Here are Tuesday’s transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

Government

• The Department of Health and Human Services released a progress report regarding its compliance with President Obama’s Open Government Directive. (RegBlog)

• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission decided not to finalize a whistleblower provision at its Tuesday meeting. (Reuters)

• A whistleblower on army psychological operations filed a lawsuit for investigation results he previously requested through FOIA. (POGO)

• Opinion: A new bill by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) would eviscerate certain whistleblower programs at the SEC and CFTC that were created as a result of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul. (POGO)

Ethics

• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called for an investigation into the House Ethics committee following a report of secretive, unethical actions taken in the committee. (Politico)

Campaign Finance

• Foreign entities spend millions of dollars to influence Washington elections every year, according to a Huffington Post report. (HuffPost) (The report cites our work on this issue from last December.)

• D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray accepted campaign contributions above the legal limit, the Washington Post reports. (The Washington Post)

Technology

• A Commons co-founder described in an interview what’s next in the technological push for open government. (GovFresh)

State and Local

• The Pew Research Center released a comprehensive review on Monday of 39 non-profit websites, including a section ranking the best state watchdog groups. (Pew)

• New Jersey Gov. Christie signed legislation that will provide greater oversight of spending for programs in urban cities and poor municipalities. (MoreMonmouthMusings)

• The Democratic Party of New Mexico criticized Secretary of State Duran for failing to follow through on Gov. Martinez’s pledge to open government and transparency. (NMDemocrats)

• Opinion: The Minnesotan Capitol should be open to the public during the government shutdown. (TC Daily Planet)

International

• Watchdog groups have given Kenyan’s open data initiative mixed reviews. (VOA News)

• The Brookings Institution suggested that Brazil is not fit to lead the Open Government Partnership. (Brookings)

• The Canadian Information Commissioner said that Canada could take a leadership role in the international open government initiative. (MetroTube)

• Opinion: Given the recent corruption, the UK should implement open government standards similar to those of Sweden. (Telegraph)

• Opinion: Ottawa’s town hall should institute a lobby registry to enhance transparency. (Ottawa Citizen)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 7/19:

House

• None.

Senate

• Consumer Financial Protection. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Full committee hearing. 10:00 am. 538 DSOB.

Relevant bills introduced:

• None.

Transparency events scheduled for 7/19:

• Kiwi Connected: What Can the U.S. Learn From New Zealand’s Broadband Plan (RSVP here). 1:00 – 2:15 pm. New America Foundation. 1899 L Street NW Suite 400. Washington, DC 20036.

• Making the Universal Service Fund Into a Universal Broadband Fund (Tickets here). 8:00 – 10:00 am. Clyde’s of Gallery Place, 707 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001.

• How Public Policy Can Enable Cloud Computing: Driving Innovation, Investment and Job Creation Beyond the Information Technology Sector (RSVP info here). 12:30 pm. B-340 RHOB.