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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
SEC Watchdog Finds Recordkeeping in Disarray
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—a federal regulator that polices recordkeeping on Wall Street, among other things—has failed to properly handle its own records, according to a recent audit by the agency's inspector general (IG).
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Analysis
The Affordability of Defense Contractor CEOs
The CEO of Northrop Grumman recently sent an email about affordability and potential job losses from sequestration, even though he makes more in a single working day than the average defense employee makes in a year.
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Analysis
Pentagon Contractors Defend Their Own Interests
POGO's Ben Freeman had a new piece in Politico yesterday arguing that the need to have a real debate about the future of the U.S. military has been supplanted by hyperbole from the defense industry giants over potential job losses.
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Analysis
Infographic: Myth of Pentagon Spending as Job Creator
Major defense contractors have been going around saying the sequestration cuts to Pentagon spending will cause widespread job losses, but history tells a different story.
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Analysis
Doing Less for More: LCS
Among the examples of more expensive hardware providing less capability is the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. John Sayen addresses the matter with specifics in a new piece at Time's Batteland blog.
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Analysis
Executive Order Focuses on Prohibiting Human Trafficking
An Executive Order details guidance for a new anti-human trafficking rule that will prohibit U.S.-facilitated trafficking occurring abroad. The EO strengthens the government’s zero-tolerance policy rules governing trafficking in persons.
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Analysis
Senate Report Silent on Fusion Center Reliance on Contractors
A bipartisan Senate investigative report on joint federal-state-local anti-terrorism facilities, called Fusion Centers, uncovers many problems but fails to explore the risks of using contractors to perform intelligence services.
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Analysis
Senate Investigation Found DHS Intelligence Centers Wasted Money and Violated Civil Liberties
A Department of Homeland Security effort to improve the sharing of terrorism-related intelligence among state and local governments and with officials in Washington has yielded “shoddy” information and civil liberties violations, according to a Senate investigation.
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Analysis
Inspector General Report Warns of Budget Overruns in Nuke Refurbishment
The NNSA's effort to extend the shelf-life of nuclear warheads designed for submarine launch is on track for "large cost overruns" of about $221 million if things don't change, according to an inspector general audit.
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Analysis
Washington Post Series on U.S. Nuclear Arsenal Requires Closer Look
POGO provides needed context and clarification to the Washington Post's series on the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
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AnalysisBudget & Hardware Myths: Part Two
The mantra is: Nothing is too good for our boys in combat; that means our equipment is expensive but also so effective it is the master of the battlefield.
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Analysis
GAO Report Finds Federal Agencies Must Improve Service Contract Inventories
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has followed up its critical review of Department of Defense service contract inventories with an equally negative assessment of the civilian agencies' ability to track the service contractor workforce.