The Government is Now Closed…in More Ways Than One

locked up documents

The ludicrous and wasteful government shutdown can now claim another victim: government transparency. Several functions dedicated to providing information to the American public have been declared “non-essential” and are suspended during the lapse in appropriations. You might say that open government is now closed for business.

Here are some of the ways in which the shutdown is making it harder to know what government is doing (or at least, was doing before the shutdown):

The American people deserve an effective and transparent government. This shutdown hurts matters on both counts.

Update: Data.gov is also down. The Environmental Protection Agency's FOIA shop is reportedly closed, as well.

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