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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
Not Another Dime
Today and Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will have the opportunity to put their foot down on some wasteful nuclear weapons projects proposed by the Department of Energy (DOE).
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Policy Letter
POGO Urges Navy to Study Utility Cost Program
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is an independent nonprofit organization that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in order to achieve a more accountable federal government.
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Analysis
U.S.-Iraq Deal on Contractor Immunity Goes Fourth
On Tuesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced that the U.S. has agreed to lift immunity for private security contractors working in Iraq as part of U.S.-Iraq security pact negotiations. This concession is expected to bring the two countries closer to signing a lo...
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Analysis
Constituents & Taxpayers Don’t Wynn
In February, incumbent Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD) lost in the primary election. On May 31, 2008, Wynn quit his term in Congress, thereby turning his back on his constituents, his supporters, Congress, and all taxpayers (watch the American News Project piece on Wynn's departure to...
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Analysis
Cutting the W88 - The Right Target
The House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee has taken a step toward sanity in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. The Subcommittee is now saying that there is no more money for building plutonium pits, which are at the core of the W88 warhead that is carried aboard U....
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Analysis
Senator Proposes Solutions to Contracting Fraud
An article appearing in the June 24th issue of Politico proposes steps towards eliminating waste and fraud in defense contracting. The authors, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of the Senate Budget Committee and William Hartung of the New America Foundation, focus on two problems w...
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Analysis
The Continuing Saga of the Munitions Maven from Miami Beach
Last March, POGO blogged about the incredible case of Efraim Diveroli, the 22-year-old defense contractor who allegedly engaged in improprieties on a $300 million U.S. Army contract to supply the Afghan government with rifle and machine gun cartridges.
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Analysis
New Legislation Closes Tax Loophole for Federal Contractors
A new law will bring an end to a tax loophole that allowed some federal contractors to evade federal taxes even while technically following the law. Part of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008, signed into law on Tuesday by President Bush, requires forei...
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Report
Getting Byrned by Justice: Favoritism in the Department of Justice Byrne Discretionary Grant Program
In awarding federal grants, it is standard practice for a federal agency to require that a competitive grant proposal go through a peer review process in order to evaluate the merit of the application. POGO has found that multiple FY2007 Byrne Discretionary Grants appear to ha...
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Analysis
Hostile Work Environment & E-Discovery: OSC Gives On-the-job Lessons
A retreat next week for the staff of the Office of Special Counsel at the Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, VA looks like it's going to be a doozy. Most curiously, according to the agenda, it seems Special Counsel Scott Bloch thinks his staff needs training on a "hostile work e...
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Analysis
KBR Whistleblower Comes Forward
Today we learn about yet another story of a government employee who was retaliated against for doing his job honestly. Charles Smith, a senior civilian official at the Pentagon, was removed from his position and reassigned after he attempted to hold defense contractor KBR acco...
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Analysis
‘Small’ Business Administration?
Is the Small Business Administration (SBA) lying to Congress and the public about the diversion of federal small business contracts to some of the largest companies in the world?