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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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AnalysisOur $1 Trillion National Security Budget
Below is an assessment of the total national security spending budget, including $417.4 billion not typically discussed as part of our national defense budget proposal.
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Analysis
Agency Rules and Regulations Are Not Laws
The Supreme Court ruled that disclosures of information prohibited by agency rules or regulations are not “specifically prohibited by law” and therefore do not qualify as an exemption under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
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AnalysisAir Force Headquarters Declassified and Released Incomplete Data to Further A-10 Smear Campaign
How Air Force Headquarters cooked the friendly fire numbers to spin USA Today on the A-10.
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Analysis
It’s Time to Think Outside the MOX
The Department of Energy has been mismanaging a project to dispose of excess weapons-grade plutonium for over a decade. It's time to look into alternatives.
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Analysis
Nuclear Official Allowed to Oversee Former Client
The head of the National Nuclear Security Administration received an ethics waiver that allowed him to oversee the Bechtel Corporation—a federal contractor he had previously advised on its successful bid to manage facilities in the nuclear weapons complex.
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Analysis
Watchdogs Need to Bark About Their Recommendations
It is important for inspectors general throughout the federal government to track the status of their recommendations and the money recovered for U.S. taxpayers, and to raise a ruckus when their words fall on deaf ears at the agencies they oversee.
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Analysis
The Fight Against Pseudo-Classification
It's only February, but its been a busy year on the open government front. The Transportation Security Administration's use of pseudo-classification markings has been criticized and the problem appears more like a pattern that a random instance.
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Analysis
Questions for Secretary of Defense Nominee Ash Carter
The confirmation hearing for Defense Secretary nominee Ash Carter should include questions about the revolving door, his acquisition reform efforts, and if he is willing to take on military services that put weapon systems ahead of our armed forces.
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Analysis
Time to Downsize America’s Bloated Nuclear Weapons Complex
The U.S. Nuclear Weapons complex has undergone decades of security accidents, failures and embarrassments. Consolidation of the complex will make the country significantly more safe and secure.
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Analysis
Darkness Falls on Afghanistan Oversight
SIGAR's latest quarterly report on the Afghanistan reconstruction effort is another example of pointless government censorship.
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Analysis
SAIC Fraud Case Leaves Whistleblower Unsettled
Two years after the company formerly known as SAIC paid millions to settle a contract fraud case, the Air Force officer who blew the whistle remains disappointed with the outcome.
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Analysis
Supreme Court Strikes Out KBR
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals by KBR and Halliburton to dismiss three lawsuits accusing them of harming service members and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.