Transparency

October 28, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) today introduced the Mutual Fund Transparency Act of 2009 to require the disclosure of mutual fund fees and costs, strengthen the independence and governance of mutual fund boards, and impose a fiduciary duty on all investment advisors.

"Working families rely on mutual fund investments to pay for their children's education, prepare for retirement, and attain other goals," Senator Akaka said. "My legislation will ensure that investors are provided with meaningful information such as hidden broker commissions and average fees for comparable transactions to help them make informed financial decisions. It would also require the SEC to study ways to improve the financial literacy of mutual fund investors."    » read more »

Says All Facility Reviews Must Be Made Public

October 16, 2009 -- MEDIA, PA -- Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) submitted a bill to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to publish and make publicly available inspections of Veterans Administration (VA) facilities within 30 days after the completion of a review.    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter issued the following statement, after learning the House-Senate Conference Committee of the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill had added a provision exempting controversial detainee abuse photos from FOIA laws.

Last June, Rep. Slaughter led the effort to stop the White House and some members of Congress from passing a law that would make any detainee photos taken in recent years “exempt” from the Freedom of Information Act. But the measure had support in the Senate and was added in conference this week.

“I’m disappointed that this anti-Democratic provision would be added to the conference report late in the process, even after the House flatly rejected it,” Slaughter said.    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- “The PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill passed by the Judiciary Committee today falls far short of adequately protecting the rights of innocent Americans. Among the most significant problems is the failure to include an improved standard for Section 215 orders, even though a Republican controlled Judiciary Committee unanimously supported including the same standard in 2005.    » read more »

10/06/09 -- Washington, DC – Congressman Glenn Nye is committed to making government as transparent and open as possible, and on Monday he sent a letter to House leaders, urging them to guarantee that all bills are made available to the public for at least seventy-two hours before Congress votes on them.

The letter, signed by twenty-three members of the House, emphasizes the importance of bringing “ordinary Americans back into the public debate over important issues.”    » read more »

Health Care legislation would be posted online before vote occurs

Washington, Oct 7 - Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) today announced his support for a measure requiring Congress to make the final health care reform bill publicly available online 72 hours in advance of a House vote.

“This unprecedented measure will set a new standard for transparency now and in the future as Congress considers legislation similar to the scale of health care reform,” said Congressman Cuellar. “Americans want to see the final bill before we vote.”    » read more »

Pew project calls on agencies to deliver performance-driven results

Oct. 7, 2009 -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin today announced West Virginia is taking the next step toward more responsible government by operating more efficiently and transparently to deliver better services while saving money.

During a meeting of about 150 cabinet secretaries and agency leaders at the State Culture Center today, the governor reaffirmed his commitment to effective planning, budgeting and results-driven government, that is backed by a year-long project with the Pew Center on the States.    » read more »

October 5, 2009 -- The Federal Register—the 73-year-old official chronicle of White House and Executive agency activities and the public’s window on proposed changes to federal regulations—emerges today in a new 21st Century format that for the first time will allow readers to sift through, reorganize, and electronically customize its daily contents.    » read more »

September 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – In 2008 the federal government paid $530 billion to contractors, but today it was made clear that the system for tracking key information about these contracts is in need of major improvement.

The Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, led by Chairman Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and ranking member Bob Bennett (R-Utah), examined in a hearing the issues surrounding the current decentralized, cumbersome system and the plans to develop a new platform for integrating these databases.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- September 30, 2009 – On Wednesday, open government advocates from more than 40 organizations, including the Vermont Press Association and the Vermont Coalition for Open Government, presented Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy with a certificate of appreciation for his work to advance open and transparent government.

The certificate, which was presented before the start of an oversight hearing on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), recognized Leahy “for his work on behalf of open and transparent government through his modernization, defense, and oversight of the Freedom of Information Act.” (See below for photo information.)    » read more »

Inspector General’s Office Enlisted To Investigate Complaints

Sept. 29, 2009 -- HARRISBURG – A newly established hotline will help ensure accountability and transparency of Pennsylvania’s share of American Recovery and Reinvestment funds, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.

Opportunities for people to provide feedback and report suspected waste, fraud or abuse of funds have always been available on the Recovery Act Web site — www.Recovery.pa.gov. Now, an additional process is in place that goes directly to the Office of Inspector General to report any suspected illegal or irresponsible actions regarding Recovery spending.    » read more »

Office Will Work to Eliminate Waste, Fraud and Abuse in State Government; Furthers Governor’s Mission to Reduce Spending and Increase Efficiency

June 15, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced the creation of the Office of Taxpayer Accountability. As part of the Executive Chamber, the Office will have a full-time mission to save taxpayers money by lowering costs, sharing services, eliminating duplication, improving service delivery, limiting unnecessary and unfunded mandates, and attacking waste, fraud and abuse.

It will also have an ongoing focus on local government reform and implementing recommendations made by the Local Government Commission on Efficiency and Competitiveness and the Property Tax Commission    » read more »

Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces New “Waste Watcher” Feature on Governor’s Web Site

06/10/2009 --
In an effort to encourage state employees to report wasteful government practices, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced a new feature called “Waste Watchers” on his Web site at www.gov.ca.gov and his Reporting Transparency in Government Web site.

The Waste Watchers site allows state employees and other Californians to go online and report any government waste they may be aware of, either anonymously or by name. The Administration will monitor the site and investigate submissions.    » read more »

Web site to Post State Contracts, Audits of State Agencies

06/04/2009 -- Furthering the Governor’s commitment to government transparency, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed Executive Order S-08-09 and launched a new component to the Reporting Government Transparency Web site at www.reportingtransparency.ca.gov that will require all state contracts valued at $5,000 or more to be posted online.    » read more »

Legislation to Create Independent, Functional and Efficient Government Ethics Commission; One Standard Will Apply to Executive and Legislative Branches of Government

May 26, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced the introduction of sweeping ethics reform legislation that would create a truly independent, functional and efficient Government Ethics Commission to replace the existing Public Integrity Commission.    » read more »