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POGO 2003 Accomplishments
The following are just a few examples of POGO's accomplishments in 2003:
CONTRACTOR ACCOUNTABILITY
POGO's Contractor Accountability Investigations document the temptations of the federal government's revolving door and cases where protections must be strengthened against contractor misconduct.
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POGO's report, Federal Contractor Misconduct: Failures of the Suspension and Debarment System, inspired officials to more closely follow laws that require the government to bar unethical companies from receiving government contracts. As a result, for the first time in more than a decade, major contractors involved in misconduct were suspended from government contracts, including Boeing, Enron, and MCI/Worldcom.
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Publicity inspired by POGO's report, Pickpocketing the Taxpayer: The Insidious Effects of Acquisition Reform, fueled the defeat of legislation backed by hundreds of defense and technology contractors that would have forced the government to turn a blind eye to taxpayer ripoffs.
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POGO's report, Federal Contracting and Iraq Reconstruction, helped the Congress, journalists, and the general public understand how changes in contracting law allowed for abuses in Iraq.
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POGO's investigation, The Politics of Contracting, documented the revolving door between government and industry that harms the public interest.
HOMELAND SECURITY
The devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 forever changed our nation's perspective. POGO's Homeland Security Investigations are challenging the government for failing to adequately protect the public.
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As a result of POGO's report, Nuclear Power Plant Security: Voices From Inside the Fences, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission required nuclear power plants to improve training and working conditions for security guards.
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POGO's investigations and disclosures documenting inadequate security at nuclear weapons facilities led Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to announce a major security overhaul at nuclear labs. Congressional hearings confirmed many of the findings in POGO's report, U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: Security at Risk.
