The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) was started 41 years ago as a small organization working on the forefront of corruption and waste in the federal government. POGO is now a force for effective government, and our work is focused on building a stronger democracy and more accountable government.
POGO’s work as a government watchdog is directed toward protecting and strengthening anti-corruption and good government mechanisms at the federal level. This includes ensuring that our government’s institutional checks and balances function properly, and that government oversight and accountability offices remain independent.
Our work has led to the passage of major laws including the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012, the Inspectors General Empowerment Act of 2016, the All-Circuits Review Act of 2018, and Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act of 2022. We are regularly asked by Congress to provide testimony on a huge variety of issues from Supreme Court reform to defense spending.
Our investigations and research into waste, fraud, corruption, and abuse of power allow us to find deficiencies in oversight mechanisms.
Our public policy advocacy explores and pushes for policy reforms that address the systemic issues uncovered by our investigations to create a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government.
Our civic engagement program connects with new and existing supporters, stakeholders, and partners “beyond the beltway” to build support for POGO’s policy reforms. Our civic engagement program also includes the Racial Equity and Accountability project that works in partnership with leaders at the forefront of the fight for racial equity to ensure that communities of color have an equal voice in efforts to create a government that is accountable to all.
These teams build accountability and oversight across all three branches of the federal government. We also have three projects that drive good governance in specific areas:
The Center for Defense Information aims to secure a far more effective military at a significantly lower cost.
The Congressional Oversight Initiative provides congressional staff with resources and knowledge to perform their oversight responsibilities more effectively to strengthen the legislative branch’s ability to counterbalance executive power and conduct oversight.
The Constitution Project safeguards constitutional rights that are threatened by abuse of the government’s national security and domestic policing powers.
POGO’s reputation as an honest broker attracts current and former decision-makers and other government insiders who wish to strengthen good government infrastructure and allows us to facilitate conversations and advocacy efforts among likely and unlikely allies across the political spectrum to advance our work.
POGO is proud to be the recipient of the highest ratings from Charity Navigator, Greatnonprofits, Guidestar and to meet all 20 standards for Charity Accountability set forth by the Better Business Bureau.
In 2022 alone, POGO has:
•Provided expertise to Congress. POGO provided testimony to Congress thirteen times on issues from whistleblower protections, the need to reform oil drilling and natural gas extraction on public lands, and strengthening the Freedom of Information Act.
•Published bombshell independent investigations. POGO published four investigations this year into Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari’s conduct. These investigations revealed mismanagement of critical investigations, including Cuffari’s failure to inform Congress of missing Secret Service texts from January 6, 2021, and that the office suppressed internal findings about sexual harassment and domestic violence within the agency.
The investigations prompted a flurry of press coverage in major news outlets, action within the Department of Homeland Security itself to review document retention, and Congressional action calling on Cuffari to cooperate with Congress on its investigations.
•Improved judicial transparency. In the fall of 2021, POGO provided testimony to Congress on the need to expand financial disclosure requirements for federal judges, after reporting revealed more than 130 federal judges did not recuse themselves from cases in which they or a family member had a vested financial interest. In a massive win, Congress unanimously passed the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, and President Biden signed it into law on May 13, 2022.
The law requires federal judges to make financial disclosures on a public website, making it easier for journalists and watchdogs to catch conflicts and ethics violations, and providing an incentive for judges to recuse themselves to avoid accusations of impropriety. The bill will help boost public trust in the judiciary during a time it’s facing an unprecedented crisis of public confidence, and it will ensure the federal courts are more accountable to the public.
•Restored whistleblower due process. Whistleblowers are an essential part of an accountable and effective government. Unfortunately, whistleblowers are often not given fair due process, which discourages others from reporting misconduct. Starting in 2017, the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency in the executive branch that settles federal whistleblower cases and other disputes, lacked a quorum and was unable to convene. Over the course of five years, a backlog of 3,600 unaddressed cases built up.
POGO worked closely with members of the Senate to confirm three nominees to the Board. As a result, the Board can now provide the appropriate due process for federal whistleblowers that’s been missing for half a decade.
•Trained Congressional staff to be more effective. In their work for Congress, congressional staff often do the bulk of the behind-the-scenes labor conducting investigations and oversight of the executive branch. Our Congressional Oversight Initiative provides trainings on oversight topics and more in-depth “boot camps” to improve staffers’ oversight skills, foster bipartisan cooperation, and offer an opportunity to ask questions and dig into timely issues. In the first nine months of 2022, we’ve already seen 605 Capitol Hill staffers attend one of our trainings. POGO is proud that 40% of committee staff have attended one of our trainings.
•Improved Deaths in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) implementation to hold police across the country accountable. In May, President Biden’s executive order reforming policing included many of POGOs recommendations to improve DCRA implementation. One of our key criticisms of the administration of the legislation has been that the federal data being made available to the public failed to break out law enforcement homicides from other homicides.
In July 2022, the latest federal DCRA data for the first time broke out law enforcement homicides in the public report. POGO's proposed language on requiring the Attorney General to submit a report and timeline outlining the Department’s plans to implement DCRA was included in a Senate appropriations bill. The Senate committee with jurisdiction over the Justice Department included our proposed language verbatim in the report that goes with the funding legislation.
•Reformed Oil and Gas extraction on public lands. The recent Inflation Reduction Act bill raised the minimum onshore and offshore royalty rates from 12.5% to 16.67% for ten years, eliminates noncompetitive oil and gas leasing, and updates rental rates and minimum bids for onshore oil and gas leases. These reforms represent major progress, and serve as an important source of revenue to pay for various spending priorities in the bill.
•President Biden signs bill prompted by POGO’s reporting on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud. During the first year of the COVID19 pandemic, POGO was the first to report on the outsized role that financial technologies companies played in approving fraudulent PPP loans. In August 2022, President Biden signed into law a bill extending PPP fraud statute of limitations from 5 years to 10 years.
•Improved congressional oversight. POGO has spent years working to strengthen congressional oversight of the executive branch, and in particular to help Congress reassert the power of the purse to prevent executive overreach. This balance of power is a critical guard against authoritarianism. In March, Congress passed the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill that funds the government that includes several provisions that will improve Congress’ ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.
First, the Office of Management and Budget will be required to notify Congress when it allocates congressionally approved funds to specific agencies or programs, and it will have to explain any conditions the executive branch is applying to the use of those funds.
Second, the law empowers agencies to tell Congress if they receive a notice about funding that would delay or disrupt actions that Congress has already funded.
Finally, it requires the Office of Management and Budget to make information on the apportionment — or distribution — of federal funds available to the public.
These provisions increase transparency and accountability in federal spending, give Congress more power over how tax dollars are being used, and strengthen checks and balances against executive branch power.
•Improved Accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs. POGO has been building support for accountability in the department, and provided testimony to Congress on the topic multiple times over the last several years. In 2022, we celebrated an important step forward when President Biden signed the bipartisan Strengthening Oversight for Veterans Act into law. The bill closed a critical accountability gap by giving the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General the authority to compel former employees and contractors to cooperate with investigations. This will empower the office of the inspector general to effectively root out wrongdoing within the department.
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