Security Failure at Los Alamos National Laboratory Puts Nuclear Materials at Risk

The Nuclear Weapons and Materials Monitor and the Albuquerque Journal are reporting that a new and expensive security system at the Los Alamos National Laboratory simply does not work. In response, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is demanding that the contractor at the New Mexico lab fully disclose all of the project’s problems and show that the nuclear materials stored at the facility are safe.

Pentagon Not Properly Overseeing Hundreds of Billions Spent on Service Contracts

The Department of Defense (DoD) is not properly overseeing the hundreds of billions of dollars spent each year to procure services, according to a letter the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) sent today to congressional and executive branch officials.

President Obama Issues Landmark Directive for National Security and Intelligence Community Whistleblowers

Today, President Obama picked up the whistleblower protections Congress had left by the wayside, finally providing intelligence community workers with specific free speech rights and some protections against retaliation when they legally report waste, fraud, and abuse.

House’s Passage of Whistleblower Bill is Turning Point in Fight to Protect Truth-Tellers

Today, the House of Representatives did the right thing and unanimously passed a strong government accountability measure—the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA, S. 743, as amended by the House)—during a pro forma session.

Video: Behind the SEC's Revolving Door

The Project On Government Oversight's Podcast Crew talks about the Securities and Exchange Commission's revolving door. A recent POGO study found that more than 200 former SEC employees who left the agency between 2006 and 2010 have taken jobs representing clients before the Commission.

Video: Defense Research Contracts Raise Questions

Wired's Spencer Ackerman joins POGO's Podcast crew to talk about the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the Pentagon's premier research arm. Ackerman's stories have detailed a potential conflict of interest from contracts awarded by DARPA to a company run by the father of its director, Regina Dugan.

10th Annual Ridenhour Prizes Honor 'Courageous Truth-Telling'

The memory of Ron Ridenhour lives on in the prizes given in his name to those that exemplify courageous truth-telling.

After 5 Years, Is Obama Ready to Fill State Department Vacancy?

Secretary of State John Kerry says if it were up to him, the State Department would already have a permanent inspector general, a critical position that has been vacant for more than five years, but the delay is due to the White House’s vetting process.

'War on Whistleblowers' Shows Heroes Pay Heavy Price

After the Washington, D.C. screening of the new film War on Whistleblowers, a panel discussed some of the issues raised by the movie.

McCaskill: Make Sure We Don't Have Another Benghazi

Sen. Claire McCaskill told reporters she plans to talk to Kerry about embassy security.

POGO's Keith Rutter Honored for Public Interest Work

Keith Rutter, POGO's chief operations officer was honored this week for his years of service in the public interest. The consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen awarded Rutter its 10th annual Phyllis McCarthy Public Interest Award.

CNN Video: Ben Freeman Explains Pentagon 'Math'

POGO National Security Investigator Ben Freeman talks about the impact of spending cuts on the Pentagon's budget and whether it should fear the 'fiscal cliff'

We've Seen This Before: Video of Drunk Security Contractors

There are lurid parallels between a new investigation of private security contractors drunk in Kabul and a similar POGO investigation three years ago.

America’s Shame: The U.S. Government's Human Trafficking Dilemma

For Vinnie Tuivaga, the offer was the answer to a prayer: A job in a luxury hotel in Dubai--the so-called Las Vegas of the Persian Gulf--making five times what she was earning as a hair stylist in her native Fiji.

Ridenhour Prizes Honor Courageous Truth Tellers

Thomas Drake, a life-long military man and federal employee, stands accused of betraying his country. His crime? He blew the whistle through proper government channels on massive fraud, waste and abuse within the National Security Agency.