1.   This means future defense procurement contracts would cost the government less money, defense officials say.

2.   This scandal could cost the government dearly.

3.   And, there are hundreds, if not thousands of violations of civil rights that cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars.

4.   But critics complain that provision will end up costing the government billions of dollars in the long run.

5.   But others argue that it could fall further without costing the government much.

6.   But those subsidies are costing the government billions at a time when revenues have fallen to nearly zero.

7.   By undercutting union labor, he added, apprenticeship programs will be gutted and contractors will hire lower-skilled workers, costing governments more in the long run.

8.   Cheap gasoline prices cost the government millions of dollars in subsidies.

9.   Companies that do not come forward could be liable for damages three times greater than they cost the government and be expelled from the Medicare or Medicaid programs.

10.   Congress last year sharply cut back the federal benefits available to legal immigrants, on the assumption that such immigrants cost the government more than they paid in taxes.