11.   Other lawmakers who recently retired from Congress have also been eligible for generous pension payments, according to a recent report by the taxpayers group.

12.   Sen. Strom Thurmond and Rep. Floyd Spence are among the biggest spending Republicans in Congress, a taxpayer advocacy group said this week.

13.   Some taxpayers groups disagree with the findings, generating debate about the benefits and dangers of state budget surpluses.

14.   The company recently laid off a number of production workers, blaming the economic slowdown, noted Sylvia Huber, who runs a local taxpayers group.

15.   The memo says that the taxpayer group has yet to make an endorsement.

16.   The taxpayer group initially supported the proposition, then became an opponent.

17.   The taxpayers groups are demanding return of the diverted funds.

18.   The taxpayer watchdog groups say that it is sometime in June when we get to start keeping our salaries for ourselves.

19.   The tax breaks and subsidies have been attacked for years by environmentalists and taxpayer advocacy groups.

20.   To be sure, the thrifty-minded taxpayer groups are far from predicting victory.