The Project on Government Oversight, Inc.

Since 1981, The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has been exposing instances of government corruption and advocating for solutions to fix them.

By working with whistleblowers and other inside sources, POGO investigates government misconduct and conflicts of interest in order to achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government.

One of POGO's core aims is to uncover and root out corruption in the halls of power.

A lot of nonprofits work to fix the problem with money in politics. POGO works to fix the problem with money in policy.

In between elections, the money spigot doesn't turn off. Billions of dollars are spent each year by powerful interests in order to gain access to decision-makers in government in an attempt to influence their policies.

This undue influence is a threat to democracy. And it's the reason POGO exists.

The organization focuses on investigating areas that are especially vulnerable to outside special interests, including contract oversight; energy and natural resources; the financial sector; national security; public health and science; and whistleblower protections. We then work to craft reforms that address the systemic problems our investigations uncover.

Our ultimate goal is to achieve lasting good government reforms that ensure the government responsive to the people it serves.

POGO is unique insofar as it not only investigates government corruption, it also identifies and advocates solutions to fix the problems.

There are many journalists working to expose government misconduct. And there are some nonprofits fighting for better government. But POGO does both.

POGO's investigations raise public awareness and have won numerous journalism awards. Its staff frequently testifies before Congress and POGO's advocacy over the years has resulted in many pieces of Congressional legislation and actions in support of good governance.

In addition to exposing corruption, POGO works to strengthen good government infrastructure. For example, on Capitol Hill, POGO trains Congressional staff on how to conduct effective oversight through its Congressional Training Programs. It helps members of Congress work on identifying fraud, waste, and abuse in other parts of the government by ensuring that there will always be people who know how to conduct oversight in the House and Senate. POGO hosts boot camps and monthly question and answer sessions for staffers from both parties about utilizing the many resources at their disposal. POGO also produces a free handbook on how to conduct oversight.

POGO is home to the Center for Defense Information (CDI) and the Straus Military Reform project to secure more effective and ethical military forces at significantly lower cost. This ambitious goal is advanced by the independent counsel and practical military experience of the CDI's Military Advisory Board.

Finally, POGO merged in 2017 with The Constitution Project (TCP) which aims to protect Constitutional rights and civil liberties, and safeguard America's courts.

More generally, POGO accomplishes its mission by spreading its message widely across traditional and social media to maximize outreach, and by collaborating with like-minded partners to provide solutions to the problems it investigates. Its investigators are often asked to testify before Congress. In 2019 alone, POGO's staff testified before Congress twelve times.

POGO is uniquely positioned as a nonpartisan, independent watchdog. The organization accepts no money from government or industry.

For more than three decades, POGO has established a reputation for high-quality independent reporting and the protection of whistleblowers. Despite break-ins and threats of subpoenas, POGO has always protected the identity of whistleblowers that contacted the group. Its reporting has withstood a great deal of scrutiny, especially regarding controversial topics like the Pentagon's wasteful F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and the revolving door between public officials and government contractors.

POGO has a successful model for our work: our award-winning investigations team works to expose wrongdoing. Our public policy team pushes for policy reforms that address the systemic problems we uncover and make our democracy more responsive to the people.

Our reputation as an honest broker attracts current and former decision makers and other government insiders and allows us to facilitate conversations and advocacy efforts among likely and unlikely allies across the political spectrum to advance our work and make a measurable impact. Our work has led to the passage of major laws including the STOCK Act of 2012, Inspectors General Empowerment Act of 2016, the All Circuits Review Act of 2018.

The organization does not knowingly accept contributions from anyone who stands to benefit financially from its work. POGO does not accept contributions from any government, labor union, or for-profit corporation exceeding $100, and limits contributions from law firms to less than 1% of its operating budget.

POGO has had four decades of successes exposing government corruption, waste, and fraud and have been instrumental

-Passage of whistleblower reform. After extensive advocacy work from POGO, the All Circuits Review Act in July 2018 was signed into law. The legislation gave federal whistleblowers permanent avenues to appeal administrative cases in federal courts in the area they live and work, rather than having to personally cover time and travel costs to appeal in Washington, D.C. before the DC circuit, which is notoriously unfriendly to whistleblowers.

-Published survival guide for federal whistleblowers. POGO, along with our partners GAP and PEER, launched a whistleblower portal that consolidates our whistleblower guide with tips on how to blow the whistle safely, an e-course, tips on data security, and a list of legal resources. In 2020, this resource won the Reed Award for “Best Civic Education Resource” in the Grassroots category.

-Ensured oversight of COVID-19 crisis response spending. In light of the pandemic in 2020, and the resulting economic upheaval, POGO worked to ensure that the CARES Act - one of the largest federal spending programs in history, would have oversight measures included in the bill. We also launched our independent COVID-19 relief spending tracker, which provides one of the most detailed look at federal coronvirus spending available, with over 16 million transactions. The tracker helped us uncover dozens of investigative stories on fraud, corruption, and mismanagement of that federal spending.

-Launched a Revolving Door Database and an accompanying report Brass Parachutes: Defense Contractors’ Capture of Pentagon Officials Through the Revolving Door. The database tracks senior Pentagon officials and military officers who have gone to work for Pentagon contractors, lobbying firms, and consultants who bid for Department of Defense contracts. The data shined a light on the massive potential for fraud and abuse in the defense industry, and makes a strong case for updated laws.

-Protected Anti-Revolving Door Legislation from being rolled back in National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). POGO led a coalition of organizations working to defeat a proposal by the Department of Defense to weaken restrictions on senior Pentagon officials becoming lobbyists. POGO a mobilized our supporters to send letters to their senators. We worked directly with lawmakers to offer an amendment to strike the Pentagon’s request. As a result, this important check on the revolving door remains in place.

-Broke news that oversight failures in the auditing industry is putting the economy at risk. POGO’s award winning investigators uncovered a revolving door between the “Big Four” auditing companies and a little-known, secretive agency the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board that has resulted in the agency failing to address botched audits and putting the economy at risk.