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

• President Obama and House Speaker Boehner have engaged in secretive dialogue to negotiate the debt-limit crisis, with Boehner's recent meeting at the White House unpublished on his public schedule. (Yahoo News)

• Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa) criticized the hidden debt-limit negotiations for their lack of transparency. (National Journal)

• CIO Vivek Kundra appeared in a live video broadcoast to discuss wasteful federal government websites. (FCW)

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has clarified certain components of her OffTheSidelines.org website after being criticized for its use as a reelection fundraising tool. (Buffalo News)

Revolving Door

• A senior SEC official has left the commission to head up a new organization connected to the Dodd-Frank whistleblower program. (WSJ)

• Three San Diego lobbyists have left federally registered lobbyist positions to work as government aides for both Republicans and Democrats. (San Diego Reader)

Lobbying

• The American League of Lobbyists hired a new executive director, the former head of the National School Transportation Association. (The Hill)

• The powerful religious lobby is behind many political programs, but the church lobbying disclosure exemption restricts transparency. (OpenSecrets)

• TechDirt called for a response to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's intensive lobbying for passage of PROTECT IP. (TechDirt)

• Opinion: The American business lobby has corrupted democracy and has contributed to the rise of right-wing policy agendas nationwide. (Salon)

Campaign Finance

• Sunlight came out in support of a new bill in the House and Senate (see below) that would require companies to get shareholder authorization before making certain political expenditures. (Sunlight Blog)

Technology

• A report card was released on Rahm Emanuel's IT efforts during his first thirty days as governor. (GovWin)

• GovFresh interviewed Get Satisfaction CEO Wendy Lea on how technology can be used to connect government with citizens. (Gov Fresh)

• Opinion: Files no longer have a place in the digital age. Data storage should take place fully on computer systems. (O'Reilly)

Access to Information

• A district court ruled on Monday that DHS and ICE could not withhold embarrassing documents requested through FOIA. (Center for Constitutional Rights)

State and Local

• The gun lobby wields significant influence in Arizona, supported by thousands of Arizonans and constantly present at the state legislature. (The Arizona Republic)

• Ohio lawmakers introduced legislation designed to enhance transparency in policymaking after Ohioans expressed frustration with a secretive budget process. (Progress Ohio)

International

• An EU watchdog group criticized the European Commission for hiring a former EP President and a former Irish presidential candidate as political advisers. (M&C)

• UK PM David Cameron promised greater transparency to the media related to meetings that he holds. (BBC)

• India is considering measures to heavily restrict the types of industry lobbyists that can influence government. (The Economic Times)

Continue reading

Here is Wednesday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News... View Article

Continue reading

Collected by Policy Intern Jacob Hutt. Here is Tuesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government

• President Obama issued an executive order to independent regulatory agencies asking them to examine existing regulations that are ineffective or inefficient. (The Hill)
• The U.S. and Brazil will meet today to launch the International Open Government Partnership, which will encourage governments to focus on transparency, accountability, and citizen participation, among other things. (techPresident)
• Darrell Issa's experience as chairman of the House Oversight committee has thus far proved both parties' predictions for him wrong, the Washington Post reports. (The Washington Post)
• Opinion: Recent efforts at enhancing transparency in federal spending are not without their shortcomings. (Washington Business Journal)
• Opinion: The OMB should allow the National Institutes of Health to continue with their public disclosure requirements. (POGO)

Revolving Door

• The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority proposed a new rule banning former regulators from appearing as clients or testifying as experts at FINRA within one year of leaving their positions. Similar rules already exist in other SEC entities. (Bloomberg)

Lobbying

• Corporations and lobbyists donate to politicians' favorite charities in order to gain their approval, the Associated Press reports. (AP)

Ethics

• House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa sent a letter to President Obama's top lawyer on Monday questioning whether the president has been engaging in illegal campaign activity while in the White House. (Politico)
• Budget architect Rep. Paul Ryan met for dinner with two economists and the table ordered $700-worth of wine. Ryan reportedly did not pay for the wine, possibly constituting a gift-related ethics violation. (TPM)

Access to Information

• The National Archives' Wikipedian-in-residence has utilized crowd-sourcing as an innovative way to put more holdings online. His experience has proved as a model for other government agencies. (Next Gov)

State and Local

• The Oklahoma House Speaker ordered all interim legislative studies to be published online in an effort to enhance transparency. (The Norman Transcript) We'd like CRS to do the same!
• Students at the LBJ School of Public Affairs released a study describing progress towards open government in Texas. (Statesman)

International

• Opinion: In Australia, only regulating one class of lobbyists enables others to carry on without disclosure. (The National Times)

Continue reading