The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog

Quote of the Day: Secrets of Convenience

Danger Room's Noah Shachtman on striking the balance between protecting legitimate secrets and uncovering important information:

So I guess the test I use is: is it really going to threaten anybody's life in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan? Am I really going to put a soldier in jeopardy? If that's the case, then no way am I going to report on it. I'm not going to jeopardize one of those guys. But if it's just one of these kind of secrets of convenience, then forget about it.

(From his interview on NPR's Fresh Air yesterday.)

Chart of the Day: Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan

By BRYAN RAHIJA

The Center for American Progress's Pratap Chatterjee offers a chart showing the number of private security contractors working for the U.S.in Afghanistan:

Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.

New Mexico Fire Threatens Plutonium Stored at Los Alamos Lab

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By JOE NEWMAN

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the big brush fire in New Mexico. Perhaps, the biggest reason is what would happen if the fire breaches the Los Alamos National Laboratory's perimeter. With more than 6 metric tons of plutonium on site, a fire at the facility could cause a monumental tragedy.

If you consider the myraid safety problems that have plagued the Los Alamos nuclear lab, we have plenty of reasons to be worried about the the lab's ability to withstand a fire. Senior sources in the Department of Energy have told POGO Senior Investigator Peter Stockton that the wildfire is beyond the lab's "design basis."

Stockton, who is featured in the NBC Nightly News clip above, also talked with Time.com this week about the fire and the lab's vulnerability. Read his Q&A.

Joe Newman is POGO's director of communications.

Morning Smoke: Oil and Gas Companies Will Face Higher Fines -- But Regulators Say It's Not Enough

Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the freshest investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor.

Energy

Regulators boost offshore fines but push Congress to do more
Regulator says cost still not high enough to deter violations.
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Houston Chronicle

National Security

Cost of war at least $3.7 trillion and counting
Daniel Trotta, Reuters

Lockheed F-35 May Face Cuts in Budget Review, Gates Says
Tony Capaccio and Viola Gienger, Bloomberg

Health care for Camp Lejeune veterans clears Senate hurdle
Barbara Barrett, McClatchy Newspapers

What We Are Allowed to Know About the Bomber
Amy Butler, Ares

Koh is My God Pilot
Can the president wage a drone war without congressional approval? The Obama administration says yes.
William Saletan, Slate

Financial Sector Oversight

S.E.C. Delays Rajat Gupta’s Trial for Six Months
Peter Lattman, DealBook

SEC proposes new rules on risky ‘swaps’
David S. Hilzenrath, The Washington Post

SEC Budget Battle Contiunes, as Senate Denounces House's Proposed Freeze
Bruce Carton, Compliance Week

Public Health

Congress Widens Probe Into The Heparin Scandal
Ed Silverman, Pharmalot

Nuclear Power

Nuke Plant Inspections Find Flaws in Disaster Readiness
John Sullivan, ProPublica

Campaign Finance

Colbert's campaign-fund satire is no joke
Dan Eggen, The Washington Post

Whistleblowers Urge Congress and the President to Enact Enhanced Whistleblower Protections

By BRYAN RAHIJA

Over thirty whistleblowers renewed the call for Congress and President Obama to enact enhanced whistleblower protections in an open letter sent today.

"As the Fourth of July approaches, your inaction in this Congress after many promises for greater protection of our patriotic federal whistleblowers and taxpayers is a disservice to our nation," the whistleblowers wrote. "The House has not even introduced a successor bill to the reform that last December 22 passed by unanimous consent."

The reform the whistleblowers are referring to, of course, would be the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2010, which, despite passing both chambers of Congress last December, was thwarted at the last minute by an anonymous hold.

Although we know much has been happening behind the scenes to educate new Members of Congress and make passage of the reform possible under a new House majority, we too share the frustration of the whistleblowers. It's high time for Congress to act.

Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.

Toxic Secrecy: The Marine Corps' Cover-up of Water Contamination at Camp Lejeune

By ANGELA CANTERBURY and ABBY EVANS

It's 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 one million Marines and their family members at Camp Lejeune drank, bathed in, and cooked with water contaminated by various volatile organic compounds--some at levels as high as 280 times what is considered safe under law. For years, the Marine Corps kept this secret, blocking many attempts to uncover the truth--even after the first news of water contamination broke in 1987.

Many Marines who ingested contaminated water at Camp Lejuene, the largest Marine base on the East Coast, have died or lost family members, especially children with extreme birth defects or leukemia--and many more still are sick and dying with rare cancers and other ailments believed to be linked to the water contamination. Civilian employees who worked on the base and people who live in the communities around the base near Jacksonville, NC, are also reporting a high incidence of cancers. And yet the plight of these victims and the lack of accountability by the Marine Corps are not well known.

A new, powerful documentary seeks to change that, and bring some much-needed attention to the ongoing suffering and injustice. Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon’s Semper Fi: Always Faithful is a moving portrayal of Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger. Ensminger is a former drill sergeant of twenty-five years who searched for years after his tour at Camp Lejeune for answers: Why did his nine-year-old die of a rare type of leukemia? Why did so many other infants and children die at Camp Lejeune? Why do former residents of Camp Lejeune have the largest cluster of male breast cancer ever documented?

Comment of the Day: Will the Army be Held Accountable for Ignoring DCAA Findings and for Boeing Spare Parts Markups?

By BRYAN RAHIJA

POGO reader Mike offers his two cents on Boeing's taxpayer ripoff:

The real question is when will the Army be held accountable? The Army was permitted to ignore billions in DCAA [Defense Contract Audit Agency] findings on contracts with KBR for war related contracts. The Army and DoD in general will continue to permit contractors to rip off the taxpayers because the contractors hold the power. Nothing will change as along as the Army and other services get away with it. POGO, please continue to track and report these type of abuses. Push for a hearing; this needs public exposure of a massive nature.

