tpp backgrounder - transparency

8/4/2019 TPP Backgrounder - Transparency

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Transparency - A History

There have typically been four approaches to transparency in the last 50

years. These are:

- Campaign Finance

- Social Media / Technology / Appealing to officials

- Proactive Disclosure / Systematic transparency

- FOIA / Public Records

The first approach to transparency came after the Nixon impeachment. This

was the federal information act. A large amount of the states then enacted

their own versions of FOIA laws, some as late as the 90's.

The second approach was the disclosure of campaign finance. This

movement was largely rooted in the liberal movement, many believing that

big corporations were buying votes. Some of the major organizations looking

at this was the US PIRG foundation (launched in the 1970's) and later the

Sunlight Foundation, MapLight and many other groups.

The idea of proactive disclosure took root in

2007, with the launch of USAspending.gov

and the Missouri Accountability Portal. This

view of transparency is much more

in line with the libertarian

philosophy. It provides raw data

about the government to the

masses. It makes it easier,

cheaper and faster for a citizen to

become a watchdog. You don't

have to be a reporter, you don'thave to ask the government for

permission, and you dont have to pay heavy fees for public recordsthe

information is there for you.

In 2008, Sunshine Review.org launched to rate government websites

according to the idea of proactive disclosure. It took 10 essential items, both

Sunshine Review WebsiteTransparency Grades 2011


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- Sunshine Reviews evaluations found that states were most reluctant

to provide complete information on government-funded lobbying (44

states did not fully comply) and for public records (31 states did not

fully comply).

-Forty states transparency websites now provide checkbook-levelinformation on government spending, along with some way to search

the website.

- According to the US PIRG report 9 states are leading in transparency,

31 are emerging and 10 others are lagging.

- Few states disclose comprehensive information about government

contracts.

- About only the states allow data sets to

be downloaded

- Only 26 states include

financial information prior to

the 2009 fiscal year.

- Only 14 states provide any

information on local

government spending

- 91 percent of Americans

believe state officials have a

responsibility to provide

financial information to the public

and 30 percent actively search government websites for the

information.

- According to the Association of Government Accountants 48 percent of

people are either not very satisfied or not at all satisfied with the

financial management information they have access to.

- Texas saved $4.8 million by eliminating wasteful spending after the

launch of the portal. South Dakota saved $19M after a reporterdiscovered redundancies.

- Texas was able to accept lower contract bids, saving the state $48.2M

- Massachusetts saved $3M from its transparency portal by eliminating

paper and postage costs associated with public records requests.

US PIRG Grades


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- Utah State Office of Education and Utah Tax Commission saved

$15,000 annually after launching the transparency portal.

- Open records requests were reduced by one third in South Carolina.

- Kentucky estimates that 40 percent of admin costs will be eliminated

due to their website, and

open records request will be

cut by 10 percent.

- These transparency portals

are usually relatively cheap

and cost anywhere from

$15,000 to $300,000 at a

state level.

- The three largest obstacles

cited by governments for

transparency portals are

budget, coordination with

multiple government

entities, and dealing with

old accounting systems.

- For financial transparency, US PIRG rated Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana,

Texas, and Kentucky as leaders in the Transparency 2.0 movement.

What can you do for government proactive disclosure?

There are a few things you can do to support proactive disclosure at a state

and local level. The first is make your government aware of Sunshine

Review. Sunshine Review is a wiki, which means any one can use the

website to rate their government according to our checklist. Rate your local

government entity, and perhaps also their rival. Do they stack up? Let them

know at the next open meeting.

If your local officials are friendly to transparency, or should be, we have

sample legislation drafted that would enact our transparency checklist.

Weve called this the Sunshine Standard and it would enact systematic

transparency at the state and local level. You can find the sample legislation

at SunshineStandard.org. Sunshine Standard and Sunshine Review have
http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/


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more ways listed to help you get past roadblocks when presenting the idea of

transparency to your local government. Check out both websites for

resources.

What politicians have to say about transparency

We have seen a decline in FOIA request after building our transparency

portal. IN Auditor, Tim Berry

"Going forward, anytime the American people want to know something that I

or a former president wants to withhold, we will have to consult with the

Attorney General and the white house counsel, whose business it is to ensure

compliance with the rule of law. Information will not be withheld just because

I say so; it will be withheld because a separate authority believes my request

is well-grounded in the Constitution. Let me say it as simply as I can:transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency,"-

President Obama

In our recovery package we put new standards of accountability and

transparency, which we hope will now apply. - Nancy Pelosi

The Obama administration has now taken exactly the same position as the

Bush administration. I don't see how you can keep people from knowing who

visits the White House and adhere to a policy of openness and transparency.-Anne Weismann

We do not have a functioning market in the true sense of the word in health

care. That's a layer of transparency that's sorely needed in America. - Paul

Ryan

"At the end of the day, Boehner believes sunshine and transparency is the

single most effective safeguard against political mischief and corruption, and

he'll continue to push for more disclosure and transparency. Don Seymour

"I recently submitted an idea on www.americaspeakingout.org to promote

transparency in the long-term spending obligations of our government. -

Michelle Bachmann
http://www.americaspeakingout.org/http://www.americaspeakingout.org/


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I was disappointed to hear that for a third time, the Congressional Oversight

Panel has rejected a motion to improve the Panels transparency and

accountability measures. In fact, I find it ironic that a panel created to provide

oversight is rejecting oversight of its own operations, said Congresswoman

Bachmann. The public outrage against TARP was, and still is, undeniable,

and the taxpayers footing the bill for this program deserve to have access to

all the oversight resources available. - Michelle Bachmann

"Folks in this state have a right to know what we're doing in their name every

day. - Chris Christie

"Government needs to be transparent. The more transparent that

government is, the better off we all are." - Gary Johnson

"The idea of transparency is something that I believe in, and something that I

made - made state government open to the citizens of New Mexico. The

President of the United States, let's open the books up. Let's make this as

transparent as possible. There's no magic in these decisions." - Gary Johnson

"We have a judicial system that works pretty well if we actually use it and

make sure all have access to it. This case is no exception. If the facts and the

evidence cant stand the light of day, then we have a much bigger problem

than WikiLeaks. Its a problem that that involves a lack of transparency, too

much secrecy, and a general disregard of civil liberties." - Gary Johnson

"How can lawmakers possibly do that without reasonable time allotted? This

has long been a concern of mine, and for this reason I have reintroduced The

Sunlight Rule. (H.RES 63) This proposed rule stipulates that no piece of

legislation can be brought before the House of Representatives for a vote

unless it has been available to members and staff to read for at least tendays. Any amendments must be available for at least 72 hours before a vote.

The Sunlight Rule provides the American people the opportunity to be

involved in enforcing congressional rules by allowing citizens to move for

censure of any Representative who votes for a bill brought to the floor in

violation of this act." - Ron Paul


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The conduct of the Fed and the operations of its lending facilities, especially

during the most critical periods of the financial crisis, require intensive

oversight and the utmost transparency. - Ron Paul

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