2Day in #OpenGov 9/20/2011

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Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post.

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

News Roundup:

Open Government Partnership

  • The global Open Government Partnership will launch today in New York. President Obama and 7 other heads of state will announce their action plans for promoting open government at the UN. Follow along with a liveblog. (O’Reilly Radar)
  • Google is hosting The Power of Open: A Global Discussion at their New York offices as part of the launch. The event will be streamed live. (techPresident)
  • The UK may tie future international aid funding to transparency measures. The plan, which British officials will present as part of their commitment to the Open Government Partnership, would withhold aid from countries that fail to detail how international funds are spent. (Yahoo/AP)
Government
  • Late last week the White House released a status report on its open government initiative. The report attempts to counter criticism while touting the Obama administration’s progress on its transparency goals. (nextgov) Proposed budget cuts could provide serious setbacks to government transparency efforts, however. (iwatchnews)
Lobbying
  • The retail industry is planning to beef up its lobbying operations in Washington. The National Retail Federation has upped its budget by $10 million and hired new government relations and communications staff to bolster their efforts. (WSJ $)
Ethics
  • The Republican National Lawyers Association has filed an ethics complaint against Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), chair of the Democratic National Committee. The complaint was filed in response to a video released by the DNC last week that the RNLA believes violated House ethics rules. (Yahoo/Daily Caller)
State and Local
  • Philadelphia has partnered with private firms, not-for-profits, universities, and other partners on Open Data Philly. The website, operated through a public-private partnership, is part of a wider effort to release municipal data-sets in open, developer friendly formats. (govfresh)
International
  • Six independent filmmakers with ties to the BBC have been detained in Iran. According to Iranian state television the filmmakers were arrested for providing BBC Persian with negative news reports about Iran and its government. (Yahoo/AP)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 9/20:

House

  • Rules. EPA Regulatory Analysis Transparency. H-313 Capitol. Tues. 9/20, 5:00pm. Full committee hearing.
Senate
  • Finance. Incentives for Innovation Through Tax Reform. 215 DSOB. Tues. 9/20, 10:00am. Full committee hearing.
  • Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Intelligence Community Contractors. 342 DSOB. Tues. 9/20, 9:30am. Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia Subcommittee Hearing.

Relevant bills introduced:

  • None

Transparency events scheduled for 9/20:

Tuesday

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