The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog

Stop U.S. Involvement in Human Trafficking

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

Twenty million—that’s about how many men, women and children are victims of human trafficking around the world. But what you probably didn’t know is that your U.S. tax dollars are supporting human trafficking on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, where thousands of foreign nationals working for U.S. government contractors and subcontractors are victims of human traffickers.

We need you to urge your Members of Congress to include strong anti-trafficking enforcements in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act that is sent to the President’s desk for signature so exisiting laws have enough teeth to make them effective. 

Help us end U.S.-supported human trafficking so not another cent of your tax dollars go to funding modern-day slavery.

Andre Francisco is an online producer with the Project On Government Oversight.

Follow @andrefrancisco

It's Time, Right Now, to Pass Whistleblower Protections

We’ve learned that the House and Senate cosponsors of the bills to strengthen protections for federal whistleblowers and taxpayers have reached an agreement and will offer the strongest version of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) they think they can pass this week.

The window for passing this good government bill is extremely narrow. We urgently need you to write your representatives today, and tell them that they must pass critical whistleblower and taxpayer protections before they leave Washington.

This bipartisan bill (read our summary here) certainly does not have every reform we have sought, but has many critically important upgrades to the broken system for whistleblowing.

Let Congress know this is an important issue with broad support. So far, 168 organizations with more than 40 million members and diverse ideologies and interests have signed on to an open letter to Congress in support of the WPEA. In addition, conservative taxpayer groups have thrown their support behind this bill.

Click here now to tell Congress to pass these whistleblower protections before they hit the campaign trail!

Image from Flickr user afagen.

An earlier version of the post had a link to a letter from whistleblowers, but it was removed because we were informed that "the open letter demands more than Congress is willing to pass at this time."

Conservatives Tell Rep. Issa: Federal Whistleblowers, and Taxpayers, Deserve Their Day in Court

By ANGELA CANTERBURY AND SUZANNE DERSHOWITZ

Today, the North County Times—a paper in Representative Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) district—published an Op-Ed by our allies at National Taxpayers Union (NTU) and Liberty Coalition that makes clear they expect Rep. Issa to fulfill his promise of protections for federal whistleblowers by ensuring those whistleblowers can access the courts to hold the government accountable.

The Senate unanimously passed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act or WPEA (S. 743) in May, and now it’s the House’s turn to take action on Rep. Issa’s version of the bill (H.R. 3289). This landmark legislation would provide a better safety net for federal workers who sound the alarm on waste, fraud, abuse, and illegality. The Project On Government Oversight hopes the strongest possible version of the bill will reach the President’s desk this year.

Unfortunately, gaps in protection in the access-to-court provisions remain in the House bill. As Michael Ostrolenk of the Liberty Coalition and Pete Sepp of NTU wrote, “Every private-sector whistleblower protection law passed by Congress in the last decade includes a right to a jury trial and normal appeals process, which the current bill fails to include.” As Chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Issa should work to pass a bill in the House that includes the standard that has already been established for private sector whistleblowing.

The Politics of Pentagon Profiteers and the Truth about Jobs

The big Pentagon contractors have been trying to scare lawmakers, the public, and the troops with dramatic claims that there will be massive job losses. For nearly a year, these contractors and their lobbyists have likened potential cuts in the Pentagon budget to the sky falling.

Their threats to send layoff notices—right in time for the November elections—have been admonished from many corners—and are among the more desperate political stunts of recent memory. But just to be sure they’ve got the attention of all candidates, they’ve cooked up hyperbolic job loss numbers based on convenient, if completely faulty assumptions—these are available by state or congressional district, don’t you know.

Some are taking the bait. Certain members of Congress have been parroting these scaremongering talking points during town halls and other events this month during the congressional recess. In their very scary “sequestration roadshow” they are talking about jobs, but fail to mention some essential information about how exactly these contractors have been living large on the largess of taxpayer dollars. 

Closer Than Ever to Justice for Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Victims

 

Marine Corps MSgt. Jerry Ensminger Lost His Daughter to Leukemia at Camp Lejeune

 

Finally, after many years of unnecessary suffering, some justice is within reach for the U.S. Marine Corps veterans and their families who were poisoned by the water at Camp Lejeune.

The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to approve healthcare for veterans and their families who are victims of the toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. For more than 30 years, the water Marines and their families drank and bathed in was contaminated by high levels of various volatile organic compounds, including known carcinogens. The “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act,” H.R. 1627, is a bipartisan bill that reflects an agreement between the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee leadership on a variety of issues affecting veterans. 

But while the Senate has acted to assist the victims of Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps and Navy shamefully continue to deny responsibility and withhold information about the water contamination. Most recently, the Navy has delayed the release of water contamination documents in response to a request by nine members of Congress.

Camp Lejeune has been called one of the worst toxic contaminations in the country. It’s also possibly one of the U.S. military’s most shameful acts of deception and betrayal. Between 1957 and 1987, as many as 1 million civilians, Marines, and their family members at Camp Lejeune were exposed to toxic water. It turns out that for years, the Marine Corps knew but kept the deadly secret, blocking many attempts to uncover the truth.

