The Advisory Committee on Transparency hosted its final event of 2021 on November 8, 2021, titled Transparency Lightning Talks. Instead of the traditional panel discussion, the event brought together transparency experts from across the political spectrum to give presentations on improving government transparency and accountability. 

Watch the full discussion below.

Panelists included:

Walter Shaub, Senior Ethics Fellow, POGO: The need to create a government ethics records database.

Erica Newland, Counsel, Protect Democracy: Congressional oversight and congressional lawyering as transparency issues.

Freddy Martinez, Policy Analyst, Open The Government: FOIA and reform efforts.

Anna Massoglia, Investigative Researcher, Open Secrets: Transparency around foreign money in U.S. elections.

Reynold Schweickhardt, Senior Advisor, Lincoln Network: Accelerating innovation in the Legislative branch. 

Corinna Turbes, Policy Director, Data Coalition: Spending transparency initiatives included in the passage of the DATA Act/GREAT Act, and the Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act.

Tom Susman, Strategic Advisor, American Bar Association: Increasing access to Legislative Branch information.

Ryan Mulvey, Policy Counsel, Americans for Prosperity Foundation: FOIA case law developments in SCOTUS and circuit.

The discussion was moderated by Ginger Quintero-McCall, Legal Director for Demand Progress.