GIVING GOVERNMENT BACK TO THE PEOPLE(1) SUNLIGHT BEFORE SIGNING: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the
president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Barack
Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an
opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days. In
addition to ensuring that the public has the ability to review legislation, the sunlight will
help ensure that earmarks tucked into appropriations bills are exposed. And Obama will
sign legislation in the light of day without attaching signing statements that undermine
the legislative intent.
(2) 21ST CENTURY FIRESIDE CHATS: People who care deeply about issues in Washington
but live outside the beltway rarely have the opportunity to question and interact with
government agencies. Messages are filtered through the media, and many times the hard
questions are not asked. Barack Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the
people by requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband town hall
meetings to discuss issues before their agencies. The Internet makes it possible to take
our leaders directly to the people. If this is possible then it should also be mandatory.
(3) RESTORE MEANING TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT: The American
people deserve to know what their government does and why. Ours is an open
government, and our ability to understand our government at work--the freedom of
information we enjoy--has been copied by other countries around the world. The
Freedom of Information Act is a pillar of our open government. Unfortunately, in recent
years our government has failed to keep the American people informed about what it was
doing and why, and it has refused to provide Americans with information they are
entitled to by law. Turning our tradition of free information upside down, the Bush
administration has instructed agencies to presume citizens are not entitled to information
unless they are willing to sue for it. Barack Obama would restore the tradition of free
information by issuing an Executive Order that information should be released unless an
agency reasonably foresees harm to a protected interest.
(4) CONDUCT REGULATORY AGENCY BUSINESS IN PUBLIC: Every day, government
agencies make decisions that impact the lives of Americans. These decisions require
public deliberation and input. But at many agencies, these deliberations are conducted
out of the public view. For example, several agencies, including the Securities &
Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, hold public
meetings only one or two days a month. On all the other days, the commissioners and
staff members host lobbyists and lawyers in private meetings, and operate outside of the
public eye. In these private meetings, companies can make their case for the regulation
that they want. Average citizens cannot participate in this process, and consumer groups
just do not have the resources to offset the waves of corporate lobbyists that constantly
walk the halls of these agencies.
Barack Obama will require his appointees who lead the Executive Branch departments
and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so
that any citizen can see in person or watch on the Internet as the agencies debate and
deliberate the issues that affect American society. Videos of meetings will be archived
on the web, and the transcript will be available to the public. Obama will also require his
nominees to commit to employ all the technological tools available to allow average
citizens not just to observe, but to participate and be heard on the issues that affect their
daily lives.
(5) MAKING WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS PUBLIC: Barack Obama would amend
Executive Order 12866 to ensure that communications about regulatory policymaking
between persons outside government and all White House staff are disclosed to the
public. The Obama White House would invoke its executive privilege to protect the
confidentiality of communications concerning national security and similar traditionally
sensitive matters, not to withhold information about private interests’ communication on
regulatory policy. There are communications that should be kept private because
disclosure could endanger the public. But the White House is the people’s house and the
people have a right to know who visits.
(6) RELEASING PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS: Under the Presidential Records Act,
presidential records are supposed to be released to the public 12 years after the end of a
presidential administration. In November 2001, President Bush issued an order that gave
current and former presidents and vice presidents broad authority to withhold presidential
records or delay their release indefinitely. As president, Barack Obama will nullify the
Bush order and establish procedures to ensure the timely release of presidential records.(more...)
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/TakingBackOurGovernmentBackFinalFactSheet.pdf
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