Oversight in your inbox
Weekly newsletter and updates
Latest Policy Publications
POGO’s experts push policymakers to enact commonsense reforms that tackle waste, corruption, and abuse of power; hold those who’ve violated the public trust accountable; protect our constitutional rights; and make the government work for all people.
-
Analysis
White House Takes on Federal vs. Contractor Employee Costs
POGO supports the government's efforts to compare the cost of federal employees and contractors performing the same work because it currently lacks an effective way to compare the true costs when making hiring and contracting decisions.
-
Analysis
Veterans Affairs Announces Plan to Reduce Claims Backlog
Responding to withering criticism, the VA says veterans who have been waiting a year or more for disability benefits will be bumped to the head of the line for eligibility determinations.
-
Analysis
Obama Administration Grades Openness Performance on a Curve
POGO takes a look at the Administration's self-assessment of its first year in the global Open Government Partnership. Implementation of the National Action Plan led to some encouraging steps forward, though these steps were not as bold as hoped.
-
AnalysisPentagon Budget Realities Mandate a New DOD Team
The tired old ideas in SecDef Hagel's first defense budget make clear that he needs new thinking from his DOD team, or a new team.
-
Analysis
Risk of IRS Audit Declines for Many Businesses
The likelihood of companies that fall into the highest tax bracket being audited by the Internal Revenue Service is on the decline, according to a new report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
-
Analysis
The Benefits of Bid Protests
In his recent article "Bid Protests: The Costs Are Real, But the Benefits Outweigh Them" Daniel I. Gordon defends the U.S. bid protest system and argues that the benefits of the system can be enhanced though greater transparency in government procurements.
-
Analysis
Pentagon Math, Hagel, and the President’s Budget
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and other defense officials headed to the Hill this week to testify about the President’s Budget.
-
Analysis
Budget Takes on Contractor Compensation Cap
Contractors are permitted to price or seek reimbursement from the government up to $763,029 in costs for each of their employees’ compensation packages. This is nearly twice the salary of the President of the United States. The President is calling for a reduction, and Congres...
-
AnalysisObama’s Useless Budget Data...and Improbable Budget Strategy
Since the defense budget roll out on Wednesday, April 10, Pentagon budget geeks all over Washington have been popping Ibuprofen trying to unscramble the mess that DOD and OMB have made out of the 2013 and 2014 defense budgets. My take on this dysfunction is explained below.
-
Analysis
Defense Contracting Competition in Free-Fall
Although the Department of Defense has recently been making a concerted effort to increase competition in its acquisition of goods and services, a new GAO report finds that competition in defense contracting has been in steady decline over the last 5 years.
-
Analysis
MOX Costs Spiral Further Out of Control
The much beleaguered Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) has increased in cost to $7.7 billion dollars, making this unnecessary facility 381 percent over it's original budget.
-
AnalysisHere’s Hagel’s Short To-Do List on Reforming the Pentagon
Hagel has identified the Department of Defense as an inefficient, top-heavy, bureaucratized organization seemingly as devoted to social service programs as it is to warfighting.