Last week, our good friends at the Project on Government Oversight released a new report that chronicled cronyism in grant making in the Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice.

The POGO report focused on the Byrne Discretionary Grant Program and found that 13 Byrne Discretionary Grants were awarded “without evaluating them through the peer review process,” and that “at least two of those grants appear to involve conflicts of interest between the grantee and DOJ appointees.”

In response to this eye opening report, a House Appropriations committee just this morning approved, by voice vote, an amendment by Chairman Obey (D-WI) to require the Department of Justice to follow a peer review process when making grants.