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Articles by Scott Amey
Letter Requesting Interior’s Office of Inspector General to Investigate Cruzan Group Contract
The Honorable Mark Greenblatt Inspector General U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Inspector General Greenblatt: We respectfully request that your office investigate whether Darren Cruzan, former director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Office of Justice Services, violated post-government employment restrictions and whether inadequacies in the bureau’s procurement processes caused the agency to overlook a significant potential conflict of...
POGO Testimony: Best Practices for Federal Spending
Accountability Statement to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and Subcommittee on Energy By Scott Amey | Filed under testimony | October 21, 2021 (Illustration: Renzo Velez / POGO) I want to thank Chairmen Foster and Bowman and Ranking Members Obernolte and Weber for asking the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) to testify about issues related to federal spending. I am Scott Amey, POGO’s general counsel.
Viewpoint: Suspend The Trump Organization From Doing Business With Government
The federal government should suspend the Trump Organization from doing business with agencies. The Trump family businesses should in fact be debarred, but the standard for suspension is lower, the case is more clear, and the permissible period for suspension—up to one year—is sufficient for the government to avoid the worst risks associated with doing additional business with the Trump family.
Government Confirms Area 51, But Answers Still Secret
Transparency By Scott Amey | Filed under analysis | August 19, 2013 Despite years of denying the existence of Area 51, the CIA, in response to a Freedom of Information Request from the National Security Archive has finally confirmed that the Nevada base exists and that it is, indeed, named Area 51. This is welcome news, but I wanted to write about how the government’s lack of integrity and openness has hurt the public trust and cost lives.
Recap of Recent Articles on Just Security (June 24-28)
We are a forum on law, rights, and U.S. national security. You can follow on Twitter @just_security
The Missing Piece in US-Iran Drone Dispute: Navigational Freedoms and the Strait of Hormuz
As readers of Just Security are no doubt aware, Iran’s shoot down of an unmanned U.S. Navy RQ-4A Triton surveillance aircraft in the Persian Gulf has elevated tensions between the United States and Iran. What has been largely missing from the public discussion is that even if the drone flew only across “international airspace,” significant legal questions arise as to whether its activities violated the rules for transit and what legal recourse Iran then had to respond.
The Early Edition: June 28, 2019
Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. G.20 SUMMIT U.S. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin today met for the first time since the conclusion of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian electoral interference and alleged collusion with the Trump campaign.
Assange’s Indictment: A Threat to Everyone
The recent Justice Department indictment of Julian Assange for violating the Espionage Act has appropriately triggered widespread opposition from those who treasure a free press. This latest government overreach through the invocation of the World War I-era law is not the first of its kind in recent history: It began during the George W.
10 Ways for Congress to Respond to the Mueller Report
Oversight By Scott Amey | Filed under analysis | May 09, 2019 (Illustration by POGO) Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election has been public for nearly three weeks. Since then, Members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle have debated the report’s findings, and there are many disturbing issues raised in it that Congress could continue to investigate and address legislatively.
Other Transactions: Do the Rewards Outweigh the Risks?
In addition to leaving the government at the mercy of vendors, OTAs generally are not subject to many of the federal laws and regulations governing procurement contracts that protect the government and taxpayers, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), competition requirements, the Truth in Negotiations Act, the Procurement Integrity Act, Cost Accounting Standards, audit access for examination of contractor records...
H.R. 1 and Executive Branch Conflicts of Interest
Ethics Scott Amey Testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform By Scott Amey | Filed under testimony | February 06, 2019 Scott Amey, POGO General Counsel, testifies on H.R.1 before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (Photo: CSPAN) I want to thank Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and the Committee for asking the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) to testify about executive branch ethics. I am Scott Amey, POGO’s General Counsel.
