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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.
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Analysis
SUNSHINE WEEK: Many Agencies Violate FOIA’s 20-Day Requirement
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is one of the most powerful tools to pry public information out of the federal government. But while FOIA requires agencies to respond to a request for information within 20 business days, an analysis of a recent batch of POGO FOIA request...
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Analysis
SUNSHINE WEEK: Revolving Regulators at the CFTC
As part of Sunshine Week, a national initiative to highlight the importance of open government and freedom of information, POGO is releasing a host records obtained by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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Analysis
Camp Lejeune Report Author Says Redactions Compromise the Science, Sen. Burr Calls for IG Investigation
Today, accusations were released from the author of the report on the Camp Lejeune water contamination, detailing how the scientific integrity of the report was compromised by redactions requested by the Navy/Marine Corps and granted by Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease ...
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Analysis
Gingrich Advisor’s Ties to Foreign Interests
An investigation by POGO has found that one of Newt Gingrich's advisers, Robert McFarlane, covertly lobbied for interests in southern Sudan and reportedly on behalf of the Sudanese government—without properly disclosing his activities to the U.S. government.
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Analysis
All Along the Watchtower: One Year Anniversary of DHS Inspector General Vacancy
As of today, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (IG) has been vacant for exactly one year. The position became vacant when Richard Skinner retired after 42 years of service in the federal government.
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Analysis
Gonna Put IT in the Want Ads: Keeping Contractors from Crossing the Line
While browsing Craigslist recently, POGO came across this job advertisement (pdf) posted by an unidentified “large firm” in Arlington, Virginia seeking a “Procurement Acquisition Analyst” with information technology experience to work for an unnamed government agency client. (...
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Analysis
Budget Breakdown: Protecting Whistleblowers
On Monday, we did a rolling analysis of President Obama's Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget request, focusing mainly on our proposed spending cuts for wasteful and unnecessary defense and nuclear weapons-related programs.
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Analysis
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.
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Analysis
Booz Allen Suspension: A Successful Failure
POGO has learned more details about the Air Force's proposed debarment of Booz Allen Hamilton's San Antonio office. This new information raises a troubling prospect about the revolving door between government and private contractors. Namely, that stopping its abuses often isn’...
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Analysis
The Hidden Costs of Star Creep: Generals Making More in Retirement Than In Service
The cost of our nation's top-heavy military--which now features a historically large proportion of generals and admirals, a trend called Star Creep--doesn't end when these top officers retire. Indeed, top generals and admirals can make even more in retirement than they do on a...
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Analysis
Infographic: The Explosive Costs of CMRR-NF, Los Alamos’ Billion Dollar Nuke Facility
It's hard to look into the future, but the Department of Energy (DOE) is especially bad at it. In 2001 they projected that the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) Facility in Los Alamos would cost $375 million. After ten years of design and planning, the new p...
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Analysis
Navy Marks Camp Lejeune Contamination Docs with Bogus “For Official Use Only” Label
The evidence that the Department of the Navy is using legally questionable methods to stop the release of information related to the water contamination scandal at Camp Lejeune keeps piling up.