Lots of Reform Talk but Little Action in Harrisburg, PA
By Erin Huckle -- Intern
Posted on Wed May 30, 2007 at 01:54:47 PM EST
Pennsylvania's State Legislature is taking positive steps to reform campaign finance, modify its internal rules, and expand Pennsylvania's Right-To-Know Law. Unfortunately, the Indiana Gazette Online reports that floor votes and real changes on these reform issues have been moving along at a frustratingly slow pace for months.
One of the major reforms proposed involves modifying the current Right-To-Know Law so that citizens can have access to records covering more than just accounts, contracts, minutes, or orders and decisions. If it passes, the extended Right-to-Know Law will be a significant step towards a more open political system in Pennsylvania, which is lagging far behind other states in allowing public access to government records.
All he wants for Christmas is government accountability
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Mon Nov 27, 2006 at 12:24:27 PM EST
Comptroller David Walker, head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), has, for the first time, sent Congressional leadership a detailed list of areas he believes need more (or any) oversight.
His list, drawn from years of research by the watchdog agency, is intended to give Congress "a jump-start on your planning," he said.
"We cannot afford to continue business as usual in Washington, given our current deficit and growing long-term fiscal challenges," Walker said in the letter, sent this month.
Among specific issues, such as Social Security and Medicare, Walker pinpoints the need for increased oversight of the federal contracting process across all departments and agencies.
Walker recommends that Congress require agencies to report on how they ensure that contractors "are playing appropriate roles." He also urges Congress to ensure that agencies are adequately staffed to monitor contract costs and performance, particularly at critical times, such as hurricane response and the war in Iraq.
A way to reduce pork?
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Thu Aug 17, 2006 at 05:03:46 PM EST
I came across this little tidbit on the Washington Post website today:
One legislator's "pork," of course, is another's vital public works project. But all are earmarks, those tax and spending directions added to money bills at the behest of anonymous lawmakers -- anonymous, that is, until the legislation is passed and they can boast of it to constituents.
A coalition of odd bedfellows is trying to bring more transparency to earmarking by encouraging citizens to get involved in tracking who is trying to get what money for which special interest. And all of this will be online and available to the public.
Well, that certainly sounds like a good idea. This coalition aims to create a single database of earmarks, which the public can then access and investigate on their own. Any findings will be reported back to the database, hopefully creating a one-stop-shop for seeing where our tax money is going and on which Member of Congress' initiative.
"We feel the public should get involved in appropriations when it matters -- before the legislation is passed," she said. Teachout noted that some money mandates "are wonderful earmarks," but said, "It's our money," and secrecy invites bad governing.
Well put. We'll keep you updated on anything more we learn about this project.
How's this for refreshing?
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Thu Aug 03, 2006 at 12:23:36 PM EST
We hear so much about sneaky lawmakers these days that I thought I'd share some nice refreshing quotes from a couple of Colorado politicians. This week was the filing deadline for financial disclosure statements for city employees, and they include listings of gifts and freebies received. For example, my favorite-named American mayor, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, got free U2 tickets. But what I took away from this Rocky Mountain News article is the pleasure of reading politicans speaking favorably about transparency.
Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, the mayor's spokeswoman, said Hickenlooper "feels it goes with the territory" of being an elected official.
"Mayor Hickenlooper firmly believes that transparency is vital to public trust, and public trust is vital to everything that we try to do here in city government," she said.
For gifts, such as tickets and meals, only items worth more than $25 have to be reported. But City Attorney Cole Finegan, who is also the mayor's chief of staff, listed them all...
..."I obviously overdisclosed because I listed all of the breakfasts, lunches and dinners, including those that I paid for and those under $25," he said. "But I wanted to be as open and transparent as possible."
Wow. Wouldn't it be nice to see such attitude at all levels of government, and about all issues - not just those required by law?
FOIA turns 40
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Wed Jul 05, 2006 at 04:45:07 PM EST
Thanks to USA Today for reminding us of an anniversary that otherwise would have passed us by unnoticed -- the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is turning 40!
Signed by President Lyndon Johnson on July 4, 1966, FOIA openned up non-classified executive branch records to the public. By doing so:
Congress sought to address "the mushrooming growth of government secrecy" because it believed a "democratic society requires an informed ... electorate, and the intelligence of the electorate varies as the quantity and quality of its information varies."
And it worked. The public, including public interest watchdog groups like Common Cause, has used the Freedom of Information Act to make sure the government is working in the best interests of the people. No catastrophe occurred. The government didn't collasped amid anarchy. The result has simply been a more open and trustworthy government.
Until now.
In 2005, the executive branch made 14.2 million new decisions to classify information as secret. That's nearly double the number of secrets created in 1998. Much of this increase understandably can be attributed to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and increased military and intelligence operations since 9/11. But not all of it.
The Bush Administration has issued executive order after executive order classifying things that heretofore had been available to the public via FOIA requests. Whenever people wonder how illegal wiretapping got to be a big issue, one only has to ask if the true problem doesn't lie with an administration that has closed government's doors to the people instead of openning them.
Read the full op-ed for more details, and let us know what you think on this 40th anniversary of FOIA in our Comments section.
Reform in a vacuum
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 04:39:47 PM EST
The Pennsylvania House passed a lobbyist disclosure law last week, meaning the state would no longer be the only state in the nation where lobbyists can operate in secrecy.
If only the lawmakers who passed the law held themselves to the same standard.
The legislation to regulate lobbyists and report their spending was finally brought to the floor after a four-month buildup by Speaker John Perzel, who begrudgingly offered it to placate an angry press and public.
It seems Republicans worked out the final language of the bill shortly before tossing it onto the floor for a vote and without advance public review.
Amendments that would have toughened the law were knocked out by parliamentary maneuvers, leaving the version that Republican leadership sanctioned intact.
I guess the PA House is an irony-free zone.
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