Tag Archive: Uncategorized

OpenGovernment.org: Making state legislature social

by Zubedah Nanfuka Sep 23, 2011 2:54 pm

A new initiative to track, learn and share state legislative information was hatched last year when Open Government.org launched its... View Article

Sunlight Weekly Roundup: New York Govenor Andrew Cuomo launches new website to increase transparency and emphasize citizen engagement

by Bridget Todd Sep 23, 2011 12:48 pm

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made good on his campaign promise to increase his own transparency by launching a... View Article

2Day in #OpenGov 9/23/2011

by Melanie Buck Sep 23, 2011 11:36 am

Happy Friday! Here is today's look at the week's transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Federal Spending

The GAO audit of the Federal Reserve was the first audit of the Fed's emergency lending programs, but was surprisingly under-reported in the mainstream media. A more thorough investigation of the Fed is due on October 18th. (Forbes)
The Commission on Wartime Contracting's final report, released in August, found that the government has lost between $30 and $60 billion to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan. These findings have left the government slightly unsure of how to remedy the problem. One early response came from Rep. John Tierney (D-MA), who introduced a bill to create a permanent inspector general for wartime contracting. (Federal Computer Week)
On average OPM is paying $120 million annually in payments to deceased beneficiaries. (Government Executive)

Access to Information

Executives from Solyndra, the failed solar power company that has been in the news recently for receiving large loans from the federal government, invoked their 5th Amendment right to remain silent before the House Energy Committee today. (Executive Gov)
OpentheGovernment.org released their annual open government report last week, which expands upon much of what was discussed in the 2011 Knight Open Government Survey. Topics include aggregate FOIA data, the cost of FOIA, and the renowned FOIA backlogs. (Unredacted)

Support Continues to Mount for Super Committee Transparency

by Lisa Rosenberg Sep 22, 2011 2:29 pm

Yesterday, Representatives Loebsack, Quigley and Renacci sent a Dear Colleague to their colleagues asking them to cosponsor HR 2860, the... View Article

2Day in #OpenGov 9/22/2011

by PolicyFellow Sep 22, 2011 11:24 am

Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post.

Here's Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Super Committee

Members of the Super Committee are facing a lobbying blitz as they scramble to fulfill their mandate. (New York Times)

Lobbying

Rick Perry's former chief of staff, Mike Toomey, has earned more than $17 million from his lobbying practice over the past decade. Through the same period, Toomey's lobbying clients have given more than $5 million to Perry's political campaigns. (Washington Post)
BP's PAC had taken a break from political donations in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill. In March they quietly started giving again. Fred Upton (R-Mich) is the only politician who has returned a donation since. (Politico)
Unsurprisingly, K Street is not happy with new lobbying rules proposed by the Office of Government Ethics. Trade groups are worried that the new regulations will prevent government employees from attending trade shows and conferences. (Politico)

Revolving Door

Formerly senior counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, James Wrathall, will join Sullivan & Worcester LLP as counsel. (National Journal)
Representative Pete Sessions' (R-TX) legislative director, Keagan Lenihan, will leave his post on Friday. He will start as McKesson Specialty Health's federal government relations director on October 3. (National Journal)

Ethics

Nevada Republicans have filed an ethics complaint against Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV) alleging that she used her office to promote legislation and intervene with federal regulators to help her husband's company and enrich her family. Rep. Berkley is currently running for a Senate seat in Nevada. (New York Times)

State and Local

The Philadelphia Board of Ethics has approved regulations to define lobbying activity and require lobbyists to register and report spending. The rules will likely go into effect in November. (Lobby Comply)

International

Despite more stringent rules instituted by the government after the events of Arab Spring, Saudi Arabian journalists and bloggers are hopeful for the future of open reporting in the country. New technologies have made it more difficult for authorities to stop the spread of information. (Yahoo/Reuters)

Paper or Online? GPO Pushes Electronic Docs

by Daniel Schuman Sep 21, 2011 3:31 pm

As part of an effort to reduce costs, the Government Printing Office is asking congressional offices to cancel print subscriptions... View Article

Chairman Issa on Federal Spending Transparency

by Daniel Schuman Sep 21, 2011 12:04 pm

Today Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, spoke about his vision for improving open... View Article

2Day in #OpenGov 9/21/2011

by PolicyFellow Sep 21, 2011 12:00 pm

Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post. Celebrate the week's halfway point with Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Revolving Door

The Hill has a roundup of recent moves. Notably, Dutko Grayling has hired Joanne Zurcher, a former aid to Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), and Jeff Anders, who worked for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions before becoming a lobbyist for PhRMA. (The Hill)
Tom Strickland, former chief of staff to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who was intimately involved with the Deepwater Horizon spill, will join WilmerHale, a firm defending BP. Strickland claims that his work will not involve BP. (National Journal)

Campaign Finance

Representatives John Conyers (D-MI) and Donna Edwards (D-MD) have proposed legislation that would effectively overturn the Citizens United decision. The measure would amend the constitution and permit Congress and the states to limit corporate political spending. (The Hill)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has donated $5 million to her campaign. The donation comes after revelations that a former campaign treasurer to Feinstein and many other California Democrats had committed massive acts of fraud. (Politico)

Lobbying

After finding themselves closely linked with the President Obama, Google has been working hard to build ties with the Republican party. Meanwhile, in a sign that neither party trusts them too far, Google faces the Senate Judiciary Committee antitrust subcommittee today. (Politico)

Government

The Project on Government Oversight is enthusiastic about President Obama's Open Government Partnership speech and the new U.S. National Plan on Transparency. The plan utilizes many of POGO's suggestions. (POGO)
The Energy Department's home weatherization program has been rife with waste, fraud, and abuse according to the department's Inspector General. (Yahoo/Daily Caller)