E-Government
Center for Effective Government Supports Reintroduction of the DATA Act
May 22, 2013
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2012—The Center for Effective Government welcomed the reintroduction of a revised version of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA Act, in both the House and Senate this week. The Center for Effective Government commended Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) and Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD) for working together on this important legislation. The DATA Act will provide an unprecedented level of transparency and create critical new tools to track and analyze federal spending and hold officials accountable for their decisions.
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New Executive Order Will Improve Data Transparency
May 21, 2013
On May 9, President Obama signed Executive Order 13642, "Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information." The new policy reaffirms the administration's commitment to transparency and lays a framework for agencies to improve public access to, and use of, government data.
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Center for Effective Government Welcomes New Executive Order on Transparency
May 9, 2013
WASHINGTON, May 9, 2013— Today, President Obama signed an executive order on data and information transparency. Titled "Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information," the order was accompanied by an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo detailing the new policy and its implementation. The policy is intended to make public information more open and more easily accessible to the American people.
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Open Government Advocates Disappointed by Rollback of STOCK Act Requirements for Online Access
Apr 18, 2013
Just a year after enacting it, Congress and the president rolled back a key transparency provision of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act) instead of amending it to address concerns.
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Shortcomings in Transparency Performance Point to the Need for Reforms of Freedom of Information Act
Apr 9, 2013
The Center for Effective Government's recent analysis, Freedom of Information Act Performance, 2012: Agencies Are Processing More Requests but Redacting More Often, highlighted some troubling trends in agencies' performance in providing information to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and found wide disparities among agencies. These shortcomings show that legislation will be needed to repair the current weaknesses in the FOIA system.
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Bill Would Open Access to Agency Reports to Congress
Apr 5, 2013 by Anastasia Postnikova
The Center for Effective Government joined more than 20 allies in endorsing the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (H.R. 1380). The legislation would require the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) to post any report issued to Congress or its committees on a public website. Introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and a group of 10 bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill would improve public access to the thousands of reports that federal agencies are required to submit to Congress each year by allowing people to search, sort, and download the documents.
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Informing All Financial Customers: Consumer Protection Agency Expands Complaint Database
Mar 28, 2013 by Gavin Baker
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today that it will expand its online public database of customer complaints to include additional financial services that the bureau regulates. Previously, the database had included only complaints about credit cards. Under the new policy, the CFPB will disclose complaints it has received from consumers about mortgages, bank accounts and services, private student loans, and other consumer loans.
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2013 Sunshine Week in Review
Mar 21, 2013 by Anastasia Postnikova
For the Center for Effective Government, this year's Sunshine Week was a busy and productive time. We released two new reports and participated in several panels and events that gave us an opportunity not only to share our expertise and findings, but also to exchange ideas with other members of the open government community, government officials, and the media.
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After Four Years, Obama Delivers Policy Leadership on Transparency, but Agency Implementation Is Inconsistent
Mar 12, 2013
Four years ago, President Obama entered office offering an inspiring vision for a more open and participatory government. A new report by Center for Effective Government staff credits the Obama administration for using its first term to construct a policy foundation that could make that vision a reality. However, the actual implementation of open government policies within federal agencies has been inconsistent and sometimes weak.
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Delivering on Open Government: The Obama Administration's Unfinished Legacy
Mar 10, 2013
This report examines progress made during President Obama’s first term toward open government goals outlined in a comprehensive set of recommendations that the open government community issued in November 2008, titled Moving Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda. We examine activity in the three main areas of the 2008 report: creating an environment within government that is supportive of transparency, improving public use of government information, and reducing the secrecy related to national security issues.
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