
On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.736, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (ACMRA). ACMRA would... View Article
Continue readingOn Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.736, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (ACMRA). ACMRA would... View Article
Continue readingThis morning, the House Appropriations Committee's Legislative Branch Subcommittee marked up its FY 2014 funding bill, agreeing to a plan that would cut funding for Congress and legislative support agencies well below FY 2013 levels, and even beneath sequestration levels for most offices.
Committee leadership claimed that cuts were necessary to "lead by example" and help get the government's "fiscal house in order," but, in reality, the cuts will likely limit accountability, access to information, and the ability of Congress and the legislative support agencies to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. The shrinking budgets could also make it more difficult for Congress to implement a number of important transparency initiatives.
Specifically, the plan would continue several years of cuts to House operations and the Government Accountability Office that have diminished the capacity of both bodies.
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 readingThe White House's new Open Data Policy has received many accolades, but its ability to be sustained long term will depend on support from the legislative branch. Fortunately, Congress has been working on these issues for the last several years.
Continue readingSenator Tom Coburn (R-OK) will introduce an amendment to create a publicly accessible online database containing all unclassified reports to Congress. It... View Article
Continue readingLegislation that would require reports to Congress be made available online in one central location was recently reintroduced by Representatives... View Article
Continue readingAs part of Sunshine week, I had the opportunity to testify at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to share a few of Sunlight's ideas about making the executive branch more transparent. Video and text of my opening statement are below. It almost goes without saying that we're very interested in the transparency bills the Oversight Committee will be marking up this Wednesday.
Markup of a bill to make agency reports to Congress transparent did not occur as planned on Thursday after the measure... View Article
Continue readingTomorrow the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act will get its turn in the spotlight. The legislation, which would require reports... View Article
Continue readingA bill to make federal agency reports to Congress available to the public online has garnered bipartisan support in the... View Article
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