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OTG Leads Coalition of 26 Organizations & Experts in Call for Classification Reform

Today, transparency, accountability, and human rights organizations and experts called on the Biden administration to take on national security classification reform ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks in the fall. In a letter to the president, the coalition urged Biden to take on excessive national security secrecy that has sanctioned

Advocacy Groups to Biden Administration: Relaunch Ethics.gov

Today, 14 transparency and accountability organizations called on the Biden administration to fulfill a campaign promise and relaunch Ethics.gov to elevate ethics as a core value throughout the federal government. In a letter to Susan Rice, director of the Domestic Policy Council, the groups outlined several reasons why the central repository must be robust in

Beyond Accolades: Garland’s Support for Transparency Should Mark New Era at the DOJ

Attorney General Merrick Garland championed the importance of the Freedom of Information Act in a video message to employees of the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy during Sunshine Week last month. After four years of a Trump administration that trampled on the public’s access to accurate information and abused FOIA exemptions to circumvent

Virtual Briefing on the Freedom of Information Act, Challenges and Potential Fixes

OTG hosted a panel discussion on the importance of the Freedom of Information Act as a mechanism to defend our democracy and empower the public. Presenters discussed the overall records request process, how records are withheld from the public and highlighted some of the recommendations to strengthen FOIA mapped out in Accountability 2021 for the Biden administration

OTG Leads More than 30 Organizations in FOIA Advocacy Letters to Senate Judiciary and Attorney General Garland

Today, Open The Government led a coalition of more than 30 organizations urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the Freedom of Information Act, and Attorney General Merrick Garland to issue a memo on FOIA compliance to agencies. Both letters were previewed in Politico’s Transition Playbook earlier in the week. Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee

Reckoning & Repair Event: How to Empower Whistleblowers and Promote Accountability in 2021

Today, OTG and Government Accountability Project hosted a Facebook live as part of this week’s advocacy initiatives in support of the whistleblower protections mapped out in Accountability 2021 for the Biden administration and Congress. A recording of the Live is below. The Facebook Live, Reckoning & Repair: How to Empower Whistleblowers and Promote Accountability in

Free Flow of Information Throughout Government Fosters Accountability

Guest Blog by Kathryn Foxhall, veteran reporter on federal health issues. Over the last 25 to 30 years there has been a surge in entities public and private prohibiting employees from speaking to journalists without oversight from authorities, often through a public information office. Just on their face, these restrictions ban all confidential contacts. However,

OTG Coalition, Former Government Ethics Chief Calls on White House to Release Virtual Visitor Logs

Washington – Today, Open The Government led a coalition, including 13 transparency and ethics organizations, and Walter Michael Shaub Jr., the former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, in urging the White House to reverse its decision not to release visitor logs for virtual visits. In a letter to legal counsel Dana Remus, the

Open The Government and Government Accountability Project Request Investigation into Illegal HHS Gag Orders

Washington – Earlier today, Open The Government and Government Accountability Project sent a letter to the Office of Special Counsel requesting an investigation into illegal gag orders issued by the political leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last summer. Our organizations wrote: “It has come to our attention that [HHS] leadership

OTG Urges NARA to Revise Proposed Changes to Electronic Records Management Regulations

Open The Government wrote a letter to the National Archives and Records Administration raising important questions about its proposed changes to its electronic records management regulations regarding standards for digitizing permanent Federal records and disposing of original source records. The full text of the letter is below. January 28, 2021 The Honorable David S. FerrieroArchivist

OTG Announces Three New Steering Committee Members

The new additions each bring a unique background of expertise and commitment to government transparency and accountability Washington, D.C. — Open The Government welcomed Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean, John Yang, and Nick Chedli Carter as the newest additions to its Steering Committee. OTG’s Steering Committee consists of leaders from a cross-section of accountability organizations that provide strategic and tactical advice

Biden’s Ethics Plan Earns First Victory for Accountability Reform Advocates

(Washington) — By signing an executive order on ethics commitments for the executive branch on his first day in office, President Joe Biden demonstrated the importance of structural ethics reforms that protect the public interest rather than public officials’ gain. The executive order is a major victory for accountability experts from across the political spectrum, who

A reprehensible attack on our democracy

(Washington) — Open The Government released the following statement from Lisa Rosenberg, executive director, in response to the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier today: “The insurrection on Capitol Hill that prevented the Electoral College vote count is a reprehensible attack on our democracy and a serious threat to our nation. The First Amendment protects Americans’

CLC Calls for Biden Administration To Restore Government Accountability Through Ethics Reforms

This blog post from our friends at Campaign Legal Center on Accountability 2021 was originally published here. By Delaney MarscoDecember 2, 2020 Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has joined a nonpartisan coalition, Open the Government, in calling on the Biden administration to implement an agenda of robust ethics reforms. The agenda, called Accountability 2021, includes a broad

Open The Government is an inclusive, nonpartisan coalition that works to strengthen our democracy and empower the public by advancing policies that create a more open, accountable, and responsive government.