Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- White House officials, along with several members of Congress, are fighting to maintain the E-Gov fund's budget and ensure that sites such as Data.gov don't go dark. (Politico)
- Last night, at the first ever Congressional Hackathon, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) argued that Thomas.gov should be contain more data that is easily accessible by social media and third party applications. (GovFresh)
- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) are expected to release alternative legislation to counter the Stop Online Privacy Act. SOPA is supported by traditional media groups and other copyright and trademark owners, but vehemently opposed by tech companies, venture capitalists, and privacy advocates. (National Journal)
Campaign Finance
- Some vulnerable centrist Democratic Senators may have trouble raising money and support from progressive groups. This could cause headaches for the Democratic party as they try to maintain control of the Senate. (Politico)
- This time of year America is focused on two things: Football and the holidays. Lawmakers are no different and several are hosting specially themed fundraisers. (National Journal)
State and Local
- A new project, Chicago Lobbyists, helps visualize all interactions and activities between lobbyists and the city of Chicago. Its developer touts the site's potential to "inform and change people's perception of government and lobbyists". The city is cooperating with the project. (GovFresh)
- An federal district court judge has ruled that a blogger does not have the same protections, related to alleged defamatory statements, as a traditional journalist under Oregon law. The judge interpreted the law in question to exclude "internet blogs" from protected media. (techPresident)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/7/2011
Here is Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jim Webb (D-VA) are pushing the Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act. The act, modeled after data transparency provisions in the 2009 recovery act, aims to extend whistleblower protections to federal contractors. (Government Executive)
- For the first time, Massachusetts will make hundreds of boxes of documents from Mitt Romney's tenure as governor available to the public. The move comes after it was revealed that Romney authorized the destruction of many electronic records at the end of his term. (Yahoo/AP)
Lobbying
- Azerbaijan is getting some support in Washington through a new nonprofit dedicating to supporting the country. The Azerbaijan American Alliance is set to provide a counter balance to the Armenian-American Lobby. The two countries have been clashing over disputed territory since the 1990's. (The Hill)
- The revolving door is spinning this week. Notably, the House Judiciary Committee is losing its deputy chief of staff to the National Music Publishers Association and a former general counsel for the DoD's Contract Audit Agency is joining Venable's government contracts practice. (The Hill)
Campaign Finance
- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) holds an annual Festivus fundraiser. This year, a group from Occupy Wall Street aired their grievances, a major component of the Seinfeld-popularized holiday, by protesting outside the fundraiser's venue. (National Journal)
- The Majority PAC, focused on elected Senate Democrats, intends to be a major piece of the 2012 puzzle. They have a big fundraiser scheduled, featuring more than 20 Senators as headliners. (Politico)
State and Local
- The Los Angeles, CA City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution calling for the US Congress to amend the constitution to declare that money does not equal speech. The resolution is in response to the Citizens United Supreme Court Decision. (Lobby Comply)
- The Washington, DC Council took a first vote on ethics reform legislation yesterday. The bill, which has faced significant criticism, will likely be amended before a final vote sometime before the new year. (DCist)
Data released via the Open Government Directive has been put to good use
Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post. As part of its Open Government Directive, the Obama Administration took steps to... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 12/6/2011
Here is the Tuesday's take on transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Access to Information
- The United States and India teamed up in an effort to make the open data platform data.gov open source. There are currently 28 international open data platforms, the effort aims to help more countries introduce their own platforms. (O'Reilly Radar)
- Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill to allow Supreme Court proceedings to be televised. The Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts is holding a hearing on the bill today. (Roll Call $)
- Sarah Kaufman, one of the driving forces behind the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority's embrace of open data and partnerships with third party software developers, is leaving for a position at New York University. (techPresident)
- Good-government groups called for the Super Committee to retroactively embrace transparency by posting its unreleased proposals online for the public to vet. (Politico)
Lobbying
- New recordings show representatives of one of Britain's largest lobbying firms boasting about its use of "dark arts" to bury bad coverage and influence public opinion. Notably, they suggested that they could manipulate Google results to hide coverage of human rights violations. (The Independent)
- Billions of dollars worth of tax breaks and credits are set to expire this month. Lobbyists are working overtime to try and squeeze them through before the end of the year. (Politico)
Campaign Finance
- Newt Gingrich is looking to match his fundraising to his rising poll numbers. In order to compete past the early state contests Gingrich will have to raise significant funds. He is setting his sights on K street and Manhattan to achieve this goal. (New York Times)
- A Super PAC, previously dedicated to electing Herman Cain, is searching for a new candidate to support with their unlimited fundraising abilities. As long as they notify the FEC, the 9-9-9 Fund can easily support a new candidate. (Politico)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/5/2011
Here is the week's first look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Several federal agencies have recently started blogs on the Tumblr platform. Agencies with successful Tumblr blogs include the GSA, the departments of Defense and State, the Peace Corps, the National Archives, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. (Federal Computer Week)
- A new dashboard created by Expert Labs, a nonprofit, ranks 125 federal agencies based on their public engagement via Twitter. (Nextgov)
- The Obama administration launched a new dashboard to track priority infrastructure projects. (Federal Times)
State and Local
- The American Legislative Exchange Council creates model legislation that is introduced, and sometimes passed, in states around the country. ALEC does its best to hide information about its 300 corporate, think tank, and trade group members, who fund 99% of the group's yearly activities. (Business Week)
- Sacramento County, CA launched a new website in November that aims to help residents stay informed and connected with elected officials. (Government Technology)
- Maryland joined California in allowing campaign contributions via text message. Contributions are limited to $10 per message. The State Board of Elections' director hopes that the change will allow more people to give small donations. (Lobby Comply)
