Blