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New Freedom of Information Guidance Advances Openness
New guidance issued Friday by the Department of Justice (DOJ) will help to ensure that a little-known part of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) will not be inappropriately used to shield agency...
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Long Overdue Whistleblower Protections Finally Near?
While the vast majority of public servants are competent and well-intentioned, problems can crop up in government (as in any large organization). To address those problems, we need strong transparency...
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Progress: U.S. Aid Agencies Increase Transparency
An annual index that grades international aid organizations and agencies based on transparency was published Oct. 1. Publish What You Fund’s 2012 Aid Transparency Index and U.S. Report Card compares...
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Protecting Safe Drinking Water and Your Right to Know
On Oct. 11, OMB Watch and 14 other organizations filed comments with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), highlighting ways to strengthen the drinking water quality reports that consumers...
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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Begins Work
This morning, the long-awaited Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is holding its first public meeting. Congress created the board in 2007 to ensure privacy and civil liberties are protected...
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State and Local Governments Can Enhance Campaign Finance Transparency
I testified last week at a hearing of the District of Columbia Council about ways to strengthen campaign finance transparency. The council, which is D.C.'s legislature, is considering a number of...
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Medical Mistake Reporting System Could Make Health Care Safer
Victims of mistakes at hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies could soon have a way to report their experiences to the federal government. This new effort could make health care safer for everyone.The...
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Senate Passes Amendments to Shed Light on Contractor Misbehavior
The Senate has approved several amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), which will bring greater transparency and accountability to federal contracting. The amendments, which...
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Whistleblowers Saved the Government $3.3 Billion Last Year
Whistleblowers helped the federal government recover at least $3.3 billion in fiscal year 2012, a record high, according to a Dec. 4 announcement by the Justice Department.The funds were recovered by...
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Celebrate Public Participation on Human Rights Day
Today is Human Rights Day. This year's theme, "inclusion and the right to participate in public life," is close to our hearts here at OMB Watch.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that...
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Celebrating Sunshine Week 2013
Sunshine Week, a nationwide initiative highlighting the importance of open government and accountability, will be held this year from March 10-16. Created by journalists in 2002, Sunshine Week is...
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Informing All Financial Customers: Consumer Protection Agency Expands...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today that it will expand its online public database of customer complaints to include additional financial services that the bureau regulates....
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Reining in “Controlled Unclassified” Information: Time to Get the Job Done
The administration’s 2nd Open Government National Action Plan, released Dec. 6, includes a welcome commitment to implement the reforms laid out in President Obama’s 2010 executive order on controlled...
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Judge Rules Against "Secret Law" in Center for Effective Government Lawsuit
A federal judge ruled yesterday in favor of the Center for Effective Government, ordering the federal government to release documents we requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)....
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Administration Pledges, Again, to Update Nine-Year-Old Website Policy
Attentive readers of the administration’s 2nd Open Government National Action Plan will notice a familiar commitment related to reforming government websites.Here’s the administration’s first plan,...
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Planning Ahead to Keep Government Information Online
Related ResourcesThe Government is Now Closed…in More Ways Than OneDuring the October 2013 federal government shutdown, several important public information sources were shuttered, which weakened...
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Key Transparency Fund Survives in Spending Bill
Related ResourcesKey Transparency Fund Threatened Again in House BudgetThe House and Senate appropriations committees today released a new spending bill which contained good news for a key fund for...
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Medicare Spending Data May Be Publicly Available Under New Policy
Related ResourcesMore Transparency Could Help Fight Fraud and Strengthen MedicareOn Jan. 14, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new policy that could bring greater...
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President Promises Modest Steps toward Surveillance Transparency
Related ResourcesDisclosure of NSA Surveillance Programs Underscores Need for Increased Transparency of National Security ActivitiesIn a widely anticipated speech today, President Obama laid out his...
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Oversight Board Calls for Greater Transparency of Telephone Surveillance
Today, the independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board released its report examining the bulk collection of telephone records by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the operation of the...
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