Press Releases

Congress Must Reassert Check on Executive Branch After Trump Airstrike Against Iran

Statement of Lisa Rosenberg, Executive Director, Open the Government. Note: The U.S. drone strike that recently killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Iraq stirred talk of war as Iran,   Read Full

January 9, 2020

A FOIA Win: Interior’s final rule drops changes that would have stifled public requests

The Department of Interior published its final Freedom of Information Act regulations, with significant changes from proposed revisions first issued in December 2018. The changes address concerns of public interest   Read Full

October 28, 2019

Statement on passing of Congressman Cummings

Open the Government issued the following statement on the passing of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md), chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee: “Rep. Cummings was one of the greatest   Read Full

October 17, 2019

Impeachment Inquiry: A tough, but inevitable, pill for Trump given track record

More than a battle of the wills between the executive and legislative branches of our government, an impeachment inquiry is a process backed by the Constitution to hold the president   Read Full

October 4, 2019

Amazon: Fix Rekognition’s Flaws and Leave Facial Recognition Legislation to Congress

Facial Recognition Technology Regulation: A Practical Guide for Congress

After dismissing research indicating its facial recognition product ‘Rekognition’ disproportionately misidentified minorities and women, Amazon’s chief Jeff Bezos revealed the company is developing facial recognition legislation to pitch to Congress.   Read Full

September 30, 2019

New Bipartisan FOIA Bill Punches Back at Attacks

Bill will protect public access to information from private entities that do business with the government following Supreme Court decision. The new Open and Responsive Government Act of 2019, introduced   Read Full

July 23, 2019

Cut It Out: Broad Coalition Calls on Congress to Remove Provision Criminalizing Reasonable Disclosures from Intelligence Authorization Act

CIA lobby seal

New provision would allow prosecution of reporters (or anyone) who discloses identity of current or retired operatives Washington, D.C. — Pushing against a recent move by the Central Intelligence Agency   Read Full

July 9, 2019

Supreme Court’s Decision in First FOIA Case Fails to Defend the Public’s Right to Know

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 today in favor of denying the public’s access to government spending information in the Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media case that brought to fore the   Read Full

June 24, 2019

Asserting Executive Privilege Over Mueller Report Strong-Arms Congress & Fuels Controversy

Statement of Lisa Rosenberg, Executive Director, Open the Government The House Committee on the Judiciary’s requests for the full Mueller report to be released to Congress are based on transparency   Read Full

May 8, 2019

The White House Ethics Transparency Act Packs a Simple Yet Practical Punch to Secret White House Ethics Waivers

Washington, D.C. — Open the Government supports the White House Ethics Transparency Act sponsored by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md) as it goes before the House Committee on Oversight   Read Full