OpenTheGovernment.org Issues New Secrecy Report Card

Today, OpenTheGovernment.org released its 2009 [1]Secrecy Report Card [1].  The report makes use of most quantitative indicators currently available to compare the Obama and Bush administrations.  While it is too early to effectively compare the two administrations the report notes a slight decrease in secrecy levels during the end of the Bush administration.  Further, while the Obama administration is pursuing a promise of unprecidented openness the results are mixed.

The Secrecy Report Card has been produced by OpenTheGovernment.org on an annual basis since 2003.  OpenTheGovernment.org is a coalition of more than 70 open government advocates.  The report card discusses a wide number of secrecy issues that the Obama administration has begun to tackle in its first six months.  Included in these are: the open government directive, classification, the Freedom of Information Act, signing statements, and state secrets. 

This year’s report card also includes a section highlighting fiscal transparency efforts.  In particular, the report is critical of the differing commitments to transparency in the bailout and stimulus efforts.  According to the report, FinancialStability.gov, the public face of the bailout, lacks reports from Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and other executive branch agencies.  The public face of the stimulus, Recovery.gov, however, is a far more comprehensive site providing “information for accountability from a variety of sources.”

The report, while showing slight improvements in openness such as the reduction of FOIA backlogs and the beginning of an initiative to curb controls on information disclosure recognizes the mixed record of the Obama administration when it comes to other areas such as state secrets and increasing classified defense programs.  However, the overall tone of the report is optimistic about the administration’s current efforts to change the secrecy culture and willingness to interact with the right-to-know community.

Image by Flickr user iboy_daniel [2] used under a creative commons license.

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