May 29, 2012
Morning Smoke: Finding the Hidden Pork in the House Defense Bills
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MORNING SMOKE |
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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 |
National Security
A Peek at Pentagon Pork: A Taxpayers' Guide
Winslow Wheeler, Battleland
Pentagon Spending Spree: Throwing Money at the Military Doesn't Buy Us Safety
Elizabeth Rose, Other Words
Does Anybody Still Need Aircraft Carriers?
Tom de Castella, BBC
Building a True 21st Century U.S. Military
Douglas A. Macgregor, Battleland
Lockheed: F-35 Oxygen System 'Very Different' Than Troubled Sibling
John T. Bennett, U.S. News & World Report
IT Company Helps Pentagon Try Out Fast-Track Acquisition Approach
Zachary Fryer-Biggs, Defense News
When the Tragedy of Two Marines Killed in a Crash Becomes a Nightmare
Miranda Green, The Daily Beast
Vintage Spy Plane Gives High-Tech Drone a Run for Its Money
Larry Abramson, NPR
Financial Oversight
Bank Regulators Under Scrutiny in JPMorgan Loss
Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Ben Protess, The New York Times
Contract Oversight
DoD's Contract Audit Agency Hobbled by Backlog
Sarah Chacko, Federal Times
Energy Issues
BP Probed on Leak Estimates
Tom Fowler, The Wall Street Journal
May 25, 2012
Shifting Nuclear Boondoggles to the Pentagon Won't Make Them Any Less of a Boondoggle
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By MIA STEINLE
Earlier this month, the House saw a desperate--and successful--attempt from Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) to transfer nuclear weapons construction projects from Department of Energy (DOE) authority to the Department of Defense (DoD) in the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As I wrote then, Turner's unusual amendment was an obvious attempt to undermine congressional appropriators and the White House, both of whom had already said no to funding a certain costly, proposed nuclear facility in FY 2013. While his amendment made it into the final version of the House NDAA, it looks like some powerful Senators are displeased.
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), respectively the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, wrote to leaders in the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, urging them to keep nuclear construction projects under DOE authority. Of particular interest were the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF) and the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF)—multi-billion dollar projects that have been plagued by budget overruns and schedule delays. Turner made a point of specifically including these two projects in his amendment.
But, as Feinstein and Alexander wrote, the Army Corps of Engineers—which would oversee construction of these projects should they be transferred to DoD authority—doesn’t have the right experience to build these “one-of-a-kind facilities.” What’s more, the Senators expressed concern that these multi-billion dollar nuclear facilities would “compete” with military facilities projects for funding, citing training facilities for troops and modernized barracks.
SASC Completes Markup of $630 Billion Dollar Defense Budget, but the Public is Left in the Dark
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By SUZANNE DERSHOWITZ
Yesterday the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) debated and voted on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013, authorizing an enormous sum of taxpayer dollars—more than $630 billion--and defining important policy on issues ranging from nuclear weapons facilities to contractor pay. POGO would have liked to share our opinion on the bill's provisions, but we can’t.
That’s because the SASC markup takes place behind closed doors (even though the House process is open to the public), and even now that the votes have taken place, the Committee has not released the bill. Concerned citizens and watchdog organizations alike are effectively shut out of the debate and left in the dark.
All we have to go on is this cryptic 30-plus page press release.
Stay tuned...
Suzanne Dershowitz is POGO's public policy fellow.
Image via alumroot.
China Counterfeit Case Shows Importance of Holding Defense Contractors Accountable
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By DANA LIEBELSON
The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) released a report this week revealing that Chinese companies have been supplying counterfeit electronic parts to the U.S. military--and they're being used in everything from helicopters to missile interceptors. Unsurprisingly, U.S. taxpayers are outraged at the Chinese government, which not only failed to stop the problem, but occasionally stonewalled U.S. investigators.
But here's what taxpayers should also be outraged about: before this investigation, U.S. defense contractors used to bill taxpayers for replacing these counterfeit parts.
According to the Senate report—which represents the culmination of a SASC investigation that began in March 2011—investigators found 1,800 cases of suspect counterfeit parts in the defense supply chain. In these cases, more than one million parts were supplied by more than 650 companies and their own networks of suppliers. As Bloomberg pointed out, suspect and questionable parts went into equipment or aircrafts produced by contractor giants Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, and L-3 Communications.
“DoD and defense contractors [were] frequently unaware of the ultimate source of electronic parts used in defense systems,” the Committee wrote, adding that “the defense industry routinely failed to report cases of suspect counterfeit parts.”
Nuclear Amendments to Major Defense Bill Threaten Public Health
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By MIA STEINLE
When the House Armed Services Committee finally called it a night on May 10 at 2:20 a.m., its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2013 weighed in at over 500 pages with about $600 billion in planned spending. After another week-long marathon, this time on the House floor, the bill had swelled to over 1,000 pages to accommodate dozens of amendments. Among these amendments—many of which will fly under the public’s radar, on account of the sheer size of the bill—are several that threaten to put at risk the health and safety of countless Americans.
