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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
Tea Party Nightmare: The Defense Budget
For the last two weeks, the advocates of higher defense spending have shown their nervousness that the times may be changing—that the defense budget may go south after the elections.
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Policy Letter
POGO Letter to Secretary Salazar Regarding Bureau of Land Management and the Revolving Door
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) wants to bring to your attention our concerns about the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) ethics policies and practices. Our investigation found that BLM’s senior management did not appropriately respond to the Department of the Inter...
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Analysis
Pentagon Action Against Lockheed Part of Larger Crackdown on Contractors
Over the last few days, word got out that defense industry giant Lockheed Martin has lost government approval for its cost and schedule tracking systems on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and F-16 programs. The Pentagon has said problems with Lockheed’s system are part of the ...
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Analysis
Senate Report Says ArmorGroup Funded Warlords In Bed With the Taliban
"Money is ammunition; don't put it in the wrong hands," Gen. David Petraeus warned in an August memo that gave counterinsurgency (COIN) guidance. But apparently the U.S. government is doing just that. Yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee released a report d...
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Analysis
Congress Compromises with Executive Branch on Oversight of Intel Community
The Senate last week approved the FY 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act, signaling that Congress has reached a compromise with the executive branch on the issue of oversight of the intelligence community. In lieu of a provision directly clarifying the Government Accountabilit...
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Analysis
Obama Signs SEC Secrecy Repeal into Law
We just got word that President Obama has signed into law a bill to strike language from the financial reform legislation that had given the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sweeping new powers to hide its records from public scrutiny. As we stated when Congress passed...
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Policy Letter
POGO’s letter to Deputy HHS IG on FDA’s CDRH’s low standard of medical devices approval
We want to thank you for meeting with us two months ago to discuss the untenable situation in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). During our July 17 meeting, it was apparent that you were dissatisfied and concerned about last year’s investigation of wr...
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Testimony
Testimony of POGO’s Scott Amey before the Congressional Oversight Hearing on Treasury’s Use of Emergency Contracting Authority
POGO's Scott Amey testifies about the Treasury Department's use of Emergency Contracting Authority and its potential problems including, risky contract vehicles, inadequate competition, and a lack of transparency and accountability.
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Analysis
Expert Agrees: Over 300 Metric Tons of Highly Enriched Uranium is Surplus to U.S. Needs
It is the one week anniversary of POGO's release of its latest investigation into the US Nuclear Weapons Complex: How the Country Can Profit and Become More Secure by Getting Rid of Its Surplus Weapons-Grade Uranium.
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Analysis
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Selling SEC Secrecy
POGO has learned that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is shopping another legislative proposal to give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the ability to hide information on wrongdoing by brokerage firms, hedge funds, financial advisors, and all other financial entities ...
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Testimony
Testimony of POGO’s Angela Canterbury Before the House Committee on Financial Services regarding Legislative Proposals to Address Concerns Over the SEC’s New Confidentiality Provision
POGO has a keen interest in ensuring that the public has a way of holding our nation’s financial regulatory agencies accountable for protecting the interests of taxpayers, investors, and consumers. We are deeply concerned about Section 929I of the Dodd-Frank Act, which would p...
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Report
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: How the Country Can Profit and Become More Secure by Getting Rid of Its Surplus Weapons-Grade Uranium
Although security of fissile material has been a theme of the Obama Administration, domestic efforts to secure highly enriched uranium (HEU) have been sluggish and uninspired. In the post-9/11 era, there are tremendous opportunities for the United States to not only better sec...