Freedom of Information

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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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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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.

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Congress 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.

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Administration Scores a ‘Shows Improvement’ on Secrecy Report Card

Sep 7, 2010 by Sean Moulton

Today, OpenTheGovernment.org released their annual Secrecy Report card, which tracks key indicators and statistics for executive branch secrecy. The Obama administration came into office placing a high priority on transparency and collaboration, promising to be the most open and accountable administration in history. The report, which covers the first 9 months of the Obama presidency, indicates the administration made noticeable progress in several areas.

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Posting Federal Contracts Online: Let's Do It

Sep 2, 2010 by Gavin Baker

OMB Watch supports a rule to post federal contracts online.

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Waging War via PowerPoint

Aug 31, 2010 by Gavin Baker

The NATO command in Afghanistan last week fired a staff officer for publicly criticizing the military's use of Microsoft's presentation software PowerPoint.

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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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Opening 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.

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Transparency 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.

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