International
- India is asking internet companies, notably Facebook and Google, to screen user generated content and "remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content before it goes online." The companies are expected to argue that the request is unfeasible. (Yahoo/ The Atlantic)
Visualizing Similarities and Differences in the OGP Action Plans
On September 20, 2011 the Open Government Partnership launched with a series of meetings highlighting the transformative nature of open... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 12/2/2011
It's Friday! Celebrate the end of the week with a look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- At a hearing to discuss the STOCK act, experts outlined a number of ways to strengthen the bill and suggested that it might not even be necessary. They were unanimous in calling for an online searchable database of Congressional stock trades. (Roll Call $)
- Conflicting reports about the amount of money the US government spends on nuclear weapons programs have made one thing clear: the government has never been fully open about the costs associated with them. (POGO)
- Opinion: Fix government by creating a new "user interface" for it. (Wall Street Journal)
Campaign Finance
- Political groups have already spent at least $35 million on the 2012 election and related policy issues. Spending is only expected to increase as the election draws closer. (The Hill)
- Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is turning to Wall street and K street for financial help fending off Elizabeth Warren, his 2012 challenger. (iWatchNews)
- The FEC deadlocked on a question of how closely Super PACs and members of Congress are allowed to work together on campaign ads. The non-decision is likely to turn lawmakers off from coordinating too closely with outside groups on advertisements. (National Journal)
- The FEC did decide that members of Congress are not allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts on behalf of other candidates. The commission unanimously rejected a request by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to use his leadership PAC as a Super PAC. (National Journal)
Lobbying
- This week, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) expressed concern about the way federal regulators treated AT&T's efforts to merge with T-Mobile. It was revealed yesterday that Blunt's son is registered to lobby for AT&T in Missouri. (National Journal)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/1/2011
Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Campaign Finance
- Super PACs focused on electing or defeating members of Congress are starting to appear. Most notable, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) is petitioning the FEC for permission to add a Super PAC component to his leadership PAC. (Washington Post)
- Campaign finance reform groups are pushing back against an effort in the House to end public financing of presidential campaigns and terminate the Election Assistance Commission. (National Journal)
- House Democrats are preparing several campaign finance reform proposals. The are likely to face heavy opposition from Republicans, who argue that limitations on spending infringe on free speech. (The Hill)
Access to Information
- Presidential candidates and President Obama are facing scrutiny over their commitments to transparency. Many of them have touted their records, but stalled or denied access to information when it pleased them. (AP/Yahoo)
- A reporter for Gawker Media has sued the National Archives for refusing a request related to former President George W. Bush. The reporter wanted to find out who sought access to administration documents, but was denied access even though the Archives is known to have the information. (Courthouse News)
- California newspapers are sparring with state lawmakers over the media's right to information about legislative spending. Journalists claim that the state legislature routinely responds to information requests with incomplete and misleading records. (Courthouse News)
Government
- An oversight hearing focused on the 2009 stimulus revealed that easing some reporting requirements could lessen the burden on recipients of stimulus funds, but might result in more fraud and waste. (Nextgov)
- The Chairman of the board charged with overseeing $800 billion in Recovery Act spending is stepping down. Earl Devaney was credited with proactively monitoring funds as opposed to reacting to waste. He is retiring after a long career in federal oversight. (Government Executive)
2Day in #OpenGov 11/30/2011
Here is Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- The Senate released its semiannual report on salaries, expenses, and disbursements this morning. The report has been published since 1823, but today marks the first time it has been posted online. (Roll Call $)
- Despite a moratorium on earmarks, lawmakers are still trying to steer special funding to their districts. Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) will introduce legislation that aims to legally ban earmarks. (Washington Post)
- The House Ethics Committee sent a reminder, to all members of Congress and staff, that Congressional rules bar insider trading and conflicts of interest. (Roll Call $)
Lobbying
- Newt Gingrich has insisted that he did not lobby for his consulting clients. But, it appears that he connected officials with executives and promoted his clients to lawmakers. (National Journal)
- Energy Secretary Steven Chu's press secretary is moving through the revolving door to join BerlinRosen Public Affairs. (National Journal)
- Staffers for the Department of Health and Human Services and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are leaving government service to join the private sector. (The Hill)
State and Local
- The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission has had a busy year. Major staff changes and an institutional overhaul have resulted in stalled investigations and numerous delinquencies by local officials. (Lobby Comply)
2Day in #OpenGov 11/29/2011
Here is Tuesday's take on transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Campaign Finance
- This week, the House is set to vote on a bill that would end the option of public financing for Presidential campaigns. Public financing began in 1976, but has seen its popularity and participation sag in the past decade. (Washington Post)
- Politicians are gearing up for the holidays by throwing a variety of seasonally appropriate fundraisers. (National Journal)
Government
- Apache Hadoop, a piece of open source software, makes large and diverse data-sets easily available for analysis. The software is being utilized by government agencies to make sense of their data. (Federal Computer Week)
International
- Croatia's leading transparency advocate, Marko Rakar, made news last weekend by releasing all public procurement data for government spending since July 2009 in an easily searchable format. The data had been available on government websites, but in unusable formats. (techPresident)
- PdF France, a conference focused on the role of the internet in political campaigns and the disruptive power of open data for local and national governments, is scheduled for next week. (techPresident)
State and Local
- The Colorado Secretary of State has proposed a major set of changes to state campaign finance rules. Notably, the rules would limit fines for late or incomplete campaign finance reports. (Lobby Comply)
- 32 PACs and political party groups owe $40,000 worth in fines to the state of Rhode Island. (Lobby Comply)
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