By Bryan Rahija
POGO's been cranking out all kinds of good stuff in the past few weeks, but not all of it has made it onto the blog. Here are three recent POGO products that may have slipped under your radar.
It's not an anti-leaks policy, it’s an anti-speech policy
On April 20, POGO and a host of other groups sent an open letter to the Senate expressing concern about a provision in this year's Intelligence Authorization Act (S. 719). As stated in the letter, the provision, Section 403,"threatens free speech rights of current and former federal employees in the intelligence community." Here's the breakdown:
Section 403 grants the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and intelligence agency heads extraordinary authority to penalize federal employees in the intelligence community, including depriving them their pensions. They can do so without a criminal conviction, based on their “determination” that an employee knowingly violated a non-disclosure agreement by disclosing classified information to “unauthorized” persons or entities."
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Thus, Section 403 would give intelligence agency heads nearly unrestrained discretion to suppress speech critical of the intelligence community – even after an employee has resigned or retired from an intelligence agency – and to retaliate against disfavored employees or pensioners, including whistleblowers. Allowing the DNI and agency heads to take pension benefits away from employees in secret with no oversight or judicial review would not protect against unauthorized leaks, it would only open the door to abuse.
A wake-up call to the Pentagon
Earlier this month, POGO sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates about the security of the soon-to-be office building for several thousand Pentagon employees. From a statement POGO released last week:
The Mark Center, an office complex in the metro area where the Defense Department is relocating 6,400 employees to, may be vulnerable to large truck bombs, according to a letter the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week.
Out of an abundance of caution, POGO did not post the letter on its website or make it publicly available. POGO based much of its analysis of the vulnerability on a “For Official Use Only” document posted on the Army Corps of Engineers website that details the Mark Center’s ability to withstand a 220-pound bomb threat. POGO decided to send this release out after Reuters ran a story this morning entitled “Anti-bomb plan for Pentagon annex posted online” that says government officials admit the posting of the document “is a major breach of security.”
Provoke accountability
Last but not least, POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian recently offered her thoughts on open government at the Media Access to Government Information Conference (MAGIC). Danielle emphasized the need to include information related to government accountability in the government's openness initiatives. The conference organizers invited panelists to submit written comments in advance of the discussion. You can view POGO's comments here.
Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.
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