplemental reportedly in the pipeline. TCS President Steve Ellis brings in national security analyst Gabe Murphy and Director of Research and Policy Josh Sewell to cut through the numbers: what the administration is actually proposing, what it would cost, and what it would mean for the programs everyday Americans depend on. The budget calls it discipline. Budget Watchdog AF is going to show you the math.

    17 min

  7. Mar 30

    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, repetitive loss properties, and mitigation. With reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program on the horizon, we take you inside the hearing room to hear the case he made to lawmakers: the NFIP is $40 billion in the hole, we know which properties keep flooding, we know mitigation works, and the only thing missing is the will to act.

    21 min

  8. Mar 13

    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 Ellis sits down with TCS policy analyst Gabe Murphy to break down what we know: the human toll, the daily cost of operations, the shifting justifications from the White House, and what Congress has — and hasn't — done about it. From the narrow defeat of War Powers resolutions in both chambers to the administration's reported request for $50 billion in supplemental war funding, Ellis and Murphy examine whether Congress still has the tools to reassert its constitutional war powers authority — and the political will to use them.

    26 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

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. 

Information

  • Creator
    Taxpayers For Common Sense
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    118
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Budget Watchdog All Federal
  • Show Website
    Budget Watchdog All Federal

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