Posts Tagged ‘Open Government’

On his first full day in office, President Barack Obama committed his administration “to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.”

 

Do you think the President has done a good job of making the federal government more open and transparent? Or has his administration failed to overcome the culture of secrecy?

March 14 – 20 is Sunshine Week – a week in which we celebrate and examine transparency in government. Join Public Citizen and open government leaders in a live online discussion this Friday to find out just how the current White House administration is doing when it comes to openness and accountability. You can sign up at www.citizen.org/building-transparency.

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Senators bought and sold by powerful private interests. Public policy cynically manipulated to rip off constituents. Flagrant abuse of the public trust and tenacious advocates battling for the public interest, despite entrenched opposition.

mrsmithNo, I’m not describing the policy battles happening in Congress today. I’m talking about the 1939 Frank Capra film starring Jimmy Stewart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. As part of DC Labor’s Whistleblower Film Series this October, Public Citizen is sponsoring a screening of this classic at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 at the Capitol Visitor Center (underground on the east side of the Capitol at First Street and East Capitol Street NE).

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Now that’s what I call having an impact! Just weeks after the New York Times ran the story about Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety making public the government documents showing the risks of driving while talking on a cell phone (regardless if the phone is hands-free), Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced he’s convening a panel of experts to deal with the distracted driving problem.

 From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Tuesday he will convene a summit of experts to figure out what to do about driver cell phone use and texting, practices that studies — and a growing number of accidents — show can be deadly.

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clunkerI’m floored at the pace with which the House of Representatives acted to dump more money into the Car Allowance Rebate System, or “cash-for-clunkers.”  Before it was even clear to me what was happening with the money, the House had taken $2 billion from a program for loan guarantees to support renewable energy.

Even stranger is how quiet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been on the performance of the program.  Dealers and auto manufacturers are waving estimates of transactions completed and fuel economy gains made through the program, but NHTSA has been on the sidelines, failing to use its data on the completed transactions to confirm or deny dealer claims. 

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The election is over, but our work has just begun.

We must roll up our sleeves to reverse some of the damaging policies enacted over the past eight years. We have a chance to make real change happen. But we need your help.

We’ve have waited so long for an administration that is willing to promote an agenda for people – not corporations. Now, we have the best opportunity in a decade to put government back on the side of the people. Join us in making our “Citizens’ Agenda” a priority in 2009 and beyond so we can:

  • Put homeowners ahead of CEOs in the massive Wall Street/auto industry bailout
  • Clean up government by breaking ties between lawmakers and big corporate dollars and lobbyists
  • Boost wages, ensure import safety and protect the environment by replacing the failed NAFTA/WTO trade model
  • Create green jobs and stabilize the economy with clean, sustainable and renewable energy
  • Ensure safety of toys, pharmaceuticals and other products
  • And more

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