Thread by @POGOBlog

Today, POGO is releasing our Baker’s Dozen: 13 sets of policy recommendations for Congress and the White House. These recs range from issues we have championed since 1981, to a new and growing focus on equity and fairness in our justice system.

You can read all the details at the link here pogo.org/report/2021/02… or get the overview of each recommendation in the 🧵 below ⬇️

Promoting Accountability When Government Officials Commit Wrongdoing: there are a number of policies we must instate to hold law enforcement accountable and strengthen civil rights.

Strengthening Executive Branch Ethics Rules: this set of recommendations addresses the root causes of the distrust in government, so that Congress and the executive branch can begin to rebuild the people’s confidence.

Protecting Truth-Tellers Who Blow the Whistle: whistleblowers are critical in the fight against corruption, abuse, waste, and fraud. While Congress has continued to strengthen whistleblower protections, clear gaps remain--and those gaps must be closed.

Supporting Effective Independent Internal Watchdogs: Congress needs to take action to preserve the role of inspectors general and ensure that these watchdogs are able to work independently.

Ensuring Fair Administration of Justice: Congress and the Justice Department must place guardrails on the conduct of department lawyers, rein in abusive practices, and protect the fair, impartial system that is essential to our democracy.

Protecting Civil Rights and Liberties by Limiting Overbroad Surveillance: pervasive monitoring and indiscriminate police action are incompatible with democratic society. Limits must be placed on the use of technologies that pose such a grave threat to our civil liberties.

Upholding Constitutional Due Process Protections for Noncitizens: the Trump admin's hostile policies toward noncitizens should be reversed, and should be accompanied by a rigorous investigation of past rights violations and legislation to ensure a fairer immigration system.

Addressing Secret Executive Branch Legal Interpretations: DoJ's Office of Legal Counsel was established to provide legal advice to the executive branch. But it has abused that mandate. It's time for Congress and the president to mitigate the influence OLC has on our government.

Reasserting Congressional Power: there are several ways that Congress and the executive can work to restore an appropriate balance of power between the legislative and executive branches.

Empowering the People Through Government Transparency: keeping citizens informed is essential to democracy. Through numerous, common-sense FOIA reforms and more transparency from the executive branch, we can ensure that people know what their gov’t is doing.

Promoting Meaningful Transparency for Government Spending: Congress and the executive must find ways to make spending data more readily available, and also work on smarter spending decisions that are in the public interest.

Empowering Congress to Better Serve Its Constituencies: without an accountable, transparent legislative branch, our system of government cannot perform with integrity. Enacting changes will strengthen the system and increase the people’s faith and trust in their government.

Protecting the Integrity of the Judicial Branch: this is a complex issue, but we can make it relatively simple--the courts are long overdue for reforms that can help restore public confidence in the institution.

If you want to read more about the specific reforms we suggest in each of these categories, click the link below: pogo.org/report/2021/02…