Newsletters

Impact

In our early years, POGO was best known for exposing rampant contractor profiteering in the defense industry. We’ve now been working for over four decades to expose corruption and abuse of power across the entire federal government and to engage with policymakers on commonsense solutions that ensure the government is best serving the public, not the powerful few. 

When we speak, leaders in Washington listen. Here’s some of our recent impact. 

There is a law on the books that requires the federal government to track deaths in state and federal custody. But the Justice Department has failed to collect the data, leaving us with incomplete information. The federal government needs this data to inform policy to decrease deaths in custody, so we’ve been urging the Justice Department to fully implement this law. 

The Justice Department has now incorporated several key reforms into its implementation plans after direct advocacy from POGO to do so. 

POGO continues its engagement on this issue and continues to push the Justice Department to fully implement this law. 

It is crucial to the preservation of our democracy that we prevent insurrectionists, such as those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, from holding the reins of power.  

Just one month after the January 6 attack, we were one of the groups calling on Congress to enforce the Constitution’s disqualification clause (Section 3 of the 14th Amendment) to bar President Trump from future office.  

In 2022, as the work of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack was underway in Congress, we published a report with Norman Eisen highlighting how the disqualification clause could be enforced immediately at the federal and state level — even absent legislation from Congress.  

The report was shared with the committee, who acted on three of our recommendations.  

In 2023, we partnered with CREW to release a second report, detailing how states have already enforced this provision. 

POGO published an investigation showing how Russian oil is making its way into the Pentagon supply chain through Defense Department contracts with a Greek refinery. Our investigators worked with reporters at the Washington Post, which simultaneously published a companion investigation to further flesh out the supply chain issues in play.   

The investigation has sparked wide bipartisan interest from members of Congress, and in December, Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) cited our investigation in a letter they sent to the Pentagon calling on it to explain how it is ending the purchase of Russian oil. 

2023 By The Numbers 

567 Congressional staff trained in oversight. POGO provides direct training to staff in order to strengthen Congress’s ability to conduct oversight and investigations.  

17 Meetings between congressional offices and constituents facilitated by POGO. We organize meetings to discuss priorities like federal spending.  

92 Mentions by Congress. Members of Congress cited POGO in press releases, floor statements, letters, reports, and social media posts.   

For more on our impact in 2023, read our latest impact report. 

Why You Should Trust Us

POGO is an accredited charity with the Better Business Bureau and has high ratings on Candid, Charity Watch, Great Nonprofits, and Charity Navigator. Many of you have been generous enough to leave us written reviews on Great Nonprofits, and we’ve included a sampling below. 

“POGO does an outstanding job of uncovering this waste and corruption.”  

“POGO's reporting ... should be required reading every morning for every legislator, AND TAXPAYER alike. I see very little of this information posted by few other sites. POGO stands above all others.” 

“I follow POGO for their relentless efforts to hold the US govt to account. I’'m impressed by their dedication and the breath of their research and commentary. Only wish I had more time to engage with their content.” 

“I’'ve followed POGO’s well researched advocacy in support of good government for many years. Its reports ensure our tax dollars are efficiently spent. Its watchdog role with oversight and thoughtful testimony helps improve our democracy for all. I’m grateful to POGO for championing ethical leadership.” 

“POGO takes on what very few organizations (or individuals) seem to care about; the transparency and integrity of our government. I am grateful that they do.” 

Latest Impact Reports

POGO regularly releases impact reports detailing the work we do to strengthen our democracy. In 2022, we started releasing these twice a year instead of annually. Check out the reports from the past two years. 

For the full archive, visit our Financials page.