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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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AnalysisPrivatized Tax Collection Loses Money
For the third time the IRS hired contractors to collect unpaid federal taxes, and for the third time the effort is falling short: contractors are costing more than they are collecting while making a bad situation even worse for low-income taxpayers.
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AnalysisAudit Finds Pentagon Task Force Squandered Millions, Had Few Successes
A Pentagon office that spent $675 million on economic development projects in Afghanistan was rife with waste and achieved “mixed results,” according to an audit report released this week by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
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AnalysisHurricane Harvey, Irma, and Maria Contract Spending Revisited
Much has changed since POGO last crunched the numbers on the federal government’s outlays on contracts responding to last year’s hurricanes. For one thing, Pentagon spending data is starting to trickle in.
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AnalysisFederal Fraud Recoveries Decline in Fiscal Year 2017
The Justice Department announced it recovered $3.7 billion in civil fraud and false claims cases in fiscal year 2017—nearly one-quarter less than the previous year.
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AnalysisKeeping the Independence of the Special Counsel: The President Should Support—Not Interfere With—Investigations Into His Administration
Attempting to influence or shut down the Special Counsel, an authorized, independent law enforcement investigation, undermines a cornerstone foundation upon which America was built: that we are a nation based on laws, not merely subjective decisions of senior government offic...
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AnalysisDespite Years of Recommendations, Government Still Rewards Bad Policies for Body Cameras
If body cameras are to live up to their potential as an oversight mechanism meant to check abuse, rules need to be in place providing public access to body camera footage in a way that ensures accountability.
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Analysis17 of Our Favorite Stories from 2017
The Project On Government Oversight shares some of our favorite articles and blog posts to mark the end of the year.
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AnalysisWithout a Nominee, a Federal Study on Sexual Harassment Is Bottled Up
The Merit Systems Protection Board is working on a report on sexual harassment in the federal workplace, but it can’t release the findings until President Trump nominates and the Senate confirms a new board member.
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AnalysisGAO Says Transportation Dept. Twitter Love Broke the Law
The Government Accountability Office found the Transportation Department violated executive branch lobbying restrictions last summer when it liked and retweeted a tweet urging the public to support a bill overhauling the nation’s air traffic control system.
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AnalysisWhat If Santa Swooshed Down the Pentagon’s Chimney?
How to make the holidays happier and the U.S. military better
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AnalysisPuerto Rico’s Hurricane Plan Shrouded in Secrecy
The secrecy around Puerto Rico’s hurricane response and recovery plan is an odd and troubling aspect of September’s major disaster.
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AnalysisHomeland Security Watchdog Finds Government Abuse at Detention Centers
The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General found that immigrant detainees were subject to inhumane and unhealthy conditions.