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 develop ...
based in
Washington, D.C.
)
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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 ...
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, 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, constructio ...
,
,
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
A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with ...
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 ma ...
stadiums.
Later that year, the organization issued a report (in conjunction with the
Animal Justice Project
Animal Justice Project is a British animal rights organisation founded in 2014. The NGO advocates for an end to animal agriculture and promotes a vegan lifestyle, conducting undercover investigations on farms, in abattoirs, and places where anim ...
) 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 agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
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 Virgini ...
, 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 Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...
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 po ...
as part of the United States' ongoing
trade war with China
A trade war is an economic conflict often resulting from extreme protectionism in which states raise or create tariffs or other trade barriers against each other in response to trade barriers created by the other party. If tariffs are the exc ...
.
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 ...
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
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Taxpayer groups
Political advocacy groups in the United States
Organizations established in 2011