The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog

Video: Freeman on the Revolving Generals

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

What do top U.S. generals do after they retire from the military? Maybe relax on a golf course somewhere after decades of service? Some may, but 70 percent of three and four star generals go to work for defense contractors or consulting firms after them leave the military, according to a new report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

This is hard evidence of the revolving door in Washington between public agencies and private companies that do business with the government. Project On Government Oversight investigator Ben Freeman went on HuffPost Live yesterday to discuss this revolving door with John Amick and Michael Hastings. Watch the full video above.

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

Follow @andrefrancisco

ABC News: Paula Broadwell's Gun Commercial Raises Ethical Concerns

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

Paula Broadwell, General David Petraeus' mistress, may have used her ties to Petraeus to promote a new lightweight machine gun for a defense contractor.

Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight, said political influence should have no place in federal contracting.

"It's an uneven playing field. That is not how a contract should be decided," Brian said.

Watch the video above to see the ABC News story. Read the report at ABC News.

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

Follow @andrefrancisco

Video: U.S. Defense Contractors Drunk and Stoned on the Job

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

Editor's Note: After you've seen the video below, get the full story in a new blog post from POGO's Joe Newman.

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

New video released by ABC shows U.S. defense contractors in Afghanistan stumbling drunk and stoned on sedatives while on the job.

The contractor, Jorge Scientific, has a contract to train Afghan police, according to ABC News. Military personnel and defense contractors are strictly prohibited from consuming alcohol or drugs, but it looks like there was very little oversight of Jorge Scientific.

Project On Government Oversight Executive Director Danielle Brian was quoted in the ABC story as saying,

It has got to be that there is more of a sense of oversight on the part of the military and the U.S. government to make sure these contractors are not actually undermining the diplomatic mission with their behavior.

POGO has been following the behavior of U.S. defense contractors in Afghanistan for years, including an investigation into similar behavior by the defense contractors guarding the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

Andre Francisco is an online producer for the Project On Government Oversight.
Follow @andrefrancisco

Video: POGO Pops Up in Y-12 Hearing

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

POGO got a friendly mention last month during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The hearing focused on nuclear stockpile security and specifically the break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex by three anti-nuclear weapons activists, including an 82-year-old nun. 

Video: CBC Investigates Canada's Purchase of F-35 Jets

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

Canada is on the hook for $25 billion worth of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. As the price for the jets continues to rise while questions mount on the effectiveness of the plane, some Canadians are questioning the process and decision to buy the F-35.

POGO's Winslow Wheeler, the Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information, and defense expert Pierre Sprey appear in this investigative report from the CBC on the history of Canada's acquisition of the F-35.

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

Video: POGO's Michael Smallberg Dissects the Revolving Door

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

POGO Investigator Michael Smallberg was a guest on a HuffPost Live discussion about the rapid spinning of the revolving door between government and K Street lobbying firms.

Michael joined executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics Sheila Krumholz, The Nation reporter George Zornick, and LegiStorm founder Jock Friedly to talk about the full extent of the revolving door in Washington.

Watch the video above and go here to add your comments.

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

Follow @andrefrancisco

Video: Signing and Celebrating the Camp Lejeune Health Care Law

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

On August 6, President Obama signed into law a bill providing health care for the hundreds of thousands of people who suffered ailments from being rThaexposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. This was a huge victory for the many victims who have been fighting to get recognition and care for the many illnesses that have stemmed from the Camp Lejeune contamination.

The Project On Government Oversight worked hand-in-hand with the many heroes who fought for this victory including Ret. MSgt. Jerry Ensminger, Lejeune victim Mike Partain, the Environmental Working Group, and filmakers Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon.

Watch the video to see the signing, the celebration and the work that still needs to be done.

Read more about Camp Lejeune here.

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

Follow @andrefrancisco

Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith on JPMorgan and the Wall Street 'Mafia'

Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been spending a lot of time on Capitol Hill lately because of a recent trading loss by JPMorgan that could cost the company $9 billion.

Last week, Matt Taibbi wrote in Rolling Stone about how big banks on Wall Street, including JPMorgan, have been using mafia-style tactics to game the system in their favor. In this video, Taibbi and Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism sit down with Bill Moyers to discuss Dimon's testimony, the reception ceratin senators gave him and the problems with the finanical system that led to JPMorgan's loss.

Andre Francisco is POGO's online producer

New Video: What is an SRO and Why is it Bad for Your Money?

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

The world of financial regulation has a lot of acronyms, but there are two important ones for you to understand if you are concerened about who exactly is watching Wall Street to make sure there isn't another financial collapse. If you are unsure what SEC or SRO means, let POGO's financial guru Michael Smallberg explain in this short video.

After you watch the video, or if you already know how bad of an idea an SRO is, take action and urge your representative to reject a bill that would let Wall Street police itself.

Andre Francisco is a POGO online producer

Follow @andrefrancisco

New Video: Danielle Brian Talking Government Oversight on C-SPAN

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

On Sunday, POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian was on C-SPAN's Washington Journal to talk about the costs and complexities of government oversight, especially in light of the recent conference scandal at the General Services Administration (GSA). She took some interesting questions from callers about President Obama, Rep. Darrell Issa (D-CA), Inspectors General, and the problems holding up oversight in government. Check out the video!

Andre Francisco is POGO's Online Producer

Follow @andrefrancisco

New Video: Shine a Light on the Defense Budget

By SUZANNE DERSHOWITZ

The Senate Armed Services Committee drafts, debates, and votes on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in secret. POGO and a host of concerned organizations from across the ideological spectrum have launched a campaign for greater transparency, urging Committee members to do the right thing and support an open process. Go to OpenNDAA.org to take action and shine a light on the defense budget.

Watch this video for a quick breakdown of the issue, and make sure to share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Suzanne Dershowitz is POGO's Public Policy Fellow

Challenges Looming in Iraq for State Dept. as Security Contractors Set to Double

By ANDRE FRANCISCO

U.S. soldiers are leaving Iraq, but as many as 18,000 contractors are staying behind to run and protect the Green Zone, the world's largest embassy complex. The contractors are being overseen by the State Department, which does not have a good history of contract oversight. POGO Investigator Jake Wiens lays out some of POGO's worries in the video above, and POGO Senior Writer Beth Schulman's op-ed on Other Words delves into the possibility of coming problems with contractors in Iraq.

If the past is prologue, we should be nervous. The State Department's track record managing overseas contractors ranges from spotty to downright awful. As Americans focus more on the 2012 elections and other domestic concerns, it would be far too easy to ignore the glaring need for oversight in Iraq.

A bipartisan study by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan found that the U.S. government did a terrible job of managing private contractors in conflict zones. "At least $31 billion, and possibly as much as $60 billion, has been lost to contract waste and fraud in America's contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan," the commission reported to Congress last fall. "Much more will turn into waste as attention to continuing operations wanes, as U.S. support for projects and programs in Iraq and Afghanistan declines, and as those efforts are revealed as unsustainable."

POGO will continue to closely watch both the contractors and those who oversee them to highlight problems that arise.

Andre Francisco is POGO's Online Producer

Follow @andrefrancisco