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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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Policy Letter
23 Organizations Support Provision Requiring Senate Candidates to Electronically File Their Campaign Finance Reports
The Senate’s version of the FY19 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill contains a provision to require Senate candidates to join all other federal candidates in filing their campaign finance reports electronically. This simple, but important, measure will save taxpayers at le...
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AnalysisPaper Cuts: No Match for Mother’s Milk
Baby-food makers latch on to breastfeeding policy to sell formula.
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Policy Letter
POGO Urges President Trump to Fill Inspectors General Vacancies
POGO sent a letter to President Trump urging him to submit qualified inspector general nominees to the Senate.
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AnalysisChamber Music: Corporations Attain Harmony with Federal Corruption Laws
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lately seems to have softened its longstanding opposition to the False Claims Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal government’s most powerful tools for deterring corporate corruption and protecting taxpayer money.
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ReportThe Watchdogs After Forty Years: Recommendations for Our Nation’s Federal Inspectors General
Is the work of the IG community fulfilling the promises of four decades ago? POGO’s recommendations address the need for strong and consistent leadership, a higher prioritization of major issues affecting the nation, such as harm to the public’s health, safety, and constitutio...
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Policy Letter
POGO and Coalition of Organizations Support Curbing Improper Payments
The Coalition letter is in support of the bipartisan “Payment Integrity Information Act of 2018” (S. 2948). This bill will help curb improper payments involving federal agencies and programs.
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AnalysisPrivacy After Carpenter: We Need Warrants for Real-Time Tracking and “Electronic Exhaustion”
The Supreme Court’s Carpenter decision greatly expanded location privacy rights, but serious problems remain. Congress should act swiftly to enact a warrant requirement for real-time cellphone tracking and create “electronic exhaustion.”
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Policy Letter
POGO to Defense Bill Conferees: Increase Accountability and Strengthen Pentagon Spending Oversight
In a letter to conferees for the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act POGO urged members of Congress to beware gimmicks that would hurt taxpayers and service members.
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AnalysisICE Detention Center Inspections Repeatedly Fall Short
ICE inspections of detention centers are ineffective and infrequent, and “certain deficiencies remain unaddressed for years.”
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AnalysisThose 5-to-4 decisions on the Supreme Court? 9 to 0 is far more common.
Splits get all the attention, but consensus is the rule, and that's how it should be.
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AnalysisThe Carpenter Decision: A Huge Step Forward for Privacy Rights but Major Problems Remain
The Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter v. United States will create significant privacy protections, and lays the foundation for how the Fourth Amendment will function in the digital age. However, significant issues remain.
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Policy Letter
POGO Offers Recommendations to Improve USAspending.gov
The Project On Government Oversight offers detailed recommendations to improve the federal government’s primary website on federal spending.