Open Gov't Fans Cheer Omnibus Signing
President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a $410 billion omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2009 that includes $1 million to fund for the first time an ombudsman to mediate disputes arising under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Sunshine in Government Initiative director Rick Blum called the inclusion of the provision a milestone for open government. The money will go to the Office of Government Information Services, which Congress established within the National Archives and Records Administration. "For too many years, government transparency has been in crisis," Blum said. OGIS should help end stalemates over disclosure decisions and will help agencies strengthen their responses to FOIA requests, he said.
The omnibus also included a provision to provide free access to Congress' legislative databases. Rep. Michael Honda, D-Calif., first placed a measure in the House bill directing Congress, the Library of Congress and the Government Printing Office to make its data available to the public in raw form. "This language is groundbreaking in that it supports the provision of unfiltered legislative information to the public. Instead of silo'ing the information... access to the raw data will make it easier for people to learn what their government is doing," he said. The language calls for a report to appropriators within 120 days of the release of Legislative Information System 2.0.
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