As POGO Director of Public Policy Angela Canterbury and I wrote earlier this week, the bill signifies a significant roll back of oversight at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the independent Department of Energy (DOE) agency that oversees the nation’s contractor-operated nuclear weapons labs. This is a troubling move, given the labs’ track record of consistently poor management:
The House NDAA gives the troubled NNSA labs the ability to self-report and self-regulate their performance. It also lowers the bar for health, safety, and security standards by eliminating cabinet-level oversight of the labs by the Department of Energy (DOE) and shifting the power to the NNSA and its contractors. It also weakens the authority of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a panel that provides the only real independent oversight of nuclear safety.
Simply put, this means that fewer checks are in place to ensure the health and safety of the employees who work at the nuclear labs and the residents who live nearby. It also means less scrutiny to ensure that taxpayers who foot the bill for these costly nuclear labs don’t take a huge hit.
Continue reading "Nuclear Amendments to Major Defense Bill Threaten Public Health " →
Morning Smoke: Contractor Accused of Overbilling by $750 Million for Wartime Food
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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 |
Contract Oversight
Food Fight: Contractor Accused of $750 Million Overcharge for Wartime Grub
Robert Beckhusen, Danger Room
National Security
Propaganda Firm Owner Admits Attacks on Journalists
Gregory Korte, USA Today
F-22's Oxygen Issues Raise Questions About F-35
John T. Bennett, U.S. News and World Report
SASC NDAA Freezes Air Guard Cuts, Pakistan Aid; Rejects Tricare Fee Boost
Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., Aol Defense
Senate Panel Moves $631B Defense Bill
Jeremy Herb, The Hill
Navy Places Order for New Class of Patrol Boats
Christopher P. Cavas, Navy Times
Financial Oversight
SEC Sanctions Ex-Staffer Who Represented Stanford Co
Aruna Viswanatha and Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters
SEC Staff Ends Probe of Lehman Without Finding Fraud
Joshua Gallu, Bloomberg
Fed's George: Board Members Should Resign if Undermining Confidence
Kristina Peterson, The Wall Street Journal
Money Funds Open to a Deal with SEC
Kirsten Grind and Andrew Ackerman, The Wall Street Journal
Conflict of Interest
Bipartisan Senate Duo Seeks MTB Reforms
Mark Flatten, The Washington Examiner
Former Congressional, SEC Officials Take a Spin through JPMorgan's Revolving Door
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By MICHAEL SMALLBERG
At the height of the bailout, Goldman Sachs earned the nickname "Government Sachs" thanks to the legions of former Goldman executives who landed jobs at the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department.
Now it looks like JPMorgan is giving Goldman a run for its money.
Lee Fang at Republic Report noted this week that the staff director of the Senate Banking Committee—which is preparing a series of hearings to investigate JPMorgan’s $3 billion trading loss—is none other than Dwight Fettig, a former lobbyist who represented JPMorgan before Congress as recently as 2010. Fettig has also lobbied on behalf of Freddie Mac and the American Bankers Association, among other financial industry clients.
Before he became a lobbyist, Fettig was a legislative director for Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), the current Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. According to his bio, Fettig had a “particular focus” on legislation such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed many of the Glass-Steagall provisions that had required a separation of commercial banks, investment banks, and insurance companies. (The final report by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission cited several regulatory officials who noted that Gramm-Leach-Bliley created an “obstacle that prevented each [regulator] from obtaining a complete understanding of the risks assumed by large financial firms.”)
Continue reading "Former Congressional, SEC Officials Take a Spin through JPMorgan's Revolving Door" →
May 24, 2012
KBR May Be Abusing Indemnification Provision in Iraq Contract
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By NEIL GORDON
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D–OR) wants to know if defense contractor KBR is wasting taxpayer money in an effort to drag out lawsuits seeking to hold KBR accountable for exposing American soldiers to toxic chemicals in Iraq. This week, he sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to find out what steps the Department of Defense is taking to ensure KBR is not taking advantage of taxpayers while unnecessarily prolonging the litigation.
Members of the National Guard were assigned to the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant in the early months of the Iraq war to protect KBR employees restoring the plant under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO) contract. While stationed there, the soldiers were allegedly exposed to dangerous levels of a highly carcinogenic chemical called hexavalent chromium (the same chemical at the center of the legal battle documented in the movie Erin Brockovich). The soldiers claim KBR was aware of the presence of the chemical but failed to warn or take steps to protect them.
When POGO first blogged about the case almost two years ago, we focused on a classified provision in the contract that requires the government to indemnify KBR for all property damage, injury or death occurring at Qarmat Ali, and all related legal expenses, even if KBR had acted with willful misconduct or lack of good faith. (After much urging from Congress, the Department of Defense finally declassified the provision in December.) As we explained in a follow-up blog post, taxpayers could potentially be on the hook for more than $150 million in damages and legal costs.
