We are looking for a few good documents--the Ten Most Wanted government documents for 2004, to be precise. And we're hoping you, as an expert in this area, can help. As part of an effort to fight increased government secrecy, we would like your help in identifying: (1) the ten or twenty government documents -- or categories of documents -- you would most like to see the government make available to the public (2) problems you have faced finding government information Send your ideas to info@openthegovernment.org. Examples of the Ten Most Wanted government documents for 2004 may include: - The 28 pages kept classified from the report by Congress on the September 11 attacks - Risks to communities posed by chemical plants and efforts to make plants safer - Taxpayer-funded Congressional Research Service reports available to the public only through members of Congress - Federal contracts for goods and services paid for with taxpayer dollars - Local government spending for each of the 50 states It doesn't matter what the topic is; if you're interested in it, chances are others are, too. We will cull through your ideas, make a list of the 20 or more best ideas, and ask the public to vote on which documents the they most want the government to make available to them. We will publicly announce the results and push the government to release those documents. Who We Are and Why We're Doing This The Ten Most Wanted Project of 2004 is being prepared by OMB Watch and the Center for Democracy and Technology for OpenTheGovernment.org. OpenTheGovernment.org is a new, unprecedented coalition of over 30 organizations created to fight increased secrecy and promote open government. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) works to promote democratic values and civil liberties in the digital age. OMB Watch works to advance social justice, government accountability and citizen participation in federal policy decisions. If the Ten Most Wanted Project of 2004 sounds familiar to you, it should. When the Center for Democracy and Technology and OMB Watch conducted the 10 Most Wanted survey a few years ago (in 1999), we came up with good results. At that time, the Supreme Court did not have a web site (but Mongolia's Supreme Court did). By the 2000 election, the new U.S. Supreme Court Web site was ready to handle the heavy demand to download the Bush v. Gore decision, allowing thousands from around the world to read the decisions for themselves at the time that it was published. In another victory, the government's plans to recover endangered species were not available online. After the 10 Most Wanted survey, resources were made available to step up the time frame to get these important documents online. Today, the problems are bigger, and our response will be bigger as well. We have broadened the range of information the Ten Most Wanted Project will cover. The Ten Most Wanted Project of 2004 will help launch a broad national coalition called OpenTheGovernment.org to return our government to a commitment of openness. Both OMB Watch and CDT participate in the coalition. To start, though, we need a good list. It's simple. It's quick. And it'll help open the government. Deadline: Friday, October 24, 2003 Respond via email to: info@openthegovernment.org