Transparency & Accountability

OTG Applauds House Passage of Legislation Supporting Bipartisan January 6 Commission

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to oppose the commission imperils the bill in the Senate. Lisa Rosenberg, Executive Director of Open The Government issued the following statement: “The U.S. House   Read Full

May 20, 2021

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   Read Full

April 21, 2021

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   Read Full

April 8, 2021

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   Read Full

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   Read Full

April 7, 2021

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   Read Full

March 26, 2021

Coalition Urges DHS to Reverse Decision to Block Media Access at US-Mexico border

Today, Open The Government led a coalition of 14 organizations in calling on the Department of Homeland Security to grant media access to border facilities. The letter provides several reasons   Read Full

March 24, 2021

OTG Leads Broad Coalition Urging House to Pass Scientific Integrity Act; OMB to Issue Guidance on Pandemic Data

Open The Government led a coalition of science, conservation, research and accountability organizations in calling on the House to pass the Scientific Integrity Act out of the House Science, Space   Read Full

March 23, 2021

“Sick of Secrecy” Report: COVID-19 Exacerbates Agencies’ Predilection to Withhold Public Information

Secret policies, muzzled experts, delays, and records request mismanagement define the government’s pandemic response and spotlight the need for FOIA reform. Hundreds of public records requests filed by open government   Read Full

Advocates push Biden for swift action on Accountability 2021 recommendations

Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of the importance of open government and freedom of information is this week, and we are amplifying the recommendations in Accountability 2021 now and in   Read Full

March 18, 2021