Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Save the Date: Congressional Transparency Caucus Briefing on the Foreign Agents Registration Act

The Congressional Transparency Caucus will host a briefing on foreign lobbying on July 25th at 2pm in Rayburn 2456. RSVP here.

Rep. Mike Quigley will be giving opening remarks. Panelists will include:

  • Carrie Levine, Senior Political Reporter, Center for Public Integrity
  • Lydia Dennett, Investigator, Project on Government Oversight (POGO)
  • Daniel Schuman, policy director, Demand Progress Action
  • Tom Susman, Director of Government Affairs, the American Bar Association

Here is the announcement from Rep. Mike Quigley, caucus co-chair, in his “Dear Colleague” letter.

Transparency Caucus Briefing: Shining a Light on Foreign Lobbying

Dear Colleague,

Please join me at the next Transparency Caucus briefing titled “Shining a Light on Foreign Lobbying.”

Revelations of foreign meddling in the 2016 presidential election have renewed interest in the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The Act, which too many lobbyists take lightly due to historic underenforcement by the Justice Department, played a significant role in the recent indictment of Paul Manafort Jr, who served as Chairman on the Trump Presidential campaign while also working for a Ukrainian political party. Passed in 1938, it requires persons acting as agents of foreign principals in a political or quasi-political capacity to make periodic disclosure of their relationships and financial transactions with foreign principals. FARA, in its current state, however, is susceptible to dangerous loopholes and its lax enforcement undermines other legislation intended to increase transparency in federal lobbying practices, such as the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

Now more than ever, we must be able to identify foreign influence and hold foreign actors seeking to lobby the United States government as accountable as any other lobbyist. In June, the Justice Department released years of advisory opinions which have provided some clarity, but also highlighted the need for reform. In the interest of promulgating transparency and safeguarding our democracy, Congress must take on the task of reforming this vital legislation and ensuring its full enforcement.

Join us as the Transparency Caucus welcomes a panel of expert speakers to discuss the challenges we face in monitoring foreign influence in our country, and work to bring greater transparency to the federal government.

Opening Remarks by:

  • Congressman Mike Quigley

Panelists:

  • Daniel Schuman, Demand Progress
  • Tom Susman, American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Lydia Dennett, Project on Government Oversight (POGO)
Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Recap: Transparency Caucus Briefing on Strengthening Accountability in the Executive Branch

On November 1, 2017, the Congressional Transparency Caucus hosted a briefing on transparency and government ethics with former OGE director Walt Shaub (current Senior Director of Ethics at the Campaign Legal Center) and CREW policy counsel Jennifer Ahearn. Rep. Mike Quigley, caucus co-chair, facilitated the discussion.

The Transparency Caucus summarizes three legislative proposals for discussed by the panel. Those proposals were: 1) Congress should disclose ethics waivers so the public is informed of all exemptions from current government ethics policies; 2) Congress should require the General Services Administration to post their travel reports online (they are currently only available via FOIA request); 3) Congress should amend the Ethics in Government Act to increase oversight of government officials.

Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Transparency Caucus Briefing on Accountability in the 115th Congress

On September 27, 2016, co-chairs of the Congressional Transparency Caucus Reps. Mike Quigley and Darrell Issa hosted a briefing to discuss the progress the 115th Congress has made to address transparency issues, and outline the challenges still faced.

Video of the briefing is available here:

Panelists included:

-Shanna Devine of the Government Accountability Project

-Patrice McDermott, Executive Director of Open the Government.org

-Christian Hoehner of the Data Foundation and Data Coalition

Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Recap: Transparency Caucus Briefing on Data Act Implementation

On March 22, 2016, the Transparency Caucus hosted a briefing on the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) and the broader challenge of bringing greater transparency to the federal budget process. The caucus has an in-depth recap here.

The bipartisan briefing was hosted by the caucus co-chairs, Reps. Mike Quigley and Darrell Issa. Panelists included:

-Daniel Schuman, Policy Director of Demand Progress

– Hudson Hollister, Founder and Executive Director of the Data Transparency Coalition

-Dave Williams, Former Inspector General for the Postal Service 

-Sean Moulton, Open Government Program Manager for the Project on Government Oversight.

The 2014 DATA Act required Executive branch agencies to make their spending reports public (now on USAspending.gov). Several panelists noted that the law marked a huge win for executive branch transparency, but in 2016, the executive branch was already showing signs of obstructing the implementation process.

“The DATA Act promises to deliver a clearer, more comprehensive public view of how taxpayers’ money is being spent – but only if federal agencies follow the law. Our Coalition member companies are ready to use federal spending data to create new visualizations and power new analytics – but we can’t do it unless agencies adopt a consistent format across all spending, as the DATA Act requires. That’s why it’s so important for Congress to scrutinize what the agencies are doing, even after passing the law,” said Hudson Hollister, Founder and Executive Director of the Data Transparency Coalition.

Ed. note: as of March 2022, the White House still has yet to issue implementation guidance on the DATA Act. That should have been done back in the Obama administration.

Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Transparency Caucus Briefing on Public Access to CRS Reports

On October 22, 2015, the Congressional Transparency Caucus held a briefing on making non-confidential CRS reports publicly available in observance of International Open Access Week. Reps. Mike Quigley, co-chair of the CTC, and Rep. Leonard Lance hosted the event.

The Transparency Caucus has a recap here.

Video of the proceedings is available here:

The panelists included:

-The Honorable Chris Shays, Represented the Fourth Congressional District in Connecticut from 1987-2008

-Prue Adler, Associate Executive Director, Association of Research Libraries

-Stan Brand, Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Law Firm

-Kevin Kosar, Senior Fellow and Governance Project Director, R Street Institute

-Daniel Schuman, Policy Director, Demand Progress

Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Transparency Caucus Briefing: SCOTUS Financial Transparency

On June 3, 2015, Transparency Caucus co-chairs Reps. Mike Quigley and Darrell Issa held a briefing on Supreme Court justices’ disclosure of their financial interests. Currently, SCOTUS is left to regulate itself. Unsurprisingly, that’s a bad model for encouraging ethical behavior. Panelists discussed the importance of justices making full disclosures of their financial interests publicly available online so that the public can act as a watchdog of the high court.

The Transparency Caucus has a recap here.

Panelists included:

-Noah Bookbinder, Executive Director, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

-Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director, Center for Responsive Politics

-Katie Townsend, Litigation Director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

-Kytja Weir, Project Manager and Reporter, Center for Public Integrity

-Katharine Huffman, Principal, Raben Group

Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Stories From Our Surveillance Transparency Panel

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On May 8, the Sunlight Foundation’s Advisory Committee on Transparency hosted a discussion on surveillance transparency and oversight featuring some leading thinkers and practitioners in the space.

We’ll be posting a deeper analysis of the event in the coming days. In the meantime, you can watch it on C-SPAN and dig deeper by reading some of the headlines that it spawned:

Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Who Watches The Watchers: How Much Is Enough Surveillance Transparency?

America is reeling over the apparent disconnect between what the public believes the intelligence community is doing, what the intelligence community believes it is authorized to do — and what the intelligence community is actually doing.

With a deadline to extend and/or reform controversial provisions of the PATRIOT Act looming, this is a critical time for Congress and the American people to know all they can about the executive branch’s intelligence activities. But how much is too much?

What should the public know? What should Congress know? What is the right vehicle for these disclosures? Perhaps most importantly, what is the effect on our democracy of inadequate public and congressional oversight? Join the Advisory Committee on Transparency and our panel of experts on Friday, May 8, 2015, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in room 2203 of the Rayburn House Office Building to discuss these questions and more. The event is free for all to attend.

  • Sean Vitka, federal policy manager, the Sunlight Foundation [Moderator]
  • Frederick A.O. “Fritz” Schwarz, Jr. author, “Democracy in the Dark: The Seduction of Government Secrecy;” chief counsel, Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law
  • Mieke Eoyang, director of the National Security Program, Third Way
  • Bob Litt, general counsel, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
  • Patrick Toomey staff attorney, ACLU National Security Project [Invited]
Posted on by Daniel Schuman

How To Make Your Job Easier With Open Government Tools

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015 from 2:30 to 4:30 P.M. in room 2203 of the Rayburn House Office Building

Open government is vital for public accountability. But, it also fuels tools that can make congressional staff more efficient, improve oversight activities, protect whistleblowers and more. Hear from experts in the open government field — including current and former congressional staff — as they share tools, tips, and tricks to make you more effective on the job:

  • Shanna Devine, Legislative Director, Government Accountability Project will discuss how to help whistleblowers navigate the disclosure process and protect themselves
  • Daniel Epstein, Executive Director, Cause of Action will explore theories of oversight and specific tools that can make oversight more effective
  • Hudson Hollister, Executive Director, Data Transparency Coalition will explore several tools powered by open government data
  • Seamus Kraft, Executive Director, The OpenGov Foundation will explain how to use Madison to collaboratively draft legislation and policy in the open
  • Amy Ngai, Partnerships and Training Director, Sunlight Foundation will show off how Scout can be used to track legislation, regulations, court decisions, and more
  • Justin Rood, Director of the Congressional Oversight Initiative, the Project on Government Oversight will discuss his program and how it can be useful to Congressional staff
  • Reynold Schweickhardt, Director of Technology Policy, Committee on House Administration will discuss a variety of efforts underway in the House to improve digital workflow and regularize committee information
Posted on by Daniel Schuman

Transparency Caucus Briefing on SCOTUS Video

On January 27, 2015, Transparency Caucus co-chair Rep. Mike Quigley and Rep. Gerald Connolly hosted a panel discussion on the importance of providing video and live audio streaming of Supreme Court proceedings — particularly in light of the upcoming same-sex marriage cases.

The Transparency Caucus has a full recap of the panel here.

Panelists included:

-David Fontana, Associate Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School

-Michelle Schwartz, Director of Justice Programs, Alliance for Justice

-Katie Townsend, Litigation Director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

-Daniel Schuman, Policy Director, Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Editor’s note (March 2022): The Supreme Court finally made live audio streaming of oral arguments public in May 2020, mid COVID-19 pandemic. The effect on public access was widespread and immediate. POGO’s analysis of the session beginning May 2020: “Instead of the 500 to 1,000 people who would have been able to attend the session’s 10 cases in person, more than 130,000 people streamed the arguments live.” In addition to making live audio streaming permanent, the court should look into adding video live-streams to further promote transparency and accessibility.