Public Data and Websites

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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Obama Administration Asks for Public Views on E-Rulemaking

The Obama administration is asking for feedback on its efforts to include the public in regulatory decision making. E-rulemaking allows citizens and stakeholders to comment on regulations and other government documents online, but existing challenges have limited public participation.

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Open Government Directive Experiment Wraps up July 6

On Monday, July 6, the Obama administration plans to conclude the third and final phase of its innovative online process to solicit public participation in the creation of an Open Government Directive. The process is the first of its kind for public involvement in executive branch policymaking.

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Administration Seeks Public Input on Open Government

Starting May 21, the Obama administration began to make good on the president's goal of "work[ing] together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration," as expressed in his Jan. 21 memorandum on transparency and open government.

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OMB Watch Applauds Obama Administration's Step Forward on Open Government

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2009—On Jan. 21, President Barack Obama issued a memo about the Open Government Directive. The memo gave the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) 120 days to develop recommendations for the directive. This effort has taken a slightly different direction that is encouraging collaboration and public engagement.

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CAR Coalition Materials on Recovery Act Implementation

Apr 21, 2009 by Adam Hughes*

The Coalition for an Accountable Recovery (CAR), coordinated by OMB Watch, has been hard at work monitoring the implementation of the Recovery Act. Last Friday, April 17, the coalition submitted comments on the proposed implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). OMB Watch also produced a summary of the guidance for the coalition and released it publicly on April 10.

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Stimulus Becomes Law; Implementation Begins

When President Barack Obama signed into law a $787 billion economic stimulus package on Feb. 17, he also approved an unprecedented set of transparency and oversight provisions. The law calls for the establishment of a Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to oversee the disbursement of more than $500 billion in federal cash outlays and a website to publicly track the spending.

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The Sky is Not Falling on Obama Administration Transparency

Feb 13, 2009 by Roger Strother*

The right-to-know community has raised several concerns in recent weeks about President Obama’s commitment to openness. While I would agree that some criticism is warranted, I feel that we need to be cautious not to over-react to early missteps.

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New Potential and Challenges for White House Website

President Barack Obama replaced the Bush administration's White House website at noon on Inauguration Day. The new website has been met with both applause and criticism in its first week of operation, but it offers indications of how the new president may utilize Internet technology to better inform the public.

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Five Change.gov Clues to Obama's Approach to Governing

As the Obama transition team gathers policy information and vets potential appointees, many outsiders are eager to know what the new administration will do and how it will govern. The transition website, change.gov, may hold clues to some of these questions.

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Outdated Virginia Laws Lack E-mail Transparency

County supervisors in Loudoun County, VA, recently discussed a proposal to change the state's freedom of information laws in light of a court case that seeks personal e-mails from the county board. The controversy in Virginia reflects the broader problem of distinguishing between official and personal electronic records that plagues federal and state governments.

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