February 3, 2012

Fed / Contractor Compensation Issues Are Burning Red Hot

By SCOTT AMEY Compensation was a hot topic this week--here's a recap of the biggest developments: Monday: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a study that found that federal employees, on average, are paid 16 percent more than employees in...

February 3, 2012

Morning Smoke: Pensions Bigger than Pay for Some Top Military Brass

MORNING SMOKE Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the freshest investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor National...

February 3, 2012

McCain Plan to Avoid Spending Cuts Is a Plan to Increase Spending

By BEN FREEMAN Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and five other Senate Republicans introduced the "Down Payment to Protect National Security Act of 2012" today, which is nearly identical to a House bill championed by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck...

February 2, 2012

POGO Asks Panetta to Stop Funding B61 Nuclear Bombs in Europe

By DANA LIEBELSON When Defense Secretary Leon Panetta unveiled his plan to achieve $487 billion in budget cuts over the next ten years, he hinted that a smart strategy would mean cutting the number of nuclear weapons. Today, POGO sent...

February 2, 2012

Court Order against Former News Corp. Employee Could Undermine Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections

By MICHAEL SMALLBERG A little-noticed court order issued in December has placed severe restrictions on a News Corp. whistleblower and could have a serious chilling effect on other whistleblowers who want to tell the government about corporate fraud, potentially undermining...

January 30, 2012

POGO Joins Comments in Support of Public Access to Consumer Complaints Database

We the undersigned consumer, civil rights, privacy, open government groups, and members of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), welcome the CFPB’s decision to propose a policy that creates a publicly accessible complaint database. We have long supported a system that balances transparency for consumers with privacy protections for individuals. We believe the system works best when people can use other consumers’ first-­‐hand experience as a tool to make wise financial decisions.,

January 25, 2012

Department of Energy Must Address Security Concerns at Oak Ridge Nuclear Lab

News reports that a private security contractor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory slept on the job just adds to a laundry list of security issues at the Tennessee facility that the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has been asking the Department of Energy (DOE) to address for seven years.

January 24, 2012

POGO and Allies Ask for Full Release of Crucial Information Regarding Camp Lejeune

Project On Government Oversight (POGO) and allies are pressing the Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to come clean about water contamination at the U.S. Marine Corps base, Camp Lejeune—where Marines, civilians, and their families were poisoned by the water they used and drank, but have yet to see justice after years of secrecy. Their plight was recently featured in the Academy Awards short-listed film, Semper Fi: Always Faithful, which documents the catastrophic effects of the contamination and resulting cover-up.

January 24, 2012

POGO and Allies Call on Pentagon to Serve Public Interest, Not Secrecy

We, the undersigned nonprofit organizations, are deeply concerned about a recent letter regarding the treatment of information related to the water contamination at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from the Department of the Navy (DON) to Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the subsequent ATSDR decision to redact a report, in compliance with the request. The January 5 letter urged ATSDR to withhold, or remove from websites, information related to “active potable water wells, raw or treated potable water lines, water treatment plants or water storage tanks,” referencing concerns over possible security risks related to the disclosure of critical infrastructure information.1 On January 19, ATSDR released a version of the Chapter B study of three water distribution systems at Camp Lejeune, specifically stating that redactions were made in response to the DON request.2

January 24, 2012

POGO and Allies Call for Unredacted Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Report

We, the undersigned nonprofit organizations, are deeply concerned about a recent letter regarding the treatment of information related to the water contamination at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from the Department of the Navy (DON) to Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the subsequent ATSDR decision to redact a report, in compliance with the request. The January 5 letter urged ATSDR to withhold, or remove from websites, information related to “active potable water wells, raw or treated potable water lines, water treatment plants or water storage tanks,” referencing concerns over possible security risks related to the disclosure of critical infrastructure information.1 On January 19, ATSDR released a version of the Chapter B study of three water distribution systems at Camp Lejeune, specifically stating that redactions were made in response to the DON request.2

January 27, 2012

Pantex manager earns promotion as consolidation talks continue

Amarillo Globe-News (amarillo.com) | Bobby Cervantes

January 26, 2012

Watchdog group says security at nuclear site has ‘egregious’ gaps

GSN: Government Security News | Mark Rockwell

January 21, 2012

New Lejeune water report raises watchdog hackles

JDNews.com | Hope Hodge

January 20, 2012

Los Alamos Bracing For Big Cut To CMRR-NF In FY2013 Budget Request

Los Alamos Study Group & Monitor | Todd Jacobson

January 15, 2012

Deepwater acquisition sinks, but not without lessons

Federal Computer Week | Alice Lipowicz