We’re issuing a warning

 

April 23, 2022

Yesterday, we released the second episode of our new podcast, The Continuous Action. This installment centers on the government’s propensity to lie us into war and the courageous whistleblowers and watchdogs who have exposed these lies. It’s a really powerful episode with some fantastic interviews, including with Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko and activist Ben Cohen. Be sure to give it a listen wherever you get your podcasts. While the podcast takes us back in time a bit, we also issued a bit of a warning this week to leaders in Washington when it comes to future Pentagon spending. POGO’s Julia Gledhill co-authored a piece urging lawmakers to work toward a more affordable defense budget, even as the U.S. continues to supply weapons to Ukraine for its war with Russia. With a rush to backfill weapons supplies, defense contractors are likely to push overly expensive new weapons that will help them secure excess profits that might not actually help Ukraine. The military-industrial complex is already pushing for an overall increase in defense spending, as always, exaggerating the threats of future wars. Decisionmakers should approach these claims with skepticism and ensure defense spending actually contributes to our national security. PODCAST 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 Now OP-ED How Pentagon Contractors Are Cashing in on the Ukraine Crisis The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought immense suffering to the people of that land, while sparking calls for increased military spending in both the United States and Europe. Though that war may prove to be a tragedy for the world, one group is already benefiting from it: U.S. arms contractors. Read More on TomDispatch LETTER Reducing Personal Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government After Congress passes legislation to prohibit insider trading by its members, it should begin drafting government-wide solutions to personal financial conflicts of interest. Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “There is an atmosphere or a climate of impunity, retaliation, and silencing — not in every single case, but it appears to be widespread in [DHS].” Adam Zagorin, Senior Journalist, on GovExec Daily OVERHEARD ONE LINERS “We’ve gotten almost no information about what these companies are claiming, and it makes it impossible then for any kind of outside evaluation [of whether the PPP loan] forgiveness makes sense.” Sean Moulton, Senior Policy Analyst, in the Intercept   “If you do ultimately run afoul of what a court decides the right lines are, then they can invalidate and actually have an obligation to invalidate any policy that was created under a non-delegable authority, if there’s a legal challenge to it.” Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, in Bloomberg Law   “The development length of the F-35 is truly unprecedented for aircraft. I mean, we’ve had entire fleets of aircraft that have gone from the drawing board through deployment through retirement in less time than the F-35 has been developed.” Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow, on Federal News Network

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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