Project on Government Oversight

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan nonprofit government watchdog group based in Washington, D.C.

History

The Project on Military Procurement, an arm of the National Taxpayers Legal Fund, was founded by Dina Rasor in February 1981. The Project's mission was to make the public aware of "waste, fraud, and fat" in U.S. defense spending, according to Rasor. In the organization's early days, Rasor worked with whistleblowers to expose design flaws in the M1 Abrams tank, which had undergone a "shocking (cost) increase" in 1980, according to Rasor. The Project first gained widespread attention in the early 1980s for publishing reports on "outrageously overpriced military spending", including a $7,600 coffee maker and a $436 hammer. These prices were actually an artifact of government accounting rules, and include not just the cost of the equipment but also a portion of the overhead cost of the entire project they were associated with.The myth of the $600 hammer

The organization expanded its scope beyond military spending and changed its name to the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) in 1990. Danielle Brian joined POGO as its executive director in 1993.

Other watchdog organizations have folded into POGO over the years. In 2012, the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information joined POGO. In 2016, the Center for Effective Government (known as OMB Watch until 2013) folded and became part of POGO.

Board of directors The organization's board of directors includes Harper's Magazine editor Andrew Cockburn, law professor Lia Epperson, former judge Wallace B. Jefferson, lawyer Debra Katz, and political scientist Norman Ornstein.

Activities

Cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider POGO contributed to the successful effort to cancel Department of Energy's Superconducting Super Collider project, which had already lost a 1992 vote in the House of Representatives as its cost estimates ballooned from $4.4 billion to $12 billion. In June 1993, POGO publicized a Department of Energy Inspector General report it had received in draft form from a whistleblower. The Inspector General investigated $500,000 in questionable expenses over three years, including $12,000 for Christmas parties, $25,000 for catered lunches, and $21,000 for the purchase and maintenance of office plants. Super-Collider Perks Under Investigation : Science: Documents show costly parties and catered lunches. Officials say expenses are legal but some were inappropriate. The report also concluded that there was inadequate documentation for $203 million in project spending, or 40% of the money spent up to that point.

Area 51 hazardous waste investigation POGO reported that in 1995 it was contacted by a woman who claimed her husband had died as the result of being exposed to toxic waste while working at Area 51. At the time, the U.S. government denied the existence of the Area 51, but POGO turned to George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley to sue the government on behalf of the woman and six former Area 51 workers for illnesses and death as a result of toxic waste exposure at Area 51. POGO executive director Danielle Brian said that, during the litigation, the organization obtained an unclassified Area 51 security manual, which POGO gave to Turley and the plaintiffs so they could prove Area 51 existed. The Air Force then retroactively classified the manual, "threatened to prosecute anyone who had it in their possession, and demanded access to all of POGO's files to determine what other 'classified' information POGO possessed," Brian wrote in a signed legal declaration. The court ruled that the plaintiffs' case could not be proved because it could not confirm the existence of Area 51, however Area 51 was thereafter required to comply with environmental laws. In 2013, the government confirmed that Area 51 exists.

Unpaid oil royalties investigation POGO released a series of reports from 1995 to 1997 that said the U.S. federal government was owed billions of dollars in unpaid oil royalties from companies that drilled oil from public lands. The reports claimed that the Department of the Interior's Mineral Management Service had a "sweetheart" relationship with oil companies that prevented the agency from going after the industry for moneys due.

Federal Contractor Misconduct Database In 2002, POGO launched the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database, a website that compiles instances of "misconduct and alleged misconduct" by the top government contractors since 1995, according to the website. POGO's database was the inspiration for a similar federal government database that was created by the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act. When POGO updated its database in 2010, it was reported that the organization had "found 642 instances since 1995 of misconduct by the top 100 firms, resulting in $18.7 billion in penalties."

Lawsuit against John Ashcroft In 2004, POGO filed a lawsuit against then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft for illegally retroactively classifying documents critical of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The classification came to light after Sibel Edmonds, an FBI translator, discovered that intercepted memos relevant to the September 11 terrorist attacks had been ignored due to poor translation. POGO won the lawsuit in 2005.

Congressional Oversight Initiative In 2006, POGO launched a series of nonpartisan trainings to teach congressional staff how to conduct oversight and investigations. Since then, POGO has hosted monthly training, as well as specialized training upon request, according to the organization's website.