However, it appears the Marine Corps’ and Navy’s days of hiding information about the toxic water contamination may soon be over. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have insisted on receiving all requested documents and plan to make them public. The Project On Government Oversight eagerly anticipates the release as early as today of some of these critical documents, formerly withheld by the Navy.

Service Contractors Feeling the Heat

By SCOTT AMEY

I'm often asked what government issue most concerns me today. ObamaCare? Nope, that was so June! Political wrangling that hinders progress ranks up there. Contracts that are over budget and behind schedule are a possibility, but, as is often the case, the government and contractors share the blame and sometimes that is the price we pay for innovative programs and cutting edge technology. Spare parts overpricing is on the list too, but who hasn’t seen a cartoon about that.

My vote for the largest problem facing our government is the excessive costs taxpayers are paying for service contracts. POGO’s Bad Business report exposed the issue last September, and added to the debate that wrongly focuses on public vs. private sector pay. Congress is also interested in the cost of service contracts. And now, the White House is answering questions about the delay in getting out policy guidance related to striking the right balance between public and contractor employees, which will include cost factors “to help agencies consider where rebalancing of work can save money.”

We have taken a lot of heat (sorry for the heat analogy while the East Coast weather is hitting triple digits) for our comparison of federal compensation and contractor billing rates. The Bad Business report, however, included many official findings of cost savings when using government employees rather than contractors. Hearing testimony by senior Army and Department of Homeland Security officials confirms that savings can be realized by hiring or retaining government employees. For example, the Army cited savings from FY 2008 to FY 2010 of up to $51 billion (see p. 4). DHS found that its 2009-2010 insourcing efforts “indicate approximately $28 million in cost savings” (see p. 2).

Congress' Rush to Pass Anti-Leak Law Has Grave Ramifications

By DANA LIEBELSON

Imagine an America where journalists and whistleblowers cannot reveal government misconduct without facing grave punishment. Does that sound like a healthy democracy to you? Well, if Congress rushes anti-leak legislation without carefully considering the ramifications on the public’s right-to-know, the U.S. will be one step closer to that dim future.  

Some members of Congress have been calling for swift anti-leak legislative action in response to The New York Times breaking two sensitive national security stories: the first on the Obama Administration’s “kill list,” the second about U.S. cyber-attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. As some legislators frame it, the most recent leaks are part of a growing trend of potentially harmful disclosures.

POGO and more than 25 good government groups from across the ideological spectrum sent a letter to the Senate and House intelligence committees last week, urging Congress not to accelerate anti-leak legislation without taking careful steps to protect the interests of an open government and informed public.

It’s politically popular for politicians to take a strong stance against leaking—but rushing legislation is not a practical solution to the issue. Firstly, as the Federation of American Scientists, American Civil Liberties Union, POGO and countless others have documented, there is already a serious problem with over-classification of government records.

Office of Whistleblower Protection Programs Needs Sufficient Funds to Realize Government Savings

By SUZANNE DERSHOWITZ

On June 11th, POGO signed onto a letter with Government Accountability Project (GAP) and other allies demanding adequate funding for the Office of Whistleblower Protection Programs (OWPP) at the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OWPP enforces the whistleblower provisions of 21 statutes protecting over 65 million U.S. employees, safeguarding the rights of those who report abuses running the gamut from consumer product violations to fraud in the financial reform sector. The letter went out to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.

In the last 12 years, Congress has passed 12 new whistleblower protection laws requiring OWPPto conduct initial investigations, but OWPP has not had a meaningful increase in funding corresponding with their new enforcement duties. The Labor Department requested $20.379 million for OSHA’s whistleblower protection programs (an increase of $4.8 million from the FY 2012 appropriated level), and POGO urges Congress to authorize at least that amount in full.

At present, the whistleblower protection program is unable to satisfactorily investigate complaints in a timely manner, and the backlog is growing. This means that individuals who try to blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse have cases that are collecting dust. The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General estimated that OSHA needs 45-55 additional full time employees to handle cases within the 90-120 day timeframe required by law. The FY 2013 budget request for OSHA’s whistleblower program would allow OSHA to allocate 37 additional staff, which is a modest increase based on the IG’s estimate of need.

The bottom line: the program needs more resources to protect newly covered workers.

But not everyone agrees that OWPP deserves more funding. According to a Bloomberg BNA article, Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee Representative John Kline (R-MN) opposes the proposed boost for whistleblower enforcement at OSHA.

Open NDAA: Our Window of Opportunity to Shine a Light on the Defense Budget

By SUZANNE DERSHOWITZ

 

TAKE ACTION

Call your Senator and demand an open NDAA

This week marks a pivotal moment in the campaign to open the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and shine a light on the defense budget.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) deliberated on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2013 last week. This massive defense spending bill gets marked up in the open on the House side. The Committee posts the bill online in advance, and the debate and voting process are open to the public via live webcast.

