No Taxation without Information

The idea of providing taxpayers with an itemized receipt for their income taxes was recently proposed by Third Way, a center-left think tank. The proposal, which is not entirely new, has attracted considerable commentary. However, there are significant challenges to creating a simple and engaging taxpayer receipt that would provide meaningful transparency for federal spending.

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At UN, Obama Calls for Global Transparency but Offers Few Details

On Sept. 23, President Barack Obama addressed the United Nations (UN), calling on countries to strengthen government openness. He emphasized the importance of transparency in fighting corruption and increasing civic engagement. At a world summit the day before, Obama trumpeted his administration's new global development policy, which pledges more transparency related to U.S. aid activities. However, the administration refused to release the text of the policy, and details remain sparse.

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Posting Federal Contracts Online: The Next Step in Contracting Transparency?

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on May 13 that could establish standards for posting federal contracts online. Providing the public online access to electronic copies of federal contracts could create a new level of accountability in federal procurement, but some contractors have opposed the idea, claiming it would cost too much and could reveal confidential business information.

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USAspending.gov to Increase Transparency through Subrecipient Reporting

Since it was unveiled in 2007, USAspending.gov has been a crucial portal through which the federal government makes spending data available to the public. With new guidance on subaward reporting released in August, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has taken additional steps to ensure USAspending.gov will comply with the law that created the site and will make it possible to track more of the federal spending chain.

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OMB Watch Applauds White House Move to Quickly Fill Ethics and Government Reform Roles upon Norm Eisen Departure

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2010—Today, OMB Watch joined with several other good government groups to applaud the work of Norm Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform. The groups also expressed appreciation that the White House has moved swiftly to replace Eisen, who is departing to become Ambassador to the Czech Republic.

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Simplify Choices, Disclose More to Alter Public Behavior, White House Says

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will push government to look at regulation in a new light and reassess how the choices regulators make affect the choices the public makes, according to a new memorandum sent to federal agencies.

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Wrangling over DISCLOSE Act Slows Bill Down, but Deal May Be Near in House

Some members of Congress have started to explore exempting certain nonprofits from the DISCLOSE Act, the bill developed by Democrats to respond to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. While some nonprofits are concerned about donor disclosure requirements in the bill, other groups are concerned that exemptions or changes to the bill would render the legislation ineffective. These organizations worry that without strong disclosure requirements, the bill would allow political ads sponsored by anonymous sources to flood the airwaves at election time.

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White House Issues Guidance on E-rulemaking and Paperwork Practices

On May 28, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued two memoranda to federal agencies that impact key features of the regulatory process. The memos direct agencies to change practices related to electronic rulemaking dockets and to paperwork clearances that agencies request when collecting information from the public.

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EPA is First Agency Heard on Spending Data Quality

On May 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) became the first agency to release its plan to ensure that federal spending information from the agency is current and of high quality. While the plan details the agency’s current quality procedures, it seems lacking in several areas. Data quality plans for federal spending information were mandated by the Open Government Directive (OGD), but most have not been made public.

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GAO: Recovery Act Reporting Getting Better, But Still Room for Improvement

When Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) in early 2009, the legislation's transparency provisions represented a significant step forward for government openness. While select agencies and programs have been using recipient reporting for years, the Recovery Act represented the first time such reporting had been attempted across all agencies at once and presented to the public online. Thus, bumps in the road toward transparency and accountability, including data quality problems, were inevitable. A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report shows that while there are fewer reporting errors as time passes, there is still room for improvement in both data quality and implementation details.

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