STATEMENT
-For Immediate Release-
January 21, 2009

Contact: Brian Gumm, (202) 683-4812, bgumm@ombwatch.org

OMB Watch Commends Obama Administration for Open Government Memos, Urges Strong Follow-Through

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2009—OMB Watch today commended the Obama administration for making government openness and transparency one of its top priorities. In its first full day in office, the administration issued memos directing agencies to adhere to principles of openness and transparency and instructing the Attorney General to issue new guidelines on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that embody the spirit of open government. Three top officials were tasked with developing an Open Government Directive in the next 120 days to lay out specific actions the government should take to become more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.

"For far too long, the federal government has operated behind a veil of secrecy," said Sean Moulton, Director of Federal Information Policy at OMB Watch. "These memos from President Obama send a strong signal to officials and agencies throughout the government about the importance of transparency in the Obama administration."

OMB Watch Executive Director Gary D. Bass noted that while it's far too early to know just what the practical implications of the memos would be, the memos' importance should not be underestimated. "If the Obama administration follows through with what it has laid out in these documents," Bass said, "we'll make some significant strides toward a government that is open and responsive to the American public."

Putting forth an early policy vision on government transparency was among the top recommendations developed for the Obama administration by the 21st Century Right to Know project, which produced Moving Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda: Recommendations to President-elect Obama and Congress. OMB Watch will continue to analyze the open government memos and will monitor their implementation throughout the tenure of the Obama administration.

OMB Watch has made both memos available on its website. The government openness and transparency memo can be found at http://www.ombwatch.org/files/info/01212009govopennessmemo.pdf. The FOIA memo is located at http://www.ombwatch.org/files/info/01212009foiamemo.pdf.

# # #

OMB Watch is a nonprofit government watchdog organization dedicated to promoting government accountability, citizen participation in public policy decisions, and the use of fiscal and regulatory policy to serve the public interest.