Here’s the problem: the Senate debate on how to spend hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars takes place completely in the dark. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) marks up the NDAA behind closed doors, holding the draft bill close and keeping amendments to the bill secret. This bolsters special interests’ access to the halls of government while shutting the public out of the debate.

On May 10, we hand-delivered letters demanding transparency in the defense budget process to all Members of SASC. Now with the support of 45 organizations from across the ideological spectrum and nearly 5,000 concerned citizens signing on, the letters sent an even stronger message than they did nearly when we first delivered the letters and launched the campaign.

Next week, SASC will vote on whether or not to keep the NDAA markup closed. If you believe in smart spending on defense, government transparency, and a real democratic process—take action by calling your Senator today to shine a light on the defense budget. This is our window of opportunity.

Suzanne Dershowitz is POGO's public policy fellow.

Follow @suziedershowitz

Photo by POGO's Joe Newman.

America’s Shame: The U.S. Government's Human Trafficking Dilemma

By JOE NEWMAN

For Vinnie Tuivaga, the offer was the answer to a prayer: A job in a luxury hotel in Dubai--the so-called Las Vegas of the Persian Gulf--making five times what she was earning as a hair stylist in her native Fiji.

She jumped at the chance, even if it meant paying an upfront commission to the recruiter.

You probably know how this story is going to end. There was no high-paying job, luxury location or easy work.

Tuivaga and other Fijians ended up in Iraq where they lived in shipping containers and existed in what amounted to indentured servitude.

Journalist Sarah Stillman told Tuivaga’s story and that of tens of thousands of other foreign workers in acute detail almost a year ago in her New Yorker piece, “The Invisible Army.” 

In some cases, Stillman found more severe abuses and more squalid living conditions than what Tuivaga and her fellow Fijians experienced.

But like Tuivaga, thousands of foreign nationals in the U.S. government’s invisible army ended up in Iraq and Afghanistan war zones because they fell victim to human traffickers.

Republicans, Democrats, Businesses, and Good Gov. Groups Support the DATA Act--Here's Why You Should Too

By DANA LIEBELSON

Last week, congressional committees held hearings on the General Service Administration's (GSA) lavish spending at a conference in Las Vegas. As lawmakers examined the scandal--which included allegations that agency officials spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a loft suite party and a clown--one question kept repeating itself: how can we keep this abuse of federal spending from ever happening again?

Dozens of good government groups from across the ideological spectrum will send a letter to the House today supporting a critical transparency bill: the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act. The bill (H.R. 2146) would revolutionize federal spending transparency and help prevent bureaucratic waste, fraud and abuse—like the GSA scandal. But in order to pass, the bill needs two thirds of the House to show up and vote for the Act.

We have a real chance to make a difference, but we have to move fast: tell your Member of Congress to pass the DATA Act and shed light on where taxpayer dollars are being spent.

Not only does the DATA Act have backing from transparency and accountability groups as diverse as the Cost of Government Center (an affiliate of Americans for Tax Reform), the Sunlight Foundation, and OMB Watch, but also businesses like Microsoft and the tech companies represented in the Data Transparency Coalition. It’s not hard to see why—this is a win-win bill for government, taxpayers, and private businesses.

The DATA Act, introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and cosponsored by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and 13 others, dramatically overhauls all federal spending by modeling the transparency and accountability in the Recovery Act. Like the Recovery Act, or stimulus, the DATA Act creates an independent commission responsible for monitoring federal spending and making this information public in a one-stop-shop portal (like Recovery.gov). This commission would include transparency rock stars like Inspectors General, deputy secretaries, and other senior officials led by a presidentially-appointed chairperson. 

POGO and Allies Launch Campaign to Open Senate Markup of Defense Bill

By DANA LIEBELSON

Today, a coalition of good government, taxpayer, and civil and human rights organizations from across the ideological spectrum launched a campaign to shine a light on the defense budget. Specifically, the groups are urging members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) to open the markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which last year authorized more than $662 billion of taxpayer dollars for FY 2012 but was drafted by SASC behind closed doors. 

There's no good reason for SASC to mark up this bill entirely in secret. On the House side, the NDAA markup is open to the public. Before discussing any classified information, the House Armed Services Committee can easily vote to move into an executive session. Furthermore, last year, a SASC subcommittee marked up its portion of the bill in an open session. The public has the right to know where its taxpayer dollars are going, especially given some of the controversial provisions in the bill. For more background information on the NDAA, click here.

Also, check out the campaign's webpage, OpenNDAA.org, to see which Senators voted to keep the NDAA secret in the past, and which voted for transparency. Then, you can take action by signing a letter to the appropriate Senators encouraging them to vote against keeping the markup secret. You can also sign a separate letter to thank those members who have voted for openness in the past. POGO and allies will deliver the letters with the new signatories in advance of this year’s markup.

Taking action is a great way to celebrate Sunshine Week and demonstrate your support for transparency and open government—thanks for your support!  

Dana Liebelson is POGO's Beth Daley Impact Fellow.

Follow @dliebelson