We’re seeing some progress

 

July 16, 2022

This week, the House voted on amendments to the annual defense policy bill. While we didn’t see all of our priorities added to the House bill, we did see a lot of progress. First, we saw a strong vote on an amendment to cut $37 billion from the Pentagon budget, returning it to the level requested by the administration. Even though this amendment failed, we did see more support for a cut to the topline than we did last year. On Wednesday, 151 members of the House voted to cut $37 billion from the Pentagon budget, whereas last year, just 142 members of the House voted to reduce the Pentagon budget by $25 billion. Digging a bit deeper, 13 Republican members who voted against the $25 billion cut last year voted in favor of the $37 billion reduction. That’s progress, and we’ll keep pushing each year to convince more members of the House to reduce waste at the Pentagon. POGO also saw the House pass some great amendments. One measure would repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force, which has been abused to justify military actions unrelated to the initial resolution from Congress. Another amendment would give the mayor of Washington, D.C. control over the D.C. national guard. And we’re very excited that the House passed an amendment to strengthen the rules requiring certain federal contracts to reveal their true owners, which would better prevent bad actors from benefitting from taxpayer dollars. Now, we’ll turn our attention to the Senate and work to ensure that chamber includes these wins in its version of the defense bill. EVENT The Ridenhour Prizes Save the date for the nineteenth annual Ridenhour Prizes, happening on September 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. Learn More EVENT The Constitution Project's Virtual Book Club: Nobody Is Protected Join us for a virtual book club discussion with award-winning author Reece Jones about his new book, Nobody Is Protected: How the Border Patrol Became the Most Dangerous Police Force in the United States. Register QUOTE OF THE WEEK “What really gets me about this particular moment – with midterms, with war in Europe, with inflation – is that those pushing to increase the Pentagon budget seem to be far more concerned with purchasing power than they do the actual purchases that we’re making.” Julia Gledhill, Analyst for the Center for Defense Information, in Open Secrets OVERHEARD ONE LINERS “So [the Defense Logistics Agency is] cutting corners. And as a result, small businesses might be getting the shaft.” Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator, in Federal News Network   “Contracts for large amounts should be competed as much as possible because the potential savings to the taxpayer would be significant and well-worth the extra work needed to oversee the bidding process.” Sean Moulton, Senior Policy Analyst, in Washington Examiner   “The leadership of Social Security is clearly protecting one of their own. ... If you’re just sweeping the problem under the rug, that’s the kind of thing that kills public confidence in federal agencies.” Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator, in the Washington Post   “[This bill is] a congressional effort to put some more teeth in the rules, especially when it comes to foreign adversaries.” Scott Amey, Executive Editorial Director and General Counsel, in NBC News Enjoyed this weekend’s edition of the Weekly Spotlight? Forward to a friend. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Welcome! 👋 Subscribe here.   WANT MORE FROM POGO? Eyes on the federal government from every angle:   Paper Trail: Quick links to the news in the world of government oversight The Bunker: Military intelligence from POGO's Mark Thompson The Bridge: Analysis on the latest in government ethics from Walt Shaub Sidebar: Key context on the latest constitutional news from the TCP team Click here to update your newsletter subscriptions.   🎧 The Continuous Action Podcast 📺 YouTube 📱 Instagram

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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