A well maintained electronic record keeping system is critical for making government more open and accountable: it allows information from across the government to be understood in context and makes sure records are not lost or improperly erased. OpenTheGovernment.org works with our partners, the Administration, and Congress to develop and advocate for legislative and regulatory reforms to improve electronic records management.
The lame duck session of the 113th Congress has already acted on one open government priority-- sending a bill to the President for signature that will help speed up the release of historical White House Records -- and leaders in the Senate have taken steps to push forward legislation to reform the National Surveillance Agency's (NSA) surveillance programs and to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 sailed through the Senate on September 10th, passing by unanimous consent. The bill underwent some changes since its unanimous passage in the House in January. Those changes must be approved by the House before the bill heads to the President’s desk.
Deficient record keeping laws are an impediment to congressional oversight, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said in a letter to Congress last week.
On January 14th, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the key amendments to the Presidential Records Act and Federal Records Act. The legislation (H.R.
The latest summary of agencies' records management self-assessments by National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) shows that despite some improvement in agencies' practices and policies since the self-assessments were first instituted in 2010, most federal agencies are still at moderate-to-high risk of losing records.
In February our Executive Director took to the pages of The Hill to challenge President Obama to recommit to creating an "unprecedented level of openness in Government" during his second term. She outlined a 100-day agenda to put the US on the path to accomplishing this goal. With more than half of the 100 days gone, we thought it would be an appropriate time to look at what the government has made progress on, and what issues remain to be tackled.
Recent news that one of the two CIA employees who authorized the destruction of tapes showing the torture of CIA detainees – despite a court order to preserve them – has been placed in charge of the CIA’s clandestine service is yet another slap in the face for the rule of law and government accountability.