Ending the Royalty-In-Kind program In 2008, POGO released a report that documented corruption and mismanagement in the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) royalty-in-kind program. The investigation revealed inadequate royalty accounting, as well as the provision of sex, drugs, and other favors to MMS officials by oil company representatives in exchange for favorable business deals. Following this report and others by the federal Government Accountability Office, the royalty in-kind program was terminated, and MMS was split into three different bureaus.DePillis, Lydia (September 18, 2009). "No More Sex and Drugs in the Interior Department". The New Republic. Retrieved 2010-07-01.Straub, Noelle (May 20, 2010). "Interior Unveils Plan to Split MMS Into 3 Agencies". The New York Times.

Kabul embassy investigation In 2009, POGO conducted an investigation into ArmorGroup, a private security contractor in charge of protecting the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. POGO uncovered and released documents, photos, and videos depicting drunken behavior, nudity, and hazing among the guards. POGO's investigation led to the dismissal of several managers and eight guards, the resignation of an additional two guards, and ultimately, the cancellation of the U.S. military's contract with ArmorGroup.

Nuclear facility safety investigations POGO has conducted numerous investigations into the Los Alamos National Laboratory.Los Alamos National Laboratory Files . Project on Government Oversight website. LANL has been the subject of several controversies in the past, including employees charging personal expenses to government accounts,Schactman, Noah. (November 8, 2002) "Los Alamos on Hot Seat Again. Wired News. lost equipment or documents (including hundreds of computers containing classified information),Kilian, Michael. (January 3, 2003) "Los Alamos Loses Director Under Clouds of Scandals"(PDF). Chicago Tribune.Trulock, Notra. (March 5, 2003) "Lab Scandal Undermines Nuclear Credibility. Accuracy in Media.Trounson, Rebecca and Ralph Vartabedian. (January 29, 2005) "A Slew of Safety, Security Weaknesses Found at Los Alamos. Los Angeles Times. and a memorandum to employees to "be careful what they say" to safety and security inspectors.Wald, Matthew. (July 5, 2003) "Arms Official Brushes Off a Complaint About Audit". New York Times. In 2009, 69 computers disappeared, although plant officials insisted that the computers did not contain the most highly classified information.Reichbach, Matthew. (February 12, 2009) "69 Computers Missing at LANL". The New Mexico Independent. 2009 also saw a scare in which 2.2 pounds of missing plutonium prompted a Department of Energy investigation into the plant. The investigation found that the "missing plutonium" was a result of miscalculation by LANL's statisticians and did not actually exist, but the investigation did lead to heavy criticism of the plant by the DOE for security flaws and weaknesses that the DOE claimed to have found.Vartabedian, Ralph. (March 26, 2009) "Los Alamos' Security Flaws Exposed". Los Angeles Times.Webb, Greg. (February 27, 2009). "New Security Lapse at Los Alamos Triggers Angry Response from Energy Department". NTI.

FDA conflicts of interest investigation Starting in 2011, POGO conducted an investigation into conflicts of interest of an advisory committee at the Food and Drug Administration that was reviewing the Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills. POGO found that four members of the committee had ties to either the maker of the pills or the maker of a generic version, but did not announce the conflicts before endorsing the drugs. Both Yaz and Yasmin have been linked to fatal blood clots in some users.

Advocacy for Camp Lejeune victims In 2012, POGO working with whistleblower retired Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, advocated for openness regarding toxic water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. From 1953 until at least 1985, U.S. Marines and their families living at Camp Lejeune had used tap water that contained carcinogens and other harmful chemicals leaking from a nearby dump site for radioactive material. POGO and other organizations claimed in 2012 that the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps hid information about the nature and extent of the contamination, citing a report released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry that was redacted by the Navy. Later that year, the U.S. Senate voted to approve healthcare for those who lived at Camp Lejeune and suffered health problems. In 2017, the Department of Veterans' Affairs finalized rules to provide benefits for people who had been diagnosed with certain diseases as a result of living at Camp Lejeune.

Defense spending and Straus Military Reform Project POGO has conducted many investigations into defense spending, particularly in cases where, "national security and needs of the troops have been compromised by greed, lack of oversight, and in many cases, sheer incompetence," according to its website. Some of the weapons systems that POGO has been critical of include the littoral combat ship, the F/A-22 fighter aircraft, and the F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft. On the other hand, POGO has supported the production of the A-10 aircraft for its relative effectiveness and inexpensiveness compared to what POGO considers more wasteful weapons.

In 2012, the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information moved to POGO with director and military analyst Winslow Wheeler. Wheeler retired in 2015.

Whistleblower protection