What is the purpose of the Advisory Committee on Transparency?

The Advisory Committee educates policymakers on transparency-related issues, problems, and solutions and shares ideas with members of the Congressional Transparency Caucus. It hosts events to discuss important and wide-ranging transparency policy issues with experts from a variety of backgrounds and develops educational publications and provides timely information to the public and members of Congress.

The Committee’s goals include:

• Promoting transparency in all institutions of the federal government, including Congress, by making the work of government available to the public on the Internet.
• Maximizing the openness of government and participation by the people.
• Preventing and rooting out corruption and the appearance of corruption.
• Fostering improved oversight of government decisions and actions.
• Reducing opportunities for and occurrence of waste, fraud and abuse in all branches of the government.
• Developing standards for openness, transparency, and accountability.
• Providing a forum where concerns about transparency may be raised.
• Promoting the education of members of Congress and their staff on transparency-related issues.

How to follow the Advisory Committee on Transparency?

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For more information about the Advisory Committee, please contact Daniel Schuman at daniel[at]demandprogress.org.

Who is involved with the Advisory Committee on Transparency?

Demand Progress administers and funds the committee. It is co-directed by Alex Howard and Daniel Schuman.

Who funds the Advisory Committee on Transparency?

The Advisory Committee on Transparency is separate and distinct from the Congressional Transparency Caucus, a Congressional Member Organization. It is a private-sector organization and complies with all House and Senate rules, with funding for the Advisory Committee’s online activities and publications, events, and administration provided by Demand Progress.

History

The Advisory Committee on Transparency was created by Daniel Schuman, then policy counsel with the Sunlight Foundation, in 2010 to support the work of the Congressional Transparency Caucus. Since then, it was coordinated by the Sunlight Foundation’s Ginger McCall, Matt Rumsey, and Alex Howard, often in conjunction with Daniel. In July of 2018 Demand Progress began managing the Advisory Committee.