Letters Signed By iSolon Begarding Open Government
January 18, 2017
61 journalism groups ask Trump administration for meeting on government access
April 26, 2016
Letter supporting the nomination of Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress.
November 9, 2015
Letter calling for greater transparency about the corporate owners of companies involved in federal procurement.
September 15, 2015
Letters to the U.S. House and U.S. Senate supporting greater transparency for contributions to presidential libraries.
August 10, 2015
Letter urging president to stop excessive controls on public information (accompanying press release dated August 11, 2015).
March 3, 2015
Letter supporting Presidential Library Donation Reform Act
October 23, 2014
Letter urging President Obama to Commit to Legislative FOIA Reforms
September 19, 2014
Letters to House and Senate party caucuses that it’s Time to Open Up Party Conference and Caucus Rules
July 29, 2014
Letter regarding the Presidential Libraries Donation Reform Act
July 8, 2014
Letter urging president to stop excessive controls on public information (accompanying press release).
April 1, 2014
Letter to chair of the FCC seeking to preserve an open Internet.
March 7, 2014
Letter to Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee leadership seeking to fund the Office of Technology Assessment.
February 24, 2014
Letter to members of Congress to amend the Freedom of Information Act to promote greater transparency and accountability.
February 18, 2014
Letter to House leadership seeking improved public access to Congressionally mandated reports.
February 6, 2014
Letter to House leadership seeking to make presidential library fundraising more transparent.
October 21, 2013
Letter to President Obama asking him to commit to curbing secret law.
April 30, 2013
Letter thanking the Office of Information Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice for providing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) information in an open, machine-readable format.
April 30, 2013
Letter to House and Senate leadership seeking greater transparency of donations to presidential libraries.
April 23, 2013
Letter to President Obama seeking security classification reform to reduce overclassification.
February 19, 2013
Letter to President Obama concerning the problems that plague government-wide implementation, compliance, and enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
November 26, 2012
Letter to U.S. Senate leaders urging delay in passing a bill without adequate public debate concerning leaks of highly classified information
July 10, 2012
Resolution supporting improved public access to Congressional Research Service reports
May 14, 2012
Letter to U.S. senators opposing undercutting the Freedom of Information Act in several cybersecurity bills
April 23, 2012
Letter to U.S. House of Representatives calling on members to support the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (“DATA Act“)
April 10, 2012
Letters to members of Congress calling for bulk access to legislative information
January 24, 2012
Letter to Department of Health and Human Services calling for overturning certain unreasonable document redactions
December 12, 2011
Letter to U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Opposing Legislation to Gut SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Programs
September 8, 2011
Letter to White House Calling for a Presidential Advisory Committee on Open Government
August 8, 2011
Letter Calling on Supercommittee to Operate Openly
June 21, 2011
Letter to U.S. House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform Praising Federal Financial Transparency Efforts
February 25, 2011
Letter to Librarian of Congress concerning public access to CRS reports
December 22, 2010
Letter to National Archives and Records Administration concerning CIA record keeping
October 20, 2010
Letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership concerning the transparency of National Transportation Safety Board
June 16, 2010
Letter to Congress asking for cosponsors on the Earmark Transparency Act
June 11, 2010
Letter supporting public access to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)
March 17, 2010
Letter supporting the Faster FOIA Act
March 16, 2010
Letter supporting public hearings on Public Online Information Act
March 9, 2010
Letter supporting strong whistleblower protections
January 22, 2010
Letter supporting transparency in healthcare legislation
January 19, 2010
Letter supporting whistleblower protections in the healthcare industry
November 3, 2009
Letter seeking greater transparency on the members and activities of health care advisory committees
October 20, 2009
Letter seeking to get Congress to post bills online 72 hours before it votes on them
October 2, 2009
Report: Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age
The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy’s Report offers 15 policy measures to help Americans meet their local information needs. The Advisory Group reviewed the report but was not asked to sign it.
September 30, 2009
Letter thanking Senator Leahy
More than 80 open government organizations and advocates signed onto a letter organized OpenTheGovernment.org thanking Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for his commitment to protecting and advancing government transparency through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
September 24, 2009
Report: U.S. Broadband Coalition
The Coalition includes prominent communications providers, high technology companies, manufacturers, consumers, labor unions, public interest groups, educators, state and local governments, utilities, content creators, foundations, and other stakeholders in America’s broadband future.
August 21, 2009
Coalition led by Americans for Redistricting Reform urges the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the redistricting reform bill
A broad range of reform, business, and taxpayer organizations urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) to hold hearings on the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting (FAIR) Act (H.R. 3025). The legislation to improve the corrupted redistricting process that allows politicians to handpick the voters they will represent was introduced by Representatives John Tanner (D-TN) and Mike Castle (R-DE) last month. The reform groups calling for hearings include the Campaign Legal Center, Committee for Economic Development, Common Cause, FairVote, iSolon, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, National Taxpayers Union, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG.
May 18, 2009
Coalition led by OpenTheGovernment.org and OMB Watch seeks open process for developing the Open Government Directive
More than 60 open government organizations and advocates signed onto a letter organized by OpenTheGovernment.org and OMB Watch calling on the Obama administration to announce a formal process for public input on developing the Open Government Directive, and to make all comments received while developing the recommendations publicly available.
April 17, 2009
OpenTheGovernment.org was joined by 16 openness and good government advocates, including several coalition partners, in a letter in response to a recent request for input (RFI) on alternative models for Presidential libraries from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The letter asks NARA to take full account of the effect any alternative model may have on the public’s ability to gain access to important historical documents and on NARA’s obligation to provide the public with timely access to important historical documents.
February 24, 2009
OpenTheGovernment.org, Coalition Partners, Urge Congress to Put Spending Bills Online before Voting
OpenTheGovernment.org was joined by more than 20 openness and good government advocates, including several coalition partners, in sending a letter to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee urging them to place all upcoming spending bills online, in a usable (preferably machine-readable), format. The letter notes the public can be confident Members of Congress are being good stewards of government programs and taxpayer funds only if spending bills are developed in as transparent a way as possible and and each spending bill is posted online at least 72 hours before it is brought up for consideration.
July 10, 2008
OpenTheGovernment.org and 24 Organizations Write to Support Passage of H.R. 5811, the Electronic Message Preservation Act
A coalition of 23 organizations wrote a letter to Representative Henry Waxman, Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, supporting passage of H.R. 5811, the Electronic Message Preservation Act. The bill directs the Archivist of the United States to establish standards for the capture, management, and preservation of White House e-mails and other electronic communications and to issue regulations requiring agencies to preserve electronic communications in an electronic format.
July 10, 2008
OpenTheGovernment.org and 29 open government advocates endorse S. 2746, the OPEN FOIA Act
Twenty-nine organizations and open government advocates (including several coalition partners) wrote a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary endorsing S. 2746, the OPEN FOIA Act. The bill will give members of the public and open government advocates the tools they need to find, analyze and challenge FOIA exemptions that are tucked into inconspicuous provisions buried deep in proposed legislation.
April 29, 2008
19 Groups Join OpenTheGovernment.org in Urging Continuation of Snapshots of Federal Web Sites
A coalition of 19 organizations wrote to the Archivist of the United States to protest the National Archives’ decision to not capture and preserve a “snapshot” of government web pages at the end of the current Administration. The groups asked the Archivist to rescind the decision.
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