5 Things the Public Wouldn't Know Without FOIA

It has been 46 years since President Lyndon Johnson quietly signed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) into law on the Fourth of July, officially giving the public access to federal government records. With thousands upon thousands of requests now processed per year, it’s easy to take this law for granted. But to this day, ordinary citizens must fight to obtain important records—particularly those showing government wrongdoing. In that spirit, here are five important pieces of government information that, without FOIA, would still be hidden from the public.

Intelligence Chief Uses Unreliable Lie Detector Technology to Plug Media Leaks

The testing could put intelligence workers at risk of being falsely stigmatized, jeopardizing their careers and their ability to contribute to the national security. It also could have a chilling effect on employees considering blowing the whistle on government wrongdoing.

An Interview with Rolling Stone Reporter Michael Hastings

Michael Hastings never thought he was going to get the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan fired. But in June 2010, one of the hottest D.C. summers on record, the Rolling Stone reporter—who was then only 30-years-old—penned a piece that sent shockwaves through Washington and left high-ranking military brass scrambling for their jobs. All it took was for Hastings to write about what he heard and saw while traveling with U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

7 Types of Government Information that Would Benefit from Springtime Sunshine

Here in the District, spring is in the air! Rock Creek Park is abloom, the tourists are out on the Mall, there are mile-long lines to the food trucks, and the sun is shining. At POGO, when we see sunshine, we can't help but consider one of our favorite issues: government transparency. Unfortunately, there's some important government information that’s still sitting in the dark.

Key NDAA Reforms: Nuclear Weapons Complex Edition

This week, the House rejected key amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have prevented rollbacks of oversight at our nation's nuclear weapons labs and would have maintained zero funding for an unnecessary $6 billion plutonium facility.

Lt. Col. Danny Davis, Camp Lejeune Documentary and Other Whistleblowers Honored at Ridenhour Awards

Eileen Foster, a former senior executive for the national's largest mortgage provider, Countrywide Financial, didn't plan on getting labeled a whistleblower. She was hired to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by company employees. But when she did her job and revealed large-scale fraud within the company—the kind that led to the 2008 financial crash—she was fired for telling the truth.

Failed Equipment, Flawed Designs Plague Lockheed Littoral Combat Ship

POGO sent a letter today to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees recommending that an expensive and severely flawed variant of the Littoral Combat Ship program be eliminated. The letter comes on the heels of POGO's release of Navy documents revealing serious cracking and corrosion problems with the ship--along with evidence of dangerous equipment failures.

House Approps Subcommittee Bill Zeroes Out Funding for Wasteful Nuclear Project, CMRR-NF

The FY 2013 Energy and Water and Related Agencies Appropriations bill was released by the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee on April 17. The bill provides annual funding for various programs within the Department of Energy (DOE) and other related agencies—including nuclear weapons programs. Although this is only one subcommittee appropriations bill markup, it is significant that both the Subcommittee and President Obama have concluded that CMRR-NF doesn’t deserve any more money from taxpayers.

Key Member of Congress Lends Support to Whistleblower Robert MacLean

Representatives Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) have submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on behalf of Robert MacLean--a whistleblower who revealed wrongdoing in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Cummings, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGR) and a long-time champion for whistleblower rights, is the most recent representative to join the cause.

Another Member of Congress Raises Concerns about Secrecy and Camp Lejeune

Last month, POGO and an extensive list of allies to Panetta and the Department of Health and Human Services asking them to properly implement the public interest balancing test, and release an unredacted version of the ATSDR report, respectively

POGO Asks Panetta to Stop Funding B61 Nuclear Bombs in Europe

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.

Six Americans Obama and Holder Charged Under the Espionage Act (and One Bonus Whistleblower)

Though rare, U.S. presidents have attempted to use the World War I-era Espionage Act to silence Americans from leaking information to the media for decades. It is a charge that is as controversial, as it is grave. This is the law the Nixon administration infamously invoked when attempting to bar the media from continuing to publish the classified Pentagon Papers—the second largest leak of classified information to the press in the U.S., after Wikileaks. Nixon of course, was unsuccessful, and his shattered reputation never recovered.

POGO Shows Support for Contractor Whistleblower Protection Bill in Hearing Today

In tough economic times, whistleblowers play an even more vital role in exposing corporate misconduct and saving taxpayer dollars--but U.S. legislation is still failing to protect a massive segment of people working for the government: contractors.

Did Your FOIA Request Really Not Exist--Or is That Just What the DOJ Told You?

The Department of Justice (DOJ) came to its senses on Thursday and scrapped a controversial proposal that would model the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the first rule of Fight Club. Then it backpedaled by saying it has actually been misleading FOIA requesters about the existence of certain documents for the last nearly 25 years--the proposed rule would have just put the practice into its regulations.