Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is holding the FOIA Improvement Act in what amounts to a secret effort to kill the bill. But why?
Continue readingA lesson learned from the beleaguered NTIS
The National Technology Information Service once endeavored to provide a centralized and organized location for government documents. Now, its potential demise is a call for more effective information disclosure among government agencies.
Continue readingCampaign Intelligence: Mississippi race hits $17 million
The first half of primary season 2014 draws to a close with a blast of big money and a scare for two congressional veterans.
Continue readingDATA Act passes Senate, President’s desk on the horizon.
The DATA Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent this afternoon, moving it one step closer to the President's desk.
Continue readingPolitwoops 2013: the year’s top politicians and their best deletions from Twitter
As the year winds down and Washington retreats to spend the holidays with family and friends, let's look back at the many gifts politicians left for Politwoops in 2013 as they deleted messages once shared eagerly with their followers.
Continue readingHouse keeps DATA Act momentum moving
Last night the House took an important bipartisan step towards greater government transparency by passing the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, H.R. 2061 (DATA Act) on a near unanimous vote. The DATA Act will significantly improve the transparency of federal spending data, as well as make it easier to use, by instituting strong, government-wide financial data standards. It will also ensure that more, and more accurate, data is made publicly available.
Continue readingAs DATA Act Markup Looms In Senate, Groups Announce Support For Introduced Version
Today, a coalition of groups and individuals concerned with open government urged the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental... View Article
Continue readingGoodies for big givers in immigration bill
Four defense contractors that would benefit from the immigration bill are getting a big return on their lobbying and campaign finance investment.
Continue readingOversight Committee Endorses Public Access to Agency Reports to Congress
Legislation that would require virtually all agency reports to Congress be available online in one central location advanced out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday on a voice vote. The Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, originally sponsored by Rep. Mike Quigley and enjoying the bipartisan support of Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and ranking member Elijah Cummings, will need the sign-off of the Committee on House Administration before it can get a vote on the House floor. In March, 26 organizations wrote to the Oversight Committee to express their support for ACMRA.
Continue readingPublish all agency reports online – Sen. Coburn intros amendment for vote-o-rama
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) will introduce an amendment to create a publicly accessible online database containing all unclassified reports to Congress. It... View Article
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