As early as this fall, the U.S. government could have in place an interagency project using up-to-date technology to implement the Freedom of Information Act. New technologies could increase proactive disclosure, speed responsiveness and cut backlogs. -db From a commentary in OMB Watch, February 7, 2012. Full story
The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the False Claims Act (FCA) that allows whistleblowers to bring claims for the government to recover damages for fraud committed by government contractors. The American Civil Liberties Union, OMB Watch and the Government Accountability Project sued under the First Amendment and the public’s right to know to challenge the “seal” provision in the act that allows employees to file claims without exposing their identities to their
An analysis by OMB Watch shows that the Obama administration is gaining some traction in implementing procedures to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. -db From a press release by OMB Watch, March 16, 2011. OMB Watch Analysis Finds Obama Administration Slowly Rebuilding Government’s FOIA Performance WASHINGTON, March 16, 2011—Today, OMB Watch released an initial analysis of the Obama administration’s performance on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) implementation based on federal agency annual reports
President Barack Obama ordered government agencies to conduct more open and uniform practices in handling unclassified data subject to exemptions from full exclosure. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press November 5, 2010 By Stephen Miller President Barack Obama released an executive order Thursday calling for a more open and uniform approach to handling unclassified information that is subject to statutory exemptions from full disclosure. Critical of governmental agencies’ current “inefficient, confusing patchwork”
Transparency advocates are wondering if recent changes in Obama administration management mean that Obama is stepping back from his commitment to open government. -db NextGov August 16, 2010 By Aliya Sternstein As the Obama administration gently pushes agencies to follow their transparency plans, recent changes in key management positions at the White House have watchdog groups concerned the open government initiative could lose steam. The administration on Thursday scored agencies according to an online dashboard that