Today on the podcast, everything you need to know about biofuels and how the Renewable Fuel Standard has failed consumers, taxpayers, and the climate. Host Steve Ellis is joined by journalist and author Michael Grunwald and TCS Senior Policy Analyst Sheila Korth.

Wildfire smoke pouring in from Canada is a frightening real-time example of the impacts of climate change.  It is also an apt metaphor for how the mounting costs of climate change are being quietly paid by American Taxpayers.  Host Steve Ellis and TCS Vice President Autumn Hanna are joined by Bob Keefe and Sandra Purohit with the national, nonpartisan group E2 to breakdown the findings in the new TCS Climate Report: “Paying the Price: Taxpayers Footing the Bill for Increasing Costs of Climate Change.” 

The threat of defaulting on the national debt is soon to become real. The American government is on borrowed time and the music is about to stop.  TCS Vice President Autumn Hanna and TCS Senior Policy Analyst Josh Sewell join host Steve Ellis to help make sense of what’s at stake.

Wendy Jordan has analyzed every Pentagon budget request for the last 35 years. She has a multi-faceted understanding of defense programs. And an encyclopedic knowledge of Congressional action. And a voice that listeners of this podcast will soon be missing. Hit play and hear the Wendy Jordan exit interview (uncensored).

The end of Federal Debt Limit brinksmanship is upon us. Extraordinary measures have been in effect for some time. America is now driving with the “empty light” on and about to blow past the last gas station exit. The near-term costs of a default on our national debt are calculable.  The long-term costs of a breach in the “full faith and credit of the United States,” are not. TCS Senior Policy Analyst, Josh Sewell joins the podcast to discuss the facts, process, history, and options facing American Taxpayers.

Taxpayers for Common Sense is out with a new report, "Clearing the Smoke: A Closer Look at Federal Spending and Programs on Wildfire." Host Steve Ellis is joined by TCS Vice President Autumn Hanna, TCS Researcher Tyler Work, and Policy Analyst Mia Huang to navigate the thicket of federal programs and spending. 

The recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank harkened back to the dark days of 2008. Meanwhile, despite losing to Pratt & Whitney more than a decade ago in the battle to supply the engine for the F-35 jet fighter, Washington is suddenly abuzz about a General Electric effort to revive their alternate engine.  TCS Senior Policy Analysts Wendy Jordan and Josh Sewell join Steve Ellis for a discussion about Moral Hazard and the old budget watchdog adage, "No matter how wasteful, no bad idea is ever truly dead in Washington, especially when there are billions of dollars on the line. You have to kill, kill, kill until it’s dead, dead, dead.”

Josh Sewell joins Steve Ellis to pull back the curtain on how Taxpayers for Common Sense advises foreign governments on the importance of transparency in the stewardship of public resources.  Plus, everything you need to look for when President Biden’s Fiscal 2024 Budget Request is released. 

As Treasury Secretary Yellen uses extraordinary measures to keep the nation below the debt ceiling, America's total debt right now is north of $32 trillion. And the psychological "Trillion-Dollar Barrier" has been broken. The just released CBO Budget and Economic Outlook: 2023 to 2033  anticipates a federal budget deficit of $20 trillion over the next decade.  TCS Senior Policy Analyst Josh Sewell joins host Steve Ellis for an exercise in understanding the report and what it really means for taxpayers. 

Does it make sense for Uncle Sam to put a thumb on the scale to reduce climate risk and the cost to taxpayers? Is that what the Biden Administration’s proposed Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule would do?  On this episode of the Budget Watchdog AF podcast, Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets Managing Director, Steven Rothstein, tells host Steve Ellis, the answer is, "Yes! And it will be a game-changer!"