In years past, we have celebrated or analyzed the transparency, ethics, and money-in-politics themes from State of the Union addresses.... View Article
Continue readingKey players in immigration debate have support of special interests
President Obama’s State of the Union speech last night set the stage for today’s Senate hearing, where the Judiciary Committee is poised to take on comprehensive immigration reform, in an attempt to balance a path for legalization for the 11 million undocumented people presently in the country with the need to secure the U.S. border.
The post election number crunching made it imperative for Democrats and Republicans alike to work together bringing the immigration discussion back into the daylight after it’s been on the back burner since the last failed push in 2007. Late in January ...
Continue readingThe Long Tail of Small American Cities is Really, Really Long
As we started thinking about how to approach cities across the US, we had to think about where to focus... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 2/13/2013
NEWS ROUNDUP:
- Former Representative Gabby Giffords is staffing her PAC, Americans for Responsible Solutions, with some top Democratic names. In addition to former members of her personal staff, Giffords has looked to EMILY's List, and a number of top strategists for help. (Roll Call)
- As they try to recover from the rubble of the economic collapse and their government bailout, General Motors and Chrysler are rebuilding their once-potent lobbying operations. Both have spent more than $5 million a year since 2011 to influence the government that saved them. (Politico $)
- Recently retired House Parliamentarian John Sullivan is taking a job in Google's Washington office. Sullivan, who worked in the parliamentarians office for 25 years, will serve as a policy counsel. (Politico)
- Al Jazeera America, which recently made waves by buying Al Gore's Current TV, is tuning into the lobbying game. They recently hired lobbying firm DLA Piper. (The Hill)
- A group of GPS companies, including Deere, Garmin, and Trimble, are launching the GPS Innovation Alliance this week. The group grew out of efforts to defeat wireless startup LightSquared and will lobby on a range of issues. (The Hill)
- During last night's State of the Union address, President Obama promised more transparency in the way that his administration handles counter-terrorism operations. (Huffington Post)
2014 attack ads start already
It's never too early for an attack ad, apparently. The 113th Congress is barely a month old and the National Republican Congressional Committee already is beginning to lay the groundwork for Election 2014, pouncing on a recent report that newly-elected Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., failed to pay nearly $11,000 in property taxes.
The ad, so far airing just on the Internet, is not the NRCC's only hit against a Democrat likely facing tough competition two years from now. Less than two weeks ago, the GOP campaign committee also pumped out an ad against freshman Rep. Patrick ...
Continue readingState of the Union: What Twoops May Come?
In a few hours, President Obama will deliver the annual State of the Union address to update Congress and the public on his administration's priorities. In addition to the usual contest of claps and ovations v. frowns and silence, there are sure to be many reactions across social media.
Continue readingLearning why transparency matters: a new Sunlight Foundation research project
We have so far been fortunate that most people intuitively grasp the value of technology-driven openness and transparency, and as a result, an impressive range of NGOs and governments around the world are building on the basic understanding that “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” (Justice Brandeis’ aphorism that gave the Sunlight Foundation its name). For example, as of this writing, 58 countries have signed onto the Open Government Partnership. But the quick-to-grasp nature of transparency’s potential has its dangers: 1) that we cease asking questions about it because it has become an article of faith; and 2) that, as strong advocates for the cause, we begin to oversell its potential (and thus undermine its genuine contributions). This year, we are kicking off an attempt to both clarify and test our understandings of what transparency can do. Thanks to support from Google.org, we at Sunlight are embarking on a research project to evaluate the impacts of technology-driven transparency policies around the world. We plan to conduct a series of case studies.
Continue readingThree Ideas to Open the Executive Branch
Tonight, President Obama will deliver the State of the Union Address to Congress. He is expected to urge the Legislative branch to take action on guns, immigration, climate change and a laundry list of other issues. In order to make progress on the major questions of the day, the President will have to negotiate and compromise with Congress. But, that doesn't mean he can't make progress through other means. A few weeks ago, the Advisory Committee on Transparency heard three ideas that President Obama could consider implementing right away to make the Executive branch more open and transparent. Read on for the videos.
Continue readingWhat big donors would like to hear in the State of the Union
Though we can't predict the rhetorical tropes--not the thematic structure or the memorable lines or phrases that will fall flat--a look at the world of influence might tell us some of the issues President Barack Obama will touch on in his fourth State of the Union address. If a part of politics is rewarding your friends while giving your opponents good government, then the 2012 contest--which featured history's first billion-dollar presidential campaign (Obama's), first billion-dollar-plus outside spending campaign, plus oodles of special interest cash flowing to congressional candidates--leaves a lot of ground to cover.
Sunlight combed through ...
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 2/12/2013
NEWS ROUNDUP:
- President Obama had a mixed record on transparency and accountability issues during his first four years, according to a number of experts and watchdogs. The President set a high bar in the dawning days of his administration that he did not always reach. (ProPublica)
- Haiti recently held the first hackathon ever created by and for Haitians. The event drew students, an international team of technologists, and a members of a women's group that works with survivors of gender-based violence. (Tech President)
- A government study on the Political Intelligence industry that was authorized by the STOCK Act is due out by April 4th. Some fear that the report might lead to legislation regulating the industry. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has already expressed interest in introducing a bill. (The Hill)
- The Project on Government Oversight outlines the revolving door between the SEC and industry in a new report that looks at disclosure statements filed between 2001 and 2010. During that time more than 400 former SEC employees filed nearly 2,000 statements indicating their intent to contact the SEC. (Government Executive, POGO)
- A recent report by the National Academy of Public Administration urges the GPO to "reboot" for the digital age. According to the report, the GPO needs to focus on matters critical to digital publishing including formats, metadata, authentication, cataloging, public access, and more. (Fierce Government)
- A new draft of data protection legislation being considered in Europe includes language taken directly from American and European corporations. The language was discovered by a LobbyPlag, a watchdog project that looks for connections between legislative language and proposals pushed by interest groups. (ArsTechnica)
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