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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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Report
Spent Nuclear Fuel Pools in the U.S.: Reducing the Deadly Risks of Storage
As Japan's nuclear crisis continues, this report details the nature and extent of radioactive spent fuel stored at nuclear reactors across the United States and how it can be made less hazardous. U.S. reactors have generated about 65,000 metric tons of spent fuel, of which 75...
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Report
Revolving Regulators: SEC Faces Ethics Challenges with Revolving Door
POGO has obtained five years’ worth of statements filed by former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) employees who appeared before the SEC seeking to represent outside clients within two years after leaving government. POGO has also made these post-employment statements ...
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Report
POGO’s Reform Agenda: A Good Government Guide For The 112th Congress
For the past 30 years, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has championed good government reforms as a nonpartisan, independent watchdog. Implementing the following recommendations will help put the country on the right track to a more effective, accountable, open, and ...
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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...
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Report
Contract Spending: Escaping the Dark Ages
In 2009, the federal government awarded more than $523 billion in federal contracts—contracts for goods, including complex weapons systems, and services.
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Report
Transforming the U.S. Strategic Posture and Weapons Complex for Transition to a Nuclear Weapons-Free World
POGO, as part of the Nuclear Weapons Complex Consolidation Policy Network, contributed to a major study of nuclear deterrence, nuclear doctrine, force structure, the supporting weapons complex, and how they inter-relate, Transforming the U.S. Strategic Posture and Weapons Comp...
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Report
Inspectors General: Accountability is a Balancing Act
In part two of POGO's investigation into the federal Inspector General (IG) system, POGO examines how to hold IGs accountable. The report seeks to consider the right balance between quantity and quality of reports, prioritizing small problems versus significant issues, and foc...
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Report
Easy Money: Top Five Recommendations for Increasing Revenue and Cutting Costs
As Congress and the Obama administration prepare to spend billions, if not trillions, of taxpayer dollars to bail out U.S. financial institutions and to stimulate the economy, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) would like to highlight its top five recommendations for q...
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Report
The FDA’s Deadly Gamble with the Safety of Medical Devices
The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) oversees the safety of medical devices. Internal documents obtained by POGO reveal a decision made by senior CDRH officials that could put patients' lives at risk. Since 2006, the FDA is not e...
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Report
Breaking the Sound Barrier: Experiences of Air Marshals Confirm Need for Reform at the OSC
The Office of Special Counsel is the agency to which whistleblowers in the federal government must turn for help. This investigative report seeks not only to set the record straight on former Special Counsel Bloch's actual accomplishments, but also to provide lessons learned f...
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Report
POGO’s Recommended Good Government Reforms for Presidential Transition Teams
Over the past 27 years, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has worked towards achieving a more accountable federal government. During that time, POGO has enjoyed a strong working relationship with your Senate office [Senator McCain and Senator Obama] working towards th...
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Report
Drilling the Taxpayer: Department of Interior’s Royalty-In-Kind Program
In its fifth report since 1995 about oil and gas royalties, POGO examines the mismanagement and corruption in the Department of the Interior's Royalty-In-Kind program. The report tracks how industry's influence on the RIK program has been pervasive, and can be traced from the ...