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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
Frequently Asked Questions about Medical Ghostwriting
Corporate-funded medical ghostwriting continues to capture public interest and concern from physicians, patients, congress and professional organizations such as the Institute Of Medicine. The Project On Government Oversight has assembled this FAQ to provide a guide for jou...
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Analysis
Crime of the Century? Judge Approves $3.4 Billion Settlement for More Than 100 Years’ Worth of Bungled Royalty Payments to Native Americans
After 15 years of fighting, a judge has approved a $3.4 billion settlement for activist Elouise Cobell and others who joined in her class action suit to recoup billions of dollars owed to Native Americans in mineral royalties, grazing fees, and other revenues that were mishand...
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Analysis
They Self-Fund Extra Engines, Don’t They?
The fight over the alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has become the second great engine war. While the great engine war of the '80s earned its title for its cost savings for taxpayers, the F135 (Pratt and Whitney) engine versus F136 (General Electric/Rol...
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Analysis
Senate Tackles Obama’s Contractor Political Spending Disclosure EO
President Obama's contractor political spending Executive Order (EO) isn't out yet, but that's not preventing Congress from heading it off at the pass. The House approved the National Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 1540), which includes a provision (Section 847) which would ...
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Analysis
SEC Withholds Records on Oversight of Self-Regulatory Group
Suzanne Barlyn's latest column in Dow Jones Compliance Watch raises new concerns about the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) practices and the lack of transparency at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and other self-...
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Analysis
Did Education Department Officials Leak Market-Sensitive Info to Stock Traders?
The Department of Education (DoED) in Washington has never been known as a hotbed for scandal. But now, following the widely-reported announcement of a new DoED rule governing companies in the lucrative, for-profit education sector, DoED Inspector General (IG) Kathleen Tighe w...
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Analysis
Obama Administration Prosecuting “Exactly the Kind of Whistleblower Who Deserves Protection”
One of those whistleblowers being targeted is Tom Drake, a National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower who is less than a week away from his first day in court. Drake is being prosecuted not for sharing classified information with the media, but instead is being charged with ...
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Analysis
POGO’s Recommendations to the Senate to Improve National Security and Make the Pentagon More Accountable in the Defense Budget for FY 2012
As the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) takes up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), POGO makes the following recommendations to decrease waste, fraud and abuse; increase transparency and accountability, including contractor accountability; and improve our eff...
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Analysis
Close-to-Shore Ship: Far Off Budget
Contractor low-balling and misplaced confidence in defense procurement estimates have found another victim: the Littoral (close to shore) Combat Ship (LCS).
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Analysis
‘Stoner Arms Dealer’ Gets 14-Year Ban from Federal Contracting
The story of Efraim Diveroli took a new turn in March when the U.S. Army debarred Diveroli and his company, AEY Inc., from federal contracting for 14 years. POGO first blogged about the 22-year-old arms dealer from Miami Beach three years ago when his incredible story first ma...
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Analysis
Could Defense Contracting Reforms Have Prevented Procurement Messes?
New testimony from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) argues that the answer may be yes, at least to the extent that reforms gave Congress more tools to conduct oversight.
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Analysis
Will the President Sign an EO to Increase Disclosure of Political Spending by Contractors?
President Obama is considering issuing an executive order that will require the disclosure of and online public access to federal contractor spending on elections.