A significant win for accountability

 

December 3, 2022

This week, we got some positive news, which is always nice. The Senate finally confirmed a permanent inspector general for the Pentagon. The Department of Defense had gone nearly seven years without a permanent independent watchdog in place, which has been a travesty for accountability. We’d been urging the Senate to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee to fill the position, Robert Storch, for a while. Just one day after our most recent letter urging the Senate to act, the chamber voted on Storch’s nomination. The Pentagon this year failed its fifth audit in a row, demonstrating just how desperately the agency needs keen independent oversight. Without a permanent inspector general in place at the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency watchdog was splitting their time between the EPA and the Pentagon. It’s clearly not ideal for an agency with a hefty, constantly growing budget to have a part-time inspector general. Though the confirmation was woefully delayed, we’re grateful the Senate did act this week to bring more significant accountability to the Pentagon. WANT MORE FROM POGO? The latest from us, straight to your inbox For updates on POGO’s investigations, upcoming events, and more ways you can get involved, subscribe to our emails. ANALYSIS POGO Applauds Integrity Committee for Increased Transparency The entity responsible for overseeing federal watchdogs, known as the Integrity Committee, just released a new transparency policy and increased their capacity to hold watchdogs accountable. Read More ANALYSIS Pentagon Seeks More Money for Beleaguered F-35 The Defense Department’s F-35 fighter — the most costly weapons system in history — is the grift that keeps on taking. Read More OP-ED Congress must protect the nation from a politicized civil service There is a reason Congress has passed laws to create a federal workforce selected by merit rather than political loyalty. Read More on The Hill OP-ED The Pentagon’s second unfunded priorities list is an accountability travesty, Congress should act With "unfunded" priorities priced at nearly $50 billion this year, it’s past time Congress reigned in the Pentagon wish list. Read More on Breaking Defense LETTER POGO Urges Senate Vote on Defense Watchdog Confirmation The Department of Defense needs a permanent watchdog now. Read More LETTER Coalition to Congress: Protect National Security from Politicized Civil Service Congress must protect the public against a politicized civil service, which would jeopardize our national security and make us less safe. Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “It’s easy to say that the B-21 is still on schedule before it actually flies. Because it’s only when one of these programs goes into the actual testing phase when real problems are discovered.” Dan Grazier, Senior Defense Policy Fellow, in the Associated Press OVERHEARD ONE LINERS “A lot of fintechs ... exercised insufficient due diligence in vetting loan applicants, and as a result, are disproportionately represented in the loans that have been deemed fraudulent or potential fraudulent.” Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator, in the Washington Post   “There almost certainly will be some fraud that goes on, some waste that happens. To some extent, it’s unavoidable. But it’s about minimizing it.” Sean Moulton, Senior Policy Analyst, in Bloomberg Law   “You have a lot of people out there saying that there has to be federal legislation that creates a simple process for this provision to apply or to be operative, and we just disagree.” Liz Hempowicz, Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, in Voice of America   “They don’t want to be raked over the coals like they [were] with the F-35 program, so they’re keeping this as secret as possible.” Dan Grazier, Senior Defense Policy Fellow, in the 1945   “Committee chairs, subcommittee chairs, leadership—I think are all privy to not just massive amounts of inside information with the power to predict where markets are moving, but with the power to move markets themselves with the decisions they are personally responsible for making about committee hearings that go forward.” Liz Hempowicz, Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, in the Bulwark   “The American Army is five times the size of the Ukrainian army. So, if the Ukrainian army can deplete U.S. stocks in eight months, then how fast would the U.S. Army deplete its own stocks?” Dan Grazier, Senior Defense Policy Fellow, in Grid 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 💸 Support our work

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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RSN: Elizabeth Warren | My Brother's Death Didn't Have to Happen

20 May 20

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19 May 20

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Elizabeth Warren | My Brother's Death Didn't Have to Happen

Elizabeth Warren, The Atlantic
Excerpt: "For anyone who heard a Warren stump speech during the year she was running for president, her brothers were familiar characters, the Oklahoma family."
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Mike Pompeo. (photo: OZY)

Watchdog Was Investigating Pompeo for Arms Deal and Staff Misuse Before Firing
Julian Borger, Guardian UK
Borger writes: "The government watchdog who was fired last week had been investigating the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, for sidestepping Congress to approve arms sales to the Gulf and using staffers for personal errands, according to congressional sources."
READ MORE

Donald Trump. (photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Trump's Doctor Just Screwed Everyone Fighting This Pandemic
Daniel Summers, The Daily Beast
Excerpt: "If the White House doctor really did write the president a prescription for the risky, unproven treatment just because he asked for it, it's grossly irresponsible."

EXCERPT:

…...at this time, there is no reliable evidence to support the use of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of the novel coronavirus. There is, however, ample evidence of the potential for very serious, potentially fatal side effects from the medication. It was because of these side effects that clinical trials using it to treat COVID-19 were halted in France and Brazil, and that an NIH-backed (not peer-reviewed) study of patients at the Veterans Administration concluded it was more strongly associated with killing than relieving ailing veterans. The Food and Drug Administration went so far as to issue a warning to the general public about use of the medication outside of hospital settings.

For ailments where its benefits are well-established, these risks may be worth accepting. Without evidence of genuine benefit, touting it for widespread use is grossly irresponsible.

Which is to say, precisely the kind of thing that Trump is apt to do.

As physicians nationwide, myself included, rushed to discourage people from demanding hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19—and news of halted trials began to mount—Trump had largely stopped talking about it. Fox News did the same thing.

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A food truck vendor pushes his cart down an empty street near Times Square in New York City. (photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Stay-at-Home Orders Saved Hundreds of Thousands of Lives, Report Finds
Reid Wilson, The Hill
Wilson writes: "A new analysis says nearly 250,000 people in the nation's 30 largest cities are alive today because of strict stay-at-home orders issued by local and state governments."
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A security contractor frisks a detainee ahead of a deportation flight. (photo: Getty Images)

Redirecting Asylum-Seekers From US to Guatemala Was a Cruel Farce, Report Finds
Cora Currier, The Intercept
Currier writes: "Last November, the United States began sending Salvadoran and Honduran asylum-seekers to Guatemala, telling them, in effect, to try their luck there."
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A doctor in Cuba. (photo: COHA)

Cuba Develops Effective Peptide for Treatment of COVID-19
teleSUR
Excerpt: "Cuba's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) developed the CIGB-258, a new protein effective in Covid-19 treatment."
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'The great awakening that the coronavirus pandemic has dealt to city-dwellers, in particular, is that true independence was always a myth.' (photo: David Becker/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Social Distancing Kill Car-Free Culture?
Eve Andrews, Grist
Andrews writes: "When I gave up my car nearly four years ago, I anticipated it would come with certain challenges. But one I did not anticipate was not being able to get tested for a highly contagious virus that had covered the world in a pandemic."

EXCERPT:

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