On Tuesday June 2nd, the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, led by its new chairman Congressman Jason Chaffetz, concluded 2 days of FOIA-related hearings. The House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform (HCOGR) stated the purpose of the hearing was “to examine the use of FOIA requests as a
The federal government of Canada is using students and temp workers to help overwhelmed ATIP offices dig through surges in Access to Information requests. Canada ATIP offices have experienced a 28% increase in ATIP requests from 2012 to 2013 – up to a total of 55,145 requests in
If you didn’t know, March 15th to March 21st is National Sunshine Week – a celebration of Open Government and Transparency across the U.S. As we reflect on the importance of the Freedom of Information Act, we think it is a great time to reaffirm our support of
Earlier this week it came to light that Hillary Clinton had been using private email to conduct official Secretary of State business. Clinton reportedly set up a private email account before becoming Secretary of State to use for State Department affairs. The type of account used by Clinton
Earlier this week it came to light that Hillary Clinton had been using private email to conduct official Secretary of State business. Clinton reportedly set up a private email account before becoming Secretary of State to use for State Department affairs. The type of account used by Clinton allows users
The White House announced the appointment of the first U.S. Chief Data Scientist on Wednesday. The new position will be held by Dr. DJ Patil, an experienced data scientist and engineer. Patil worked to create Silicon Valley’s first data science team at the social media company LinkedIn. Patil
We are just one month away from National Sunshine Week coming up March 15 – 21. Sunshine Week is a nationwide celebration of the importance of transparency, open government, and freedom of information. The week-long event centers around National Freedom of Information Day held March 16. During Sunshine
FOIA activists and other government news fans might remember the narrow defeat of the Freedom of Information (FOIA) Reform Act just two months ago. Now, four lawmakers are trying to once again make some FOIA improvements. House Representatives Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) as well as
Part of maintaining an open government is to keep up to date with important events like the Presidential State of the Union Address. If you didn’t get a chance to catch President Barack Obama’s 2015 State of the Union address, we have you covered. Get the 5 minute rundown below: College
The FOIA Reform Bill passed unanimously by Senate Judiciary Committee in November was struck down in the House last week by Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) The bill had passed smoothly in the House earlier this year with a unanimous vote of 410-0. It then moved to the Sen. Judiciary Committee