Previous Ethics Investigations Cause FEMA Nominee to Withdraw
Twelve years ago, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf States, devastating New Orleans and other portions of Louisiana, as well as Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
POGO Urges Review of Ethics Reporting Omissions by President Trump
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) shares the Office of Government Ethics’ (OGE) vision “to achieve a high level of public confidence in the integrity of executive branch programs and operations.” Since 1981, POGO has worked as a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and instances when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing.
POGO Urges Review of Ethics Reporting Omissions by President Trump
Ethics By Scott Amey | Filed under letter | August 24, 2018 Mr. Emory A.
Defense Lobbying Ban Might Drain the Pentagon Swamp
Finally, the revolving door between the Department of Defense and the private sector might be slowing down, and the taxpayers have the Senate to thank. Section 1045 of the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act strengthens lobbying prohibitions for certain Defense Department officials, which should stem the perpetual flow of government officials turning into influence-peddlers for the defense industry. The Project On government Oversight supported this Senate provision.
Unworthy Tribute: FEMA Contract Raises Disaster Preparedness Concerns
Earlier this month, a stinging Congressional letter from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) described a major, failed contract to deliver food to disaster victims in the wake of last summer’s devastating hurricanes in Puerto Rico.
B-21 Comes with a Stealth Final Price Tag
The recently announced Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B or B-21) is moving forward with one hidden feature that doesn’t make a lot of sense—its actual price tag. Despite requests by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ), the Air Force has decided against releasing the final contract value to taxpayers and it stands by its decision only to release estimates.
Pentagon Misses the Target When It Comes to Its Workforce
Defense officials can’t tell you how many contractors they employ or at what cost. Finding out is critical to personnel reform. The Pentagon is the only federal agency that has not been able to pass an audit since Congress required federal agencies to be audited nearly a quarter of a century ago. It’s not surprising, as I don’t think any senior leader inside the Defense Department even knows how many people are on the payroll of the military, civilian, and contractor workforces.
Bad Business: Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Wasted on Hiring Contractors
Need for a Special Pool of Part-Time and Full-Time Federal Employees Appendix B: Occupational Salaries and Compensation for Federal and Private Sector Employees, and Contractor Billing Rates Appendix C: Descriptions of OPM, SOC, and GSA Job and Service Titles and Codes Appendix E: Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, Appendix F of Final Report to Congress Follow the link to view a pdf of all Appendices (please note this is a large document and may have a long download...
Pentagon Misses the Target When It Comes to Its Workforce
The Pentagon is the only federal agency that has not been able to pass an audit since Congress required federal agencies to be audited nearly a quarter of a century ago. It’s not surprising, as I don’t think any senior leader inside the Defense Department even knows how many people are on the payroll of the military, civilian, and contractor workforces. Also, none of them can tell us about workforce costs and how personnel reforms could save billions of dollars.
Trump Fails to Expand Definition of Lobbyist in Ethics Order
President Trump released his ethics executive order on Saturday evening. When a candidate, he had promised to drain the swamp, issuing a five-point plan for ethics reform that detailed how he was going to do so.
The Real Ethics Test for Donald Trump Lies in This Rule
Amey is General Counsel and Brian is the Executive Director at the Project On Government Oversight Since the election, Donald Trump has been sending mixed signals on his pledge to crack down on influence peddling in Washington. On one hand, he’s floated a five-year ban on executive and congressional branch employees becoming lobbyists and a lifetime ban on certain Defense Department officials going to work for Pentagon contractors.
The U.S. Air Force Won’t Reveal How Much Its Next Bomber Really Costs
The recently announced Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B or B-21) is moving forward with one hidden feature that doesn’t make a lot of sense?—?its actual price tag. Despite requests by Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Air Force has decided against releasing the final contract value to taxpayers and it stands by its decision only to release estimates.
Bad Business: Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Wasted on Hiring Contractors
Executive Summary Based on the current public debate regarding the salary comparisons of federal and private sector employees, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) decided to take on the task of doing what others have not—comparing total annual compensation for federal and private sector employees with federal contractor billing rates in order to determine whether the current costs of federal service contracting serves the public interest.
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