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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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Policy Letter
POGO’s FOIA Request to OPM Regarding National Security Sensitive Positions
I am making this request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Section 552. Please provide records that are maintained by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or for OPM by a government contractor in any format, including an electronic format, which is pref...
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Analysis
Corzine Faces Rare Charge in MF Global Case
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took an action that regulators have rarely attempted since the 2008 financial crisis: trying to hold a CEO personally accountable for “failure to supervise.”
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Public Comment
POGO Submits Comments on OPM and ODNI Designation of National Security Positions
As OPM and ODNI release rules on the designation of national security positions, POGO argues that the rulemaking is premature and should be suspended.
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Analysis
SIGAR Letter Reveals Nonpayment of Subcontractors
The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released a letter detailing the problem of prime contractors failing to pay subcontractors in Afghanistan.
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Analysis
Electronic Surveillance Law 101
The recent whistleblowing disclosures by Edward Snowden have revealed systemic mass domestic surveillance. The government has justified its programs on the grounds that they are both legal and overseen by the FISA Court. But what do the PATRIOT Act, FISA, and the FISA Court ac...
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Policy Letter
POGO and Others Urge Administration to Talk About Treatment of Suspected Terrorists
As advocates for a more open government, we write to urge you to declassify the CIA’s post 9/11 detention and interrogation program, and to support a Senate Intelligence Committee vote to release to the public its comprehensive report based on a nearly four year investigation ...
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Analysis
Op-Ed Argues for More Whistleblowers, Not Fewer
An op-ed in The Baltimore Sun argues that the long list of secret and questionable activities by the government means we need more whistleblowers to expose wrongdoing and inform the public.
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Analysis
DoD Still Wasting Taxpayer Dollars
Are taxpayers’ dollars are being wasted by an inefficient Department of Defense? A recent GAO report details systematic shortcomings in the process by which the DoD crafts its workforce.
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Analysis
Natural Resource Transparency Must Include Local Governments
Groups that represent the interests of citizens, investors, unions, and others are championing greater openness from local governments as the United States implements the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
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Analysis
New Details Emerge in Boeing Spare Parts Overbilling
A recent Pentagon Inspector General report found that Boeing overcharged the military for spare parts—again.
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Analysis
Dangerous Chemical in Texas Explosion Poorly Regulated
Ammonium nitrate fertilizer, the suspected culprit behind the April factory explosion in West, TX, has a deadly history well known to government agencies. Despite that, the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to add it to the list of Extremely Hazardous Materials.
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Analysis
DOE Contracting Mismanagement Cost Taxpayers Over $450,000
The Department of Energy has mishandled yet another nuclear lab contractor, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars without requesting or recording a single deliverable.