Making Government Transparent and Accountable
The Sunlight Foundation uses cutting-edge technology and ideas to make government transparent and accountable. Underlying all of our efforts is a fundamental belief that increased transparency will improve the public's confidence in government
The Sunlight Foundation Blog
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“Wiki Government” — Beth Noveck Book Presentation
All of you fortunate enough to be in New York on Monday July 20th, here’s an event that’s not to be missed. The Markle Foundation is hosting a book presentation by Beth Noveck, Deputy CTO for open government and leads President Obama’s Open Government Initiative. Beth will be speaking about her new book, Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful. I think it’s a terrific book and have made multiple copies to Sunlighters and others…That should tell you what I think of Beth and her ideas.
Here are the details:
Date: Monday, July 20, 2009
Time: 12:00 to 2:00 PM – Light Lunch will be Served
Location: The Markle Foundation
10 Rockefeller Plaza, 16th Floor
Between 48th & 49th Streets, New YorkSchedule:
12:00 PM: Welcome and introduction by Stefaan Verhulst, chief of research, Markle Foundation
12:05 PM: Beth’s presentation
1:00 PM: Q&A session, followed by book signingYou can register by following this link. Space is limited, so I’d advise acting promptly on this opportunity.
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Sunlight in Every Corner…
I just sent this out as an email to Sunlight supporters, because it’s really been a whirlwind month – and while it’s important for us all to know what’s going on, it’s also sometimes hard to keep up. I’ve been working in advocacy for years and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen so much happen in so many different arenas in such a short period of time for a cause.
When it comes to Transparency, there hasn’t been a time like the last four weeks since our movement for an open government began. As I write this:
- we’re on the verge of having two government transparency bills to rally behind in the House and Senate.
- the White House is hosting the Open Government Initiative to seek our best ideas in making government more open and participatory.
- thousands of new government data feeds are available through Data.gov (and we’re making sure technologists around the country use it with the Apps for America 2 competition).
- the Speaker of the House has required an unprecedented level of disclosure for House Member expenditures.
- people are checking out the makeover we gave the Supreme Court. (Their website that is.)
Big month! …and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. (Continue reading…)
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This Week In Transparency – June 5, 2009
Here are a few of the more interesting media mentions of Sunlight and our friends and grantees from the past week:
Late last Friday, National Public Radio ran a piece by Andrea Seabrook about the Obama administration’s “Open Government Initiative,” a three-part process to craft recommendations on open government. Seabrook quotes Ellen Miller, Sunlight’s executive director, saying the government should make it a priority to get the most important information up sooner. “And, in my mind, you got – priority data is the data that affects the public trust in its institutions. So, you know, personal financial disclosures, lobbying reports – there are many lobbying reports that are found in the Justice Department that have never seen the light of day. That is to say, they’re not online – that being the definition of light of day in the 21st century.”
The second phase of the White House’s Open Government Initiative was a “brainstorming” session where the administration invited the public to submit ideas on how to achieve and sustain an unprecedented level of openness in government. The administration then encouraged participants to vote up or down on the ideas. They received 900 submissions and 33,000 votes on various ideas. House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (Ohio) submission to require Congress to honor a 72-hour public review period before voting on major spending bills ended up as one of the most popular, receiving nearly 1,000 votes. Roll Call (subscription required) and Federal Computer Week quote from Boehner’s statement noting Sunlight’s support for the 72-hour rule.
As normal, major press outlets depended on data from the Center for Responsive Politics to expose the power and influence of big money in Washington. The Wall Street Journal reported that in the first three months of 2009, the financial industry spent $27.6 million on lobbying and made $286,000 in campaign contributions to Congressional lawmakers. One industry goal was to get Congress to amend certain financial rules. So far, The Journal reported, they’ve succeeded in loosening one key accounting regulation and are working to get ride of it altogether. The Washington Post used CRP data to show the growing influence of tech titans Google, Microsoft, AT&T and Verizon. The same article mentions that the Center for Digital Democracy wrote to the White House protesting the Obama administration’s appointment of Google’s top lobbyist to the position of deputy technology officer. “We believe no special-interest connected person should assume a position of vital importance to the country’s future,” they wrote.
(Continue reading…)
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Open Government Initiative Open for Comment
Yesterday, the Office of Science and Technology at the White House filed a request for public comment on the administration’s Open Government Initiative. You can see the Federal Register filing (the format is a bit ugly) here. The filing explains that you can make comments through e-mail or through the White House’s new Open Government site. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about making government more open and transparency, about Data.gov, or about how the administration should formulate its Open Government Directive, you should proceed and make your voice heard. The comment period is open until June 19th.
