Freedom of Information
Congress “Fixes” SEC Secrecy
Sep 24, 2010 by Sean Moulton
Following last week’s hearing in the House Financial Services Committee and action by the Senate Judiciary Committee on the broad and unnecessary Freedom of Information Act exemption for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Congress moved quickly to approve legislation that will fix the controversial provisions.
read in fullCongress Looks to Reign in SECrecy
Sep 17, 2010 by Sean Moulton
Yesterday, both the Senate and House addressed Section 929I of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which granted the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) a very broad exemption to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would limit the exemption. Almost simultaneously, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to explore the issue of the need for such a broad exemption.
read in fullPosting Federal Contracts Online: Let's Do It
Sep 2, 2010 by Gavin Baker
OMB Watch supports a rule to post federal contracts online.
read in fullOpening Access to Federal Reports
Aug 13, 2010 by Gavin Baker
Each year, Congress requires thousands of reports from federal agencies, containing information on nearly every conceivable aspect of government. In fact, merely the list of those reports is over 200 pages long. But there is no organized method for the public to access those reports. A new bill would change that.
read in fullTransparency at SEC Threatened by New Financial Reform Law
Aug 3, 2010 by Brian Turnbaugh*
Open government advocates have raised serious concerns over a little-noticed provision in the new financial reform legislation that severely restricts the public's access to records held by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new provision exempts certain SEC records from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The aim of the new legislation is to increase transparency in the financial sector, but without access to enforcement records and other regulatory documents, the public loses a vital tool for holding our financial system regulators accountable.
read in fullData.gov Celebrates First Birthday with a Makeover
May 24, 2010 by Roger Strother*
The website that currently stores thousands of databases containing federal agency information received a welcome makeover last week as its first birthday present. Since its launch last year, the Data.gov has sparked a national and global movement amongst governments interested in increasing their transparency.
Public Online Information Act Introduced in Senate
May 18, 2010
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.
read in fullOne Small Policy Step, but One Huge Leap for Government Openness: Statement of Gary D. Bass
Apr 7, 2010
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.
read in fullOpen Government Day Arrives April 7
Apr 6, 2010
Several key requirements of the Open Government Directive are due on April 7, turning the day into a critical moment for government transparency. The main materials being released are specialized Open Government Plans that federal agencies are mandated to produce based on stakeholder input. There will also be a document to address federal spending transparency, as well as a review of policies that impede open government efforts.
read in fullCourt Rules Fed Must Release Bailout Recipient Names
Mar 23, 2010 by Sam Rosen-Amy
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan handed down a ruling ordering the Federal Reserve to give up the names of the financial firms that used the Fed's emergency lending window during the financial meltdown in 2008. Bloomberg News requested the names in November 2008 through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which the Fed denied. The Fed argued that releasing this data would discourage companies from using the program, as it would essentially identify which banks were in danger of failing. With its ruling, the Appeals court rejected this argument, and upheld a lower court ruling also ordering the Fed to disclose recipient names.
