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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
Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act Clears Committee
On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) passed a bill that would expand much-needed whistleblower protections to all non-federal recipients of federal funds.
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Analysis
Lt. Col. Danny Davis, Camp Lejeune Documentary and Other Whistleblowers Honored at Ridenhour Awards
Eileen Foster, a former senior executive for the national's largest mortgage provider, Countrywide Financial, didn't plan on getting labeled a whistleblower. She was hired to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by company employees. But when she did her job and revealed larg...
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Analysis
Victory for Open Government: The Data Act Passes the House!
POGO applauds the House of Representatives for passing the bipartisan Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act today, a critical bill that would revolutionize federal spending transparency and help prevent bureaucratic waste, fraud, and abuse.
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Analysis
Open Government Plans 2.0: Some Agencies Make Strides, Others Just Go Through the Motions
On April 9, federal agencies across the government released updates of their Open Government Plans, a key component of President Obama's Open Government Initiative. Overall, the results have been mixed.
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Analysis
FEMA Leaves Two Thirds of Money It’s Owed for Improper Payments on the Table
One of POGO's areas of concern is the recovery of "improper payments." Many agencies have collected only a small percentage of the taxpayer money they have wrongly spent through overpayments, duplicate payments, payments for services not actually rendered, payments t...
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Analysis
Failed Equipment, Flawed Designs Plague Lockheed Littoral Combat Ship
POGO sent a letter today to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees recommending that an expensive and severely flawed variant of the Littoral Combat Ship program be eliminated. The letter comes on the heels of POGO's release of Navy documents revealing serious cracking...
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Policy Letter
POGO and Partners Strongly Support Passage of the DATA Act
We, the undersigned organizations, are writing in strong support of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act), H.R. 2146, which is planned for a floor vote this Wednesday. The DATA Act is an important step towards improving federal financial transparency and w...
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Policy Letter
POGO Releases Navy Documents Showing Problems with the Littoral Combat Ship
POGO has obtained a number of Navy documents showing that Lockheed Martin’s USS Freedom (LCS-1, the first LCS ship) has been afflicted by flawed designs and failed equipment since being commissioned, has at least 17 known cracks, and has repeatedly been beset by engine-related...
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Policy Letter
POGO and Partners Support McCaskill’s Contractor Whistleblower Bill
We the undersigned organizations write with our strong support for the Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of 2011, S. 241, introduced by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), which is planned for markup by this committee on Wednesday. S. 241 would bridge the wide gap...
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Analysis
Federal Court Upholds Ban on Contractor Campaign Donations
This week, a federal judge in Washington, citing the government's interest in preventing corruption, refused to block enforcement of a law that bans federal contractors from donating to political candidates and parties.
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Policy Letter
POGO Releases Defense Dept. Memo that Points to Weaknesses of Energy Dept. Labs
Since the end of the Cold War, the Department of Energy (DOE) has ignored calls to downsize its sprawling nuclear weapons laboratories to a scale that reflects the realities of the twenty-first century. POGO has now obtained a leaked Department of Defense memo that details was...
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Analysis
Air Force Lifts Booz Allen Suspension, Contractor Admits to “Broader Systemic Ethical Deficiencies” and “Additional Improper Actions”
On Friday, Booz Allen Hamilton announced that its San Antonio office was removed from the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) and regained full eligibility to compete for new federal contracts. Booz Allen entered into a three-year administrative agreement with the U.S. Air For...