Freedom of Information | Center for Effective Government

OMB Watch Lauds President Obama’s Executive Order on Controlled Unclassified Information

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2010—Today, the White House released a new executive order on controlled unclassified information (CUI) that deserves genuine praise as a simple but strong path forward in the effort to rein in the chaotic alphabet soup of unclassified information categories.

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Transparency Survey Offers Mixed Results for Federal Government

A recent transparency survey of more than 5,000 Americans found that more than three-fourths gave the government low scores (59 or lower out of 100), and only seven percent rated the government as highly transparent (a score of 80 or higher). The White House received the highest transparency score in the study, and Congress received the worst score among government entities. However, limitations of the study make any final judgment on the success or failure of the government’s transparency efforts difficult.

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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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EPA Seeks to Enhance Public Access to Chemical Data

Mountaintop The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed several changes to its regulation of chemicals that should improve the public's access to crucial information. The improved data collected under the proposed rule will help the agency and the public identify potential chemical risks and take action to manage those risks.

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Wikileaks War Documents Raise Secrecy, Security Questions

Classified documents from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, released in recent months on the whistleblower website Wikileaks, have garnered public attention and prompted widespread debate. For instance, the website's Afghan War Diary, released in late July 2010, contains thousands of classified military documents relating to the war in Afghanistan. Such leaks have raised questions about whether the information should have been released, whether the leaker and Wikileaks should face prosecution, and the military’s strategies to control information.

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Chemical Security Bills Reduce Risk, but Secrecy Weakens Program

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has introduced two related chemical facility security bills that would reduce the consequences of a catastrophic accident or terrorist attack at many of the nation's chemical plants and drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities. The legislation addresses many of the issues raised by a coalition of environmental and openness groups, but it fails to provide the accountability and transparency needed to ensure the government's chemical security program would actually make facilities and communities safe.

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Kagan's Impact on Transparency Difficult to Predict

Elena Kagan, President Obama's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, is currently undergoing her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During the hearing, she will be questioned about a wide range of legal and political issues, which may include government transparency. Kagan's arguments in several transparency-related cases as Obama's Solicitor General may offer some insight into her approach to open government. However, because she has argued those cases from the administration's perspective, her personal legal views on transparency are difficult to assess. It is, therefore, hard to predict how she may rule in transparency-related cases if confirmed as a justice.

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House Moves to Increase Oversight of Intelligence Community

On May 28, the House approved an amendment to the defense authorization bill that requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to cooperate with audits and investigations conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The measure was passed despite threats by the White House to veto what the Obama administration perceived to be an expansion of GAO authority.

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Public Online Information Act Introduced in Senate

On May 6, Sen. John Tester (D-MT) introduced the Public Online Information Act (POIA) (S. 3321) to require the federal government to post currently available public information on the Internet. Although this legislation would increase the amount of federal information that is posted online, some open government groups have concerns regarding certain provisions in the bill.

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One Small Policy Step, but One Huge Leap for Government Openness: Statement of Gary D. Bass

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2010—The Obama administration took several actions today that will likely have a lasting and positive impact on government transparency. Each federal agency announced its Open Government Plan, complemented by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy changes to reduce certain impediments to transparency and to improve both regulatory and federal spending transparency.

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