Here is Friday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

• The Citizens United Political Action Committee is donating $10,000 to Rep. Todd Akin in an attempt to convince him to run in the Missouri Senate race. (Politico)
• Koch Industries has registered to lobby in Alberta, home of the Athabasca oil sands. (The Political Disclosure Corporation)
• A Missouri court found that a state Senate bill expanding the power of the Missouri Ethics Committee and limiting transfers between campaign committees was unconstitutional. (Lobby Comply Blog)
• Clive Johnson says that cutting funding for open government initiatives will also decrease job opportunities by making it harder for entrepreneurs to access government data. (Wired)
• An anonymous government source has confirmed that the Office of Management and Budget is preparing to take down seven websites, including data.gov and paymentaccuracy.gov, due to lack of funding. (Federal News Radio)
• House Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), says he has reviewed the documents and testimonies surrounding the accusation that DHS has withheld documents for partisan political purposes and has not found any evidence of wrongdoing. (The Hill)
• American University’s School of Communication takes a look at the politics of FOIA. (American University Investigative Reporting Workshop)
• Opinion: Former US CTO Beth Noveck says funding for open government initiatives needs to be maintained. (Huffington Post)
• Opinion: Charles Ornstein and Hagit Limor say that the Obama Administration has not delivered on rhetorical transparency promises and has at times placed more restrictions on journalists’ ability to gather information than were in place during the Bush White House. (Washington Post)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 4/1:

House:

• Ways and Means. 9:00am. Health Subcommittee and Oversight Subcommittee.  Joint hearing on the organizational structure and finances of the AARP.  Barry Rand, CEO, AARP.  1100 LHOB.
• Energy and Commerce. 11:00am. Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.  On examining the high costs and low participation in health insurance high risk pools.  Dept. witnesses.  2123 RHOB.

Senate:

• None scheduled.

Relevant bills introduced:

• None.

Transparency events scheduled for 4/1:

• The First Hundred Days: An Early Look at the 112th Congress. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 4/1. 9:00-10:30am. Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI. 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.