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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
Dangers of Military Burn Pits Highly Disputed
Countless individuals who worked near burn-pits that the military and government contractors use to dispose of waste in Iraq and Afghanistan say the fumes caused serious illnesses, but so far, little research has been done to disprove or corroborate this theory.
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Analysis
Congressional Panel to Review B61 Nuclear Weapon’s Spiraling Costs
The U.S. still maintains an expensive stockpile of B61 bombs in Europe as part of a NATO defense against a Soviet threat that no longer exists.
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Analysis
Is the Army Making Workforce Decisions Without Cost Data?
The Army outlined plans to have soldiers work in dining halls and as security guards, removing contractors from those activities. Finding the right mix of military, civilian, and contractor personnel is essential to an effective military, and cost is a vital variable that shou...
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Analysis
New Report Offers Smart Choices for Nuke Weapons Complex
The Union of Concerned Scientists has released a report that comprehensively reviews the U.S. nuclear weapons complex and identifies several concerns in the modernization programs, construction projects, and stockpile surveillance and stewardship programs.
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Analysis
Former Blackwater Guards Re-indicted for 2007 Iraq Shooting
A federal grand jury re-indicted four former Blackwater guards involved in a shooting in Baghdad in September 2007.
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Policy Letter
Groups Ask President Obama to Support Open Government Commitments on Secret Law
On behalf of citizens who support an open and accountable government, we are writing to urge you to pledge as part of the US’s new round of Open Government Partnership commitments to curb the secret law that enabled the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs to becom...
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Analysis
Senator Stands Up for Nuclear Whistleblower
Senator Ed Markey sent a letter to Earnest Moniz, Secretary of the Department of Energy, defending the rights of whistleblowers who faced retribution for reporting “severe safety and management challenges at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant.”
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Policy Letter
POGO Highlights GAO Report and Documented DoD Failures in Hiring a Cost Efficient Workforce
On September 26, 2013, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued Human Capital: Opportunities Exist to Further Improve DoD’s Methodology for Estimating the Costs of Its Workforces (GAO-13-792).
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Analysis
A Radioactive Poster Child for Government Waste
In 2005, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) persuaded Congress to approve a new uranium processing facility. They pitched it as a $600 million facility, but today, the cost of the project has ballooned to as high as $11.6 billion.
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Analysis
Syria Debate Skewed by Undisclosed Defense Industry Ties
A new report shows how the national news media hid its commentators' defense industry ties during the debate over whether the U.S. should attack Syria.
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Analysis
Watchdog Reports Security Weaknesses at State Department
Months after a federal Accountability Review Board advised the Department of State on ways to prevent future tragedies like the deadly September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, State has yet to implement many of the recommendations, according t...
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Policy Letter
Openness Groups Ask Congress to Strengthen Intelligence Accountability Legislation
POGO and other groups ask Representative Mike Thompson to amend his intelligence oversight bill to require the government to produce information to the public about how surveillance laws are being interpreted.