A great first step

 

April 30, 2022

This week, the House passed the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, sending the bill to the president’s desk for signature. The legislation will bring greater transparency into federal judges’ potential conflicts of interest and make it easier for watchdogs like POGO to hold judges accountable for failing to recuse when appropriate. Enactment of this legislation will be a great first step in making the judicial branch a more transparent and accountable body. Yet as we wrote in testimony submitted to a House committee this week, Congress must also create stronger ethics rules for the Supreme Court. The highest court in the country wields significant influence, and yet Supreme Court justices are not bound by the official code of conduct that governs judges on lower federal courts. For our system of checks and balances to work, it requires public trust in the integrity of the courts. And without this basic standard of ethics, the Supreme Court risks that legitimacy. Congress must pass ethics reforms to address this, something POGO will continue to push for. LISTEN NOW Episode 2: War Lies, Watchdogs, and Whistleblowers Hosts Walt Shaub and Virginia Heffernan explore a troubling truth: the government lies, particularly when it comes to war. Listen, rate, and review now. ANALYSIS Can We Track Infrastructure Dollars? The federal government is beginning to spend the $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending authorized by Congress, but limited award data will almost certainly prevent the public from knowing where the funds go and what they accomplish. Read More ANALYSIS Air Force Leaders Defy Congress’s A-10 Mandates Congress saved the A-10 five times over eight years when Air Force leaders tried to retire the only aircraft designed to support ground troops. Despite these clear mandates, Air Force leaders pressed forward with their plans anyway. Read More OP-ED Let a Stinger be a Stinger. A new design isn’t needed. Developing a new Stinger replacement will add unnecessary costs to taxpayers and likely deliver far later than the capability is needed. Read More on Breaking Defense TESTIMONY Building Confidence in the Supreme Court Through Ethics and Recusal Reforms Having been entrusted with that great power, the justices owe the public not only a commitment to the ethical use of power, but also a conspicuous demonstration of their ethical conduct. Read More TESTIMONY Fully Equip FinCEN to Combat Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism POGO’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on FinCEN oversight outlines steps to help ensure bad actors can’t make illicit financial transactions that harm our national security. Read More PRESS RELEASE POGO Applauds House for Passing Judicial Ethics Reform The House on Wednesday passed the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, which will make it easier to hold federal judges accountable for financial conflicts of interest. Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “[Earl E. Devaney] was a standout because he recognized the full breadth of the responsibilities of an inspector general.” Danielle Brian, Executive Editorial Director, on New York Times OVERHEARD ONE LINERS “Depending on the day, members might be criticizing Twitter and promising to regulate them out of existence or using Twitter to generate attention and support for their agenda, all the while having a direct financial interest in Twitter’s share price.” Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Government Affairs Manager, in Business Insider   “This does look like a classic case of you got some insider information and acting on that information. And that’s illegal.” Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Government Affairs Manager, in Washington Examiner   “There is at least a strong case to be made that Rep. Cawthorn violated the STOCK Act’s reporting requirements as well as potentially engaging in insider trading.” Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Government Affairs Manager, in Business Insider

pogo.org The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles.

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