Special Report: Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda: Recommendations to President-elect Obama and Congress

At the beginning of 2007, the steering committee of OpenTheGovernment.org put a spotlignt on the importance of developing recommendations for the next administration and Congress to strengthen government transparency. OMB Watch agreed to spearhead such a project and to work with the OpenTheGovernment.org coalition and others including the AALL Government Relations Office staff in fashioning recommendations for providing a new roadmap for openness in the federal government that will in turn provide greater government transparancy, accountability and usability of government information.

The resulting report “Moving Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda: Recommendations to President-elect Obama and Congress,” was delivered to President-Elect Obama’s transition team the day after the election. It includes more than 70 prioritized recommendations on issues relating to national security and secrecy, usability of government information, and how to create an environment for greater transparency. Those who are concerned and would like to make their own positions known can go to a special website established by OMB Watch and endorse the findings of the Report.