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A Deep Dive in the US' National Action Plan: Professionalize FOIA

The September 20, 2011 National Action Plan (Plan) included 26 concrete commitments to make progress toward 17 larger goals that reflect the spirit of the Open Government Partnership, and much of our community’s broader vision. Our recently-released evaluation of the Administration's efforts to implement the Plan found that the government met the letter of most of its commitments, but the government's efforts could more correctly be labeled as "first steps" rather than the needed "leaps forward." We hope to give you a better sense of why we came to this conclusion by taking a deeper dive into the evaluation of the government's efforts for a few of these commitments. First up: Professionalize FOIA.

03/26/2013

FOIA is Looking Great...Through DOJ's Rose-Colored Glasses

Anyone walking out of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Sunshine Week celebration on March 11 with no previous exposure to the FOIA system would have thought the process is working better for requesters than ever. Records are released 94% of the time; backlogs are down; agencies are using technology to help them process requests faster. These happy stories do not represent the reality for many requesters, however.

03/22/2013

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Marks Up Sunshine Week Legislation - Video Available

Starting at 10 am on Tuesday, March 20, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked up a number of bills that would help make the federal government more open and accountable. Watch a recorded version of the webcast HERE and Read More for our take on some of the bills.

03/20/2013

What to Watch: Sunshine Legislation

Sunshine Week has grown from a day of freedom of information commemoration to a week-long celebration of government openness, and the public’s right-to-know. The Congress and agencies have also gotten in on the action, and the spirit of the week brought several legislative proposals to the table.

03/19/2013

Groups: House Cyber Bill Threatens Right to Know

Protecting our nation's cyber systems does not have to come at the cost of transparency and accountability is the message of 35 organizations that joined OpenTheGovernment.org last week on a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Select Permanent Committee on Intelligence.

03/19/2013

Growing Open Government with the Open Government Partnership: A Graphic

Explore our process using your arrow keys!

Read the full report here.

03/12/2013

OpenTheGovernment.org’s Sunshine Week Event on March 15

Sunshine Week 2013 will take place March 10th to 16th, throughout Washington, DC, and across the United States. On Friday, March 15th, OpenTheGovernment.org and the First Amendment Center will host a Sunshine Week celebration of National Freedom of Information Day at the Newseum in Washington, DC. Download the agenda HERE.

03/09/2013

Groups to FDA: Make FOIA Process More Accountable

On Tuesday, March 8 OpenTheGovernment.org and 16 other organizations dedicated to openness and accountability filed a comment on a public petition urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to you revoke the its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) “deletions policy.” Public Citizen originally filed the petition in September 2012.

03/08/2013

When Agencies Get It Right: Highlighting Best Openness Practices

OpenTheGovernment.org and our coalition partners spend a great deal of time highlighting what the government can do better to further openness and enhance accountability. But even as we often make note of the negative, we frequently see agencies that are doing it right, serving as examples of innovation, openness, and transparency for their fellow agencies and colleagues.

03/07/2013

Tough Questions on FOIA, and a Call for Renewed Attention to Issues

On February 4th, 2013 the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter to the Office of Information Policy at the Department of Justice, posing some important questions regarding OIP’s role in government-wide FOIA policy implementation, compliance, and enforcement.

03/01/2013

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