11.   Critics charge that the CPI, and hence the COLAs, overstate inflation and cost the government billions of dollars a year in added benefit payments.

12.   Greenspan said the overstatement needlessly costs the government billions.

13.   Greenspan, who made no comments about the current state of the economy in his prepared remarks, said the overstatement needlessly costs the government billions.

14.   He said there was no way to estimate how much the stalemate may have cost the federal government.

15.   If investors are reluctant to buy all those bonds, interest rates -- what it costs the government to borrow -- could creep higher.

16.   It is impossible to estimate how much these transactions cost the government in taxes each year, because only corporate officers or other insiders are required to disclose them.

17.   It is grounded in general agreement that abusive tax shelters cost the government billions of dollars each year.

18.   No one knows exactly how much the fund will cost the government, but it is expected to be billions of dollars.

19.   Repeatedly in recent years, federal auditors have shown that developers bilk the bureau, costing the government tens of millions of dollars.

20.   Their shorter prison time costs the government less money.