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
Robert MacLean: Homeland Security Whistleblower
At the end of July 2011, Robert MacLean learned the outcome of over a year of waiting. He was waiting on a second ruling from the relatively obscure and awkwardly named Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB, or the “Board”). The three-member Board in Washington, DC, is an admin...
-
Analysis
DoD Suspension and Debarment: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) released the results of its audit of the suspension and debarment (S&D) process at the Services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).
-
Analysis
Navy Deserves Praise for Cutting Carriers
One of the POGO/Taxpayers for Common Sense deficit reduction proposals--to reduce the Navy's aircraft carrier groups--may be coming to fruition. Last week, the Navy announced that it would effectively cut a carrier strike group (CSG), which usually consist of an aircraft carr...
-
Analysis
Spare Us Already: Investigators Find More Instances of Gross Overbilling on Defense Contracts
A new report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) found that Dubai-based federal contractor Anham LLC overcharged the Department of Defense by at least $4.4 million for spare parts and equipment. The SIGIR audit found "egregious examples of ove...
-
Analysis
To Defend U.S. ‘We Must’ Cut Bases, Cut Weapons, Cut Contractors: POGO
To defend the nation we must cut defense spending. We can no longer afford to waste money subsidizing the defense of Western Europe, overpaying contractors, and buying overpriced and under-performing weapons with exquisite requirements. As Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joi...
-
Analysis
Self-Regulatory Group Introduces Revolving Door Rule -- But Does It Go Far Enough?
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the self-regulatory group for the securities industry, has proposed a one-year revolving door rule for senior officers who leave the organization, as reported this week by Bloomberg.
-
Analysis
Is the F-22 Too Difficult to Use? Big Questions Surround Raptor’s Grounding
Many pixels have been spilled on the recent grounding of the F-22 Raptor fleet, problems with the plane's oxygen systems, and the possible role of the oxygen system in the November 2010 crash of an F-22 in Alaska and death of its pilot. Here's a quick roundup of coverage of th...
-
Analysis
New Podcast: Too Big to Debar? Contractors and the Government’s Enforcement of Anti-Bribery Laws
Is the government too reluctant to crack down on contractors that bribe foreign officials? A recent law review article by Professor Drury Stevenson and Nicholas Wagoner, both of the South Texas College of Law, suggests that when it comes to enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt P...
-
Analysis
SInternal Pentagon Proposals to Boost Contract Oversight Go Kaput!
Did the Pentagon ignore proposals by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) to increase oversight of federal contractors and save taxpayer dollars? The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has obtained documents outlining legislative proposals submitted by the DCAA to Pent...
-
Analysis
Key Watchdog Posts Remain Unfilled Across Executive Branch
A story published Monday in Federal Times (and available only in the print edition) is the latest of a number of articles to highlight the effort to press the Obama administration to fill numerous Inspector General (IG) vacancies throughout the government.
-
Analysis
Senate Committee Shuts Public Out of the Debate Over Massive Defense Bill
The Senate Armed Services Committee's (SASC's) markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) came to a close earlier this month. But although the American public can now see the end result of the deliberations, we'll never quite be sure how exactly the Committee arri...
-
Analysis
Toxic Secrecy: The Marine Corps’ Cover-up of Water Contamination at Camp Lejeune
It's been called one of the worst toxic contaminations in the country. It's also possibly one of the U.S. military's most shameful acts of deception and betrayal. Between 1957 and 1987, as many as one million Marines and their family members at Camp Lejeune drank, bathed in, a...