Editing Project on Government Oversight (section)

=== Cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider ===
POGO contributed to the successful effort to cancel [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]]'s [[Superconducting Super Collider]] project, which had already lost a 1992 vote in the House of Representatives as its cost estimates ballooned from $4.4 billion to $12 billion. In June 1993, POGO publicized a Department of Energy Inspector General report it had received in draft form from a whistleblower. The Inspector General investigated $500,000 in questionable expenses over three years, including $12,000 for Christmas parties, $25,000 for catered lunches, and $21,000 for the purchase and maintenance of office plants.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-10-mn-1601-story.html  Super-Collider Perks Under Investigation : Science: Documents show costly parties and catered lunches. Officials say expenses are legal but some were inappropriate.]</ref> The report also concluded that there was inadequate documentation for $203 million in project spending, or 40% of the money spent up to that point.<ref>{{cite news |title=Energy Chief Says Accounting Problems Snag Supercollider Project (Published 1993) |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 1993 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622111537/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/01/us/energy-chief-says-accounting-problems-snag-supercollider-project.html |archive-date=2018-06-22 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/01/us/energy-chief-says-accounting-problems-snag-supercollider-project.html}}</ref>