Continue reading "KBR May Be Abusing Indemnification Provision in Iraq Contract" →
Casino Night Will Be a Blast! But That’s Not Why I'm Going
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By DANA LIEBELSON
Attention Washington, D.C. folks: POGO is hosting a special fundraising party on Friday, June 1, called Casino Night. Maybe you’re a poker genius who could give Mike ‘the mouth’ Matusow a run for his money. Maybe you’re not an expert, but you know your way around a bluff or two. Or maybe you wouldn’t head to Las Vegas if someone paid you $10 million in cold, hard cash. No matter your reasoning, here’s why this fundraiser is so important to POGO.
Funds raised next Friday will help honor the legacy of POGO friend and longtime colleague, Beth Daley. Beth passed away in 2010 after a long, hard-fought battle with breast cancer. After Beth’s passing, her friends, family, and fellow good government advocates honored Beth by setting up the Beth Daley Memorial Impact Fund to create a fellowship in her name.
As the inaugural Beth Daley Impact Fellow, I’ve had the opportunity to continue Beth’s important work in busting corruption and championing good government. Those who follow our blog have seen my writing on everything from whistleblower issues and lobbying, to national security and contract oversight. I couldn’t have been able to do this crucial work without the generosity of the Beth Daley Impact Fund; and I have no doubt that the next fellow will accomplish great things.
I encourage you to get tickets and join us for the fundraiser—not just because it’s a great date idea or a fun night out with friends, but because it will fund a recent grad who might not otherwise have an opportunity to make a difference.
That’s definitely not a guarantee Vegas can make.
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Dana Liebelson is POGO’s Beth Daley Impact Fellow. Get your tickets to POGO’s Casino Night now for an early bird discount! Follow @dliebelsonPhoto via americanartmuseum. |
Watchdog Found: White House Fills SIGAR Vacancy with Veteran Investigator
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Loose translation: the White House has appointed a swell pick to lead SIGAR. |
By BRYAN RAHIJA
Good news for accountability fanatics: a leadership void at a key oversight position will soon be filled.
The White House announced yesterday that President Obama will appoint John Sopko to lead the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the watchdog tasked with rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse in U.S. taxpayer-funded projects to rebuild the war-torn country.
Sopko has exactly the kind of oversight pedigree that we like to see for this kind of watchdogging.
“This vacancy was among the most important positions to fill, and they have found an excellent person for the job,” said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian, who also tweeted enthusiastically after hearing the news. “We look forward to seeing serious oversight of the tens of billions of dollars being spent on Afghanistan reconstruction under Sopko.”
Continue reading "Watchdog Found: White House Fills SIGAR Vacancy with Veteran Investigator" →
Morning Smoke: Afghanistan Reconstruction Gets a Special Inspector General
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MORNING SMOKE |
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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 |
Government Oversight
John F. Sopko, Veteran Investigator, Nominated to Fill Afghanistan Special Inspector General Post
Timothy R. Smith, The Washington Post
Whistleblower Issues
ACLU Throws Support Behind State Department Whistleblower
Lisa Rein, The Washington Post
Financial Oversight
SEC Whistleblower Tip Rate: 7 A Day
Tom Steinert-Threlkeld, On Wall Street
Dodd-Frank is Hard to Understand, and That's Why It Has So Many Enemies
Suzy Khimm, The Washington Post
National Security
Nuclear Weapons Just Don't Make Sense
Walter Pincus, The Washington Post
Think Tank Calls for Major U.S. Defense Reductions
Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News
Refixing the Pentagon. Again.
Mark Thompson, Battleland
Why Doesn't the F-35 Program Follow the Rules?
Rep. Todd Akin, Aol Defense
BRAC Fight May Not Be Over, DoD Official Says
Andy Medici, Federal Times
Open Government
Former Secrecy Czar Asks Court to Release NSA Document
Steven Aftergood, Secrecy News
Labor Accused of Scrubbing Website of Recent Rulemaking Documentation
Alice Lipowicz, Federal Computer Week
Kerrey Raps Closed Committee Meetings
Joseph Morton, Omaha World Herald
Revolving Door
Congress' Revolving Door Turns to K St.
Rachel Leven and Kevin Bogardus, The Hill
Lobbyists Call for Lobbying Reform
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By ANDREW WYNER
POGO recently sat down with Howard Marlowe, president of the American League of Lobbyists (ALL), to discuss ALL's recommendations for reforming the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA). ALL's proposed reforms would force more lobbyists to disclose their lobbying activities and attempt to close many loopholes that continue to plague lobbying registration.
While ALL's recommendations do not amend all faults with the LDA, POGO was happy to sit down and discuss the group’s suggestions. To be clear, POGO isn't opposed to the act of lobbying. In fact, we at POGO lobby within legal limits too. The problem is not the act of lobbying, it is the lack of disclosure and the nexus between lobbying and campaign contributions or government contracts or grants.
Primarily, ALL wants more lobbyists to register their lobbying activities to the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate, who jointly control lobbying registration. If the idea of a lobbyist association advocating tighter registration requirements sounds funny to you, you're not alone. The idea is that greater registration would both make the lobbying business more transparent and improve its reputation.
The problem, as ALL puts it, is that lobbyists are getting a bad rap:
