Taxpayers Protection Alliance
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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance is a non-profit
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
based in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The group monitors federal spending and issues reports, research, and analyses on spending and taxation it believes to be in excess.


History

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) was founded in 2011 with David Williams as its president (a title he continues to hold as of June 2022). In July 2011 in conjunction with Our Generation, the organization issued a report on the salaries and fringe benefits earned by members of
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
entitled "Are taxpayers getting their money's worth?". In November of that year, the TPA was one of five taxpayer advocacy groups to sign a letter calling for a 10% reduction in pay for Congress members. In April 2012, the TPA and other groups called on Republican presidential candidate,
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
, to relinquish his
Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
protection. Gingrich lost his protection the following week. Over the course of 2013 and 2014, the organization issued reports on topics like the public costs of
LEED certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
,
defense spending A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes. Financing militar ...
, and congressional salaries. The group also began levying criticism against
municipal broadband Municipal broadband is broadband Internet access owned by public entities. Services are often provided either fully or partially by local governments to residents within certain areas or jurisdictions. Common connection technologies include unlice ...
projects using fiber optic cables for connectivity. In September 2015, the TPA issued a report called "Sacking Taxpayers: How NFL Stadium Subsidies Waste Money and Fall Short on Their Promises of Economic Development" which detailed the amount of money spent by taxpayers on publicly subsidized
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
stadiums. Later that year, the organization issued a report (in conjunction with the Animal Justice Project) on the taxpayer costs associated with scientific experiments that administer narcotics to animals. The TPA also issued criticisms of the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
because it was operating in debt. In 2017, the group started a social media campaign to oppose a proposed municipal broadband project in
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, claiming that the cost outweighed the benefits. In July 2018, TPA president David Williams wrote an open letter to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
that was critical of the
Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...
's issuance of
tariffs A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and polic ...
as part of the United States' ongoing trade war with China. In April 2019, the organization itself wrote a joint letter (with Tariffs Hurt the Heartland) to
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
Secretary,
Steve Mnuchin Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for a full pres ...
, condemning the tariffs.


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Taxpayer groups Political advocacy groups in the United States Organizations established in 2011