Obama and Open Government: Turning Vision into Reality
Jan 5, 2011 by Gary Bass*
On his first full day in office, President Obama promised an administration premised on transparency, participation, and collaboration. If Obama is successful in transforming government in this way, what does that mean for you?
read in fullTell the Government to Say Cheese
Oct 25, 2010 by Gavin Baker
Attempts to prevent citizens from recording the government have been rebuked in two recent cases.
read in fullAdministration Scores a ‘Shows Improvement’ on Secrecy Report Card
Sep 7, 2010 by Sean Moulton
Today, OpenTheGovernment.org released their annual Secrecy Report card, which tracks key indicators and statistics for executive branch secrecy. The Obama administration came into office placing a high priority on transparency and collaboration, promising to be the most open and accountable administration in history. The report, which covers the first 9 months of the Obama presidency, indicates the administration made noticeable progress in several areas.
read in fullWaging War via PowerPoint
Aug 31, 2010 by Gavin Baker
The NATO command in Afghanistan last week fired a staff officer for publicly criticizing the military's use of Microsoft's presentation software PowerPoint.
read in fullSenate Committee Approves Leaving Millions at Unnecessary Risk
Jul 29, 2010 by Brian Turnbaugh*
Yesterday the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) failed to take action to protect the public, instead choosing to let millions of Americans remain at unnecessary risk of chemical disasters. The committee members chose to gut a House-passed bill that would have reduced the consequences of a terrorist attack on chemical plants and water treatment facilities. The committee also refused to consider a similar bill from Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). Both the House bill and the Lautenberg bill would have protected workers and communities by driving the adoption of safer, cost effective technologies that eliminate the threat of an intentionally released cloud of poison gas from a chemical plant.
read in fullMillions Protected From Toxic Terrorism, Congress Must Act to Protect More
Mar 2, 2010 by Brian Turnbaugh*
More than 40 million Americans are no longer at risk from a poisonous cloud of gas released from a terrorist attack on water treatment plants thanks to process changes at the plants, according to data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The data, painstakingly compiled and analyzed by the Center for American Progress (CAP), reveal that 554 water treatment facilities across the country have converted to safer chemical processes since 1999. However, millions more remain at risk and the Senate is poised to take on this issue.
read in fullCongressional Action Succesful in Blocking Judicial Release of Torture Photos
Nov 30, 2009 by Roger Strother*
On Nov. 30, Congress and the President succeeded in tying the hands of the judicial system from releasing photographic evidence of American soldiers torturing detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Supreme Court today reversed a lower court ruling that the pictures must be released.
read in fullAdministration Moves to Postpone Records Declassification
Nov 30, 2009 by Roger Strother*
The Federation of American Scientists blog, Secrecy News, revealed early last week that a revised draft of an executive order on the classification of national security information was circulated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in mid-November. Despite consulting with the open government community during the policy making process, the policy is rumored to be an unfortunate step backward.
Chemical Security Bills Make Progress in House
Oct 16, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*
Efforts to improve the security of chemical facilities from terrorist attack took a step forward this week as a House subcommittee passed legislation that encourages plants to switch to safer and more secure technologies. The bills – the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 and a related bill that addresses security at drinking water facilities – also require participation by plant workers in assessing vulnerabilities and creating a security plan. With no Republican support, the party-line vote in the Energy and Environment subcommittee sends the bills to the full Energy and Commerce committee for another vote, likely next week. Although the bills still lack crucial accountability measures, they represent a major improvement over the flawed and inadequate temporary security measures now in place.
read in fullA Few Additional Thoughts on the State Secrets Policy
Sep 23, 2009 by Roger Strother*
Since my initial take on the administration’s announcement this morning of a new state secrets policy, I’ve had a chance to discuss the issue with colleagues both inside and outside of OMB Watch and have decided to briefly outline what I see as both positives and negatives of the new policy. Ultimately, we feel the result is a net positive.
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