Government Openness

Transparency is a powerful tool to demonstrate to the public that the government is spending our money wisely, that government is operating in an accountable manner, and that decisions are made to ensure the safety and protection of all Americans. OMB Watch tracks and analyzes policies that affect the public's right to know and works to improve them. Our goal is to increase the quality of, access to, and use of government information.

Articles & Analysis

Agencies Make Data More Widely Available Through Data.gov

On Jan. 22, executive agencies posted hundreds of datasets onto Data.gov as required under the Open Government Directive (OGD). Many transparency advocates have lauded the administration’s efforts while at the same time raising questions about how well this first initiative under the OGD actually worked. The release of the datasets has triggered discussions about the value of the data, how individual privacy rights are protected, whether the datasets being released are new, and the quality of the data that has been released.

Bite Taken Out of Chemical Secrecy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Jan. 21 a new practice that will prevent chemical manufacturers from hiding the identities of chemicals that have been found to pose a significant risk to environmental or public health. The policy is a small step to increase the transparency of the nation's chemical laws, and it highlights both the problem of excessive secrecy and the power of the executive branch to make government more open – even without action by Congress or the courts.

Chemical Secrecy Increasing Risks to Public

Excessive secrecy prevents the public from knowing what chemicals are used in their communities and what health impacts might be associated with those substances, according to a recent analysis of government data by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG). The growing practice of concealing data alleged to be trade secrets has seemingly hobbled regulators' ability to protect the public from potential risks from thousands of chemicals.

Administration Revises Classification and Declassification Systems

On Dec. 29, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order (E.O. 13526) to prescribe a uniform system of classifying and declassifying government information. The new order was welcomed by open government advocacy groups and will go into effect on June 27.

Transparency: Change You can Trust

In 2008, we heard a lot about "change." In this 2009 year-end summary, we use another type of "change" to rate the Obama administration's transparency efforts thus far.

Open Government Directive Hits the Streets

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the long-anticipated Open Government Directive on Dec. 8. The directive, a memo from OMB Director Peter Orszag to all agency and department heads, requires that all agencies develop and implement an Open Government Plan specific to each agency.

House Moves to Give More Access for GAO, SIGTARP, and the Public

While the attention of many transparency advocates has been focused on the first round of recipient reporting under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act), the House has been working on two financial transparency measures dealing with the Federal Reserve and use of the Wall Street bailout funds.

State Governments Follow Federal Lead in Data Reporting Technology

President Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inaugural promise to lead the most transparent administration in history has had a major impact on federal information technology, which has led to new developments in data reporting at the state level. Spurred by federal requirements to report Recovery Act spending, states have created new reporting technologies and new transparency experiments.

OMB Watch Unveils Recovery Act Recipient Reports Database

On Dec. 3, OMB Watch released a beta version of a new database on FedSpending.org that gives the public improved access to and searchability of Recovery Act recipient report data. The database allows users to search more than 160,000 reports from recipients of almost $159 billion in Recovery Act contracts, grants, and loans awarded between Feb. 17 and Sept. 30.

OMB Watch Welcomes New Standard of Openness Heralded by Obama Administration's Open Government Directive

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2009—OMB Watch applauds the Obama administration's latest effort to create a more open and accountable government: the release of the Open Government Directive. The directive has been in development since the first day of the Obama administration, when the president issued a memo tasking OMB and other key officials to develop the directive.