Bryan Rahija edits POGO's blog.

Two Former Blackwater Employees Heading to Prison

Judge rejects leniency plea to send a message to Blackwater

By NEIL GORDON

On Monday, former Blackwater / Xe Services security contractor Justin Cannon was sentenced to prison for his role in a deadly shooting that took place in Afghanistan in May 2009. The prosecution of Cannon and his former co-worker, Christopher Drotleff, is notable for being the first instance of a Blackwater employee sentenced to prison for criminal activity in a war zone. It might not be the last such instance.

Cannon and Drotleff, who worked for Blackwater subsidiary Paravant LLC, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting, in which two Afghan civilians were killed and a third was wounded while Cannon and Drotleff were traveling with a convoy around Kabul. Both men were acquitted of one of the fatalities and the wounding. Ironically, according to the indictment, Cannon and Drotleff were hired to train the Afghan National Army in weapons use and maintenance.

Cannon was sentenced on Monday to 30 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. Two weeks ago, Drotleff was sentenced to 37 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. The Virginian-Pilot reported that the federal judge who sentenced both men flatly rejected their pleas for leniency because he wanted to send a message to Blackwater.

Morning Smoke: Pentagon Duped by a Pair of Wyoming Shell Companies

Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the freshest investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor.

Defense

How two shell companies duped the Pentagon
Brian Grow and Kelly Carr, Reuters

Boeing found to have overcharged Army for helicopter parts
Charles S. Clark, Government Executive

F-35 Bacon Bits
Mark Thompson, Battleland

Whistleblowers

The Unquiet Life of Franz Gayl
James Verini, Washington Monthly

Public Health

WSJ: Surgeons Who Tested Medtronic's Infuse Failed To Report Problems
John Carreyrou and Tom McGinty, The Wall Street Journal

A Congressional Bailout for a Pharma Firm?
Siddhartha Mahanta, Mother Jones

Contract Oversight

Contractor performance reviews: One size fits all?
Matthew Weigelt, Federal Computer Week

Nuclear Power Plant Safety

AP IMPACT: NRC and industry rewrite nuke history
Jeff Donn, The Associated Press

Financial Sector Oversight

Treasury Assails OCC on Draft Rule
Victoria McGrane, The Wall Street Journal

Bharara Has Power To Clean Up Wall Street “Dirty Business”
Francine McKenna, Forbes

$8.5 Billion Deal Near in Suit on Bank Mortgage Debt
Nelson D. Schwartz and Eric Dash, The New York Times

Ethics

Pols Brace For Probes After House Ethics Panel Staffs Up
Susan Crabtree, TPMDC

State Department

State to SIGIR: “Lay off”
Joel Smith, The Will and the Wallet

War Breaks Out Over Medtronic's Infuse

By PAUL THACKER

Wow! Can I just say 'Wow?'

A medical journal has devoted an entire issue to problems with Infuse, a product sold by Medtronic that helps create bone and has been used on over 500,000 patients by more than 2300 surgeons. Infuse is one of Medtronic's most important products with sales of over $900 million last fiscal year.

The major takeaways from the latest issue of The Spine Journal?

• A review of the original 13 Medtronic-sponsored studies found that they reported 10 to 50 times fewer complications with Infuse than the data actually show.

• Many of the study authors had financial ties to Medtronic, with a median range of $12 to $16 million per study.

• Infuse proponents cite "less patient pain" to justify use of Infuse over traditional treatment; however, the severity of pain in this traditional treatment is overemphasized.

• Infuse can cause problems with nerves and the spinal cord.

Everyday Items at Boeing Company Prices

By NICK SCHWELLENBACH

You may have seen our latest release on a leaked Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) audit report this morning by now, but if you haven't, check it out. In sum, Boeing massively overcharged the Army and thus taxpayers for spare parts used on Army helicopters. The overcharges are even more stunning when compared to the prices for the same parts that could have been procured from the Defense Department's already-purchased spare parts inventory. In one case, Boeing charged more than 177,000 percent what it would have cost to buy the same part from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). 

The parts are things such as sleeve bushings, straight metal pins, spur gears, nut and bolt retainers, and linear electro mechanical actuators. "A linear electro what??" you ask. Exactly. For most people, these items are not normal household items, although they may be mundane and familiar to mechanics. Yet most of the spare parts detailed in the DoD OIG report are cheap—and comparable in price to things with which the American public is familiar.

I asked POGO staffers for things they thought you could purchase for the prices taxpayers should have been charged for some of the spare parts Boeing delivered.

The cost of a straight metal pin: Boeing charged $71.01 when the item was available in a DoD warehouse for four cents.

Four cents roughly equals the cost of one after-dinner mint or a tooth pick within an entire box. Imagine paying $71.01 to freshen up your breath…

Whistleblower Retaliation? ATF Fires Warning Shot

By JAKE WIENS

Following news that an early, outspoken critic of the now-infamous Project Gunrunner program at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been sent a notice of termination in an alleged act of retaliation, POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian yesterday called for a race between Obama and lawmakers to "kick the ass of the idiot at ATF who tried this."

The news is only the latest in a string of apparent attempts by ATF to retaliate against agents cooperating with the oversight efforts of Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA).

Back in January, Senator Grassley reminded ATF Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson that "ATF employees have the right to talk to Congress and to provide Congress with information free and clear of agency interference." Grassley's letter was spurred by allegations that an Assistant Special Agent in Charge had accused an agent of misconduct for cooperating with the Senate Judiciary Committee: