Open, Accountable Government

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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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State Enforcement Too Weak to Protect the Public from Violations by Oil and Gas Producers

Sep 28, 2012 by Sophia Zeng*

States are failing to enforce oil and gas extraction rules, according to a report released Sept. 25 by Earthworks, an environmental group. The report, Breaking All the Rules, analyzes enforcement data, including well inspections, violations, enforcement actions, and penalties in six states: Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The report concluded that state inspection agencies are inadequately staffed, and inspections are arbitrarily conducted.

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New Court Decision Is a Blow to Political Spending Transparency Requirements that Were Already Being Evaded

On Sept. 18, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Van Hollen v. Federal Election Commission (Van Hollen), a lower court ruling that effectively required more disclosure of political spending. But the Court of Appeals' blow to political spending transparency is mostly a symbolic one: over the last six months, most nonprofit political advocates have found ways to skirt the disclosure requirements and keep their donors anonymous.

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New Senate Bill Would Advance Spending Transparency

The latest offering from the Senate on federal spending transparency is far less ambitious that its House counterpart, but if enacted, it would be a big win for transparency and accountability. There would still be some areas of spending transparency to be addressed in future legislation, but if the Senate's version of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) becomes law, the public will have a clearer picture of federal spending and new tools for accountability.

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EPA Proposal Missing Improvements to Water Quality Reports

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, water utilities are required to provide annual drinking water quality reports to consumers. These reports, usually attached to a customer’s water bill, contain information on any contaminants in the water, any violations of water quality standards, and sources of public drinking water. But a new proposal being considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could actually reduce public access to these water quality reports.

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OMB Watch Lauds the Introduction of DATA Act in the Senate

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2012—OMB Watch welcomed the introduction of a revised version of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA Act, in the Senate and commended Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) 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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Long Overdue Whistleblower Protections Finally Near?

Sep 20, 2012 by Gavin Baker

While the vast majority of public servants are competent and well-intentioned, problems can crop up in government (as in any large organization). To address those problems, we need strong transparency and oversight, including the courage of public servants themselves to step forward and blow the whistle. But currently, federal employees with knowledge of misconduct are discouraged from reporting it due to a lack of protections and fear of retaliation, including being fired. A whistleblower protection bill that would change this could be up for a vote in the House and Senate later today or tomorrow: the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act‎ (WPEA, S. 743).

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One Year Later, Delivering on the Commitments of the Open Government Partnership

Sept. 20 marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of the global Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the release of the U.S. National Action Plan detailing the Obama administration's commitments to strengthen transparency in the federal government. The partnership and the administration's implementation efforts have both made significant progress toward their goal of more open and responsive governments in the U.S. and worldwide.

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New Freedom of Information Guidance Advances Openness

Sep 17, 2012 by Gavin Baker

 New guidance issued Friday by the Department of Justice (DOJ) will help to ensure that a little-known part of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) will not be inappropriately used to shield agency activities from public scrutiny.

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EPA Missing an Opportunity to Improve Water Quality Reports

Sep 14, 2012 by Sofia Plagakis

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, water utilities are required to provide annual reports on the quality of the drinking water they provide to consumers. These reports, attached to a customer’s water bill, are called Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs); they contain information on potential contaminants in the water, any violations of water quality standards, and the sources of the water supply. Unfortunately, the reports are overly technical and most people have a hard time understanding if the cleanliness of their water is improving or declining.

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New Report Reviews Obama Administration Progress on Open Government

Sep 12, 2012 by Gavin Baker

The 2012 Secrecy Report, released today by OpenTheGovernment.org, shows that the Obama administration has enacted a number of constructive transparency measures.  The  administration has made important strides toward a more open and accountable government during the past four years.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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