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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
POGO Board Member, Champion for Underdogs, Whistleblowers Passes Away
Charles “Chuck” Hamel, our beloved POGO Board member since 1994, passed away April 9. He was 84.
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Analysis
Thornberry Buying Industry Commercial-Item Policies
POGO has received lobbying documents that show that proposed changes to commercial items definitions and procurement processes come at the behest of industry. And if history is any guide, the Defense Department and taxpayers will have to eat the costs of the new “efficiencies.”
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Analysis
Cost Estimate on Useless Nuclear Facility Skyrockets
A partially built nuclear facility that has no potential customers gets an updated cost estimate of $52 billion for finishing construction and operating the plant.
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Analysis
Slaughterhouse Jive: $1.5M Wasted on Afghan Abattoir
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that an abandoned and unfinished slaughterhouse in eastern Afghanistan could cost taxpayers upwards of $5.8 million.
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Analysis
Accountability Nowhere to be Found on Missile Defense
Authorizers should ask tough questions in the wake of ongoing Missile Defense failures.
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Analysis
Petraeus Sentence Adds Insult to Injury for Whistleblowers
The final turn in Petraeus’s case—his sentence—would be laughable if it wasn’t so insulting to the national security whistleblowers who face decades in prison for leaking classified information in order to stop our government from acting illegally or unconstitutionally, in a w...
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AnalysisSuspension and Debarment by the Numbers
A new report shows that the federal government is increasingly relying on suspension and debarment to prevent risky companies and individuals from receiving contracts, grants, and other taxpayer funds.
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AnalysisGAO Confirms Increased F-35 Production Is a Terrible Idea
The significant problems in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program call into question whether it is ready for increased production in Fiscal Year 2016. But a new report and testimony from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) signals what might be the program's acute point...
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Analysis
Mine Games: How Federal Coal Program Loopholes Can Cheat Taxpayers
A 25-year-old loophole can allow coal companies to cheat the federal government and taxpayers out of revenues, but a proposed rule from the Interior Department may change that.
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AnalysisAir Force “Treason” Debacle Reveals Deeper Problems
On January 10, Maj. Gen. James Post addressed participants in the Air Force’s annual Weapons and Tactics conference. Responding to a question about the future of the A-10, he made two remarks that ended up costing him his job.
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Analysis
Flying the Whistleblower-Unfriendly Skies
Add United Airlines to the list of major companies that may be suppressing whistleblowers with restrictive confidentiality agreements. The agreement United requires its employees to sign is very similar to the one for which KBR was recently punished.
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Analysis
Afghanistan Oversight: Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen?
The end of Operation Enduring Freedom and the beginning of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel on January 1, 2015, are creating a bureaucratic stir in Washington. The result might be a turf battle by Inspectors General and a loss of much needed oversight.