Sunlight Foundation

04.05.11— The Hill newspaper reports the latest on POIA: Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill Monday that would require the federal government to post all publicly available information online in user-friendly formats. Every day, 78 percent of American adults use the internet. It’s become our first stop for news and research. Our government needs to catch up,” Israel said. “People across the country – from scholars to school children – should be able to see any public government information from the convenience of their computer. Public should mean online."

04.01.11— March 18—Every day, the federal government releases vast amounts of useful information about every aspect of our nation and how government works. This public information has a deep impact on almost every aspect of American life. Some of it can be used to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, or have a profound effect on health, economic development and commerce. The problem is, much of this government information is too often hard to find, difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful formats, and available in only a few locations.

04.01.11— March 12—The computer has become the first stop for many of us when looking for the answers to a question. We turn to the Internet to find a store or a restaurant, a phone number, directions and updates from friends. Yet, when it comes to finding information about our own government, public records are commonly not available online except, of course, if they are coming from WikiLeaks. Often, to access documents from state agencies, we must go in person, submit a records request by hand or mail, and wait 10 days or longer for a reply.

04.01.11— March 17—Every day, the federal government releases vast amounts of useful information about every aspect of our nation and how government works. This public information has a deep impact on almost every aspect of American life. Some of it can be used to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, or have a profound effect on health, economic development and commerce. The problem is, too often, much of this government information is hard to find, difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful formats and available in only a few locations.

04.01.11— March 18, 2010—Every day, the federal government releases vast amounts of useful information about every aspect of our nation and how government works. This public information has a deep impact on almost every aspect of American life. Some of it can be used to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, or have a profound effect on health, economic development and commerce. The problem is, much of this government information is too often hard to find, difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful formats, and available in only a few locations.

Daniel Schuman writes on the Sunlight blog: "Amid immediate concerns over government transparency projects losing funding, it is important to push for the sweeping, cultural shift that Washington desperately needs. That's why we continue to advocate for the information government produces to be available online, in user friendly formats, and available to the public at no cost."

Daniel Schuman writes on the Sunlight Foundation blog, "Senator Jon Tester introduced the Public Online Information Act (POIA) last week in the U.S. Senate, joining Representative Steve Israel who introduced virtually identical legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives in March. This is good legislation that would significantly improve government transparency. I’m going to unpack what it does, how it works, and clear up some misconceptions along the way."

In May 2010, Senator Jon Tester first introduced legislation that would revolutionize how the public gains access to government information. The Public Online Information Act (POIA) requires all government-held information that is already required to be publicly available to be posted online, subject to common-sense exceptions.

This is video from the March 15, 2010 press conference announcing the introduction of the Public Online Information Act. It features Representative Steve Israel, Sunlight Foundation Executive Director Ellen Miller, and Personal Democracy Forum co-founded Andrew Rasiej.

Information from Representative Steve Israel, sponsor of the Public Online Information Act.

Summary prepared by the Office of Representative Steve Israel (D-NY)

In March 2010, a coalition of more than 25 organizations called on Congress to hold hearings on the Public Online Information Act.