Letters

Groups Support Effort to Reinforce Privacy Protections, Support Open Government, in Farm Bill

On Tuesday, June 4 we joined several of our partners and open government allies in support of an effort by Senator Cardin (D- MD) to reinforce existing privacy protections for farmers and protect the ability of the public to access government information.

06/05/2013

A Successful Fight for FOIA in the Farm Bill

Urgent action by the open government community yesterday helped keep FOIA-damaging amendments to the Farm Bill (S. 954) from reaching the floor. Senator Chuck Grassley’s nearly identical amendments 970, 1011, and 1097 would create a provision impeding the public’s right to know about the location of livestock operations, information that is important for public health and safety.

05/24/2013

Calls for Transparency for Presidential Library Fundraising

As the George W. Bush Presidential library opened last week, groups dedicated to transparency called for light to be shone on the private fundraising done to create such libraries.

04/30/2013

Openness Groups Call for Classification Reform Leadership

Thirty groups, including OpenTheGovernment.org, joined the Brennan Center for Justice in a letter calling for the White House to take the lead in security classification reform. The openness organizations called for the prompt establishment of a steering committee including White House Leadership to address overclassification.

04/30/2013

Groups to Congress: Don't Mark Up CISPA in Secret

On April 3rd, more than 40 organizations, including OpenTheGovernment.org and several of our partners and allies, joined in sending a letter to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to urge them to make the mark up of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), planned for the week of April 8 open to the public.

04/03/2013

Groups Support Bill to Make Agency Reports Accessible

More than 20 partners and other allies joined OpenTheGovernment.org in endorsing HR 1380, the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, a bill that would make the thousands of reports federal agencies are required to submit to Congress each year easily available.

04/02/2013

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

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

Dear Mr. President: Here's How to Secure Your Open Government Legacy

During last night’s State of The Union Address, President Obama pledged to be more transparent to the American people and to the world about the Administration’s policy regarding the targeting, detention, and prosecution of terrorists, saying, “I recognize that in our democracy, no one should just take my word that we're doing things the right way.” President Obama is right, but the need for greater transparency goes well beyond the Administration’s counterterrorism policies.

02/13/2013

Dear President Obama: It's Time to Define Your Open Government Legacy

In his State of the Union address, President Obama promised more transparency on counterterrorism issues, but did not address his open government legacy. Below, we outline the steps President Obama should take to honor his open government pledge.

The following letter previously appeared as a guest opinion on The Hill's Congress Blog.

02/13/2013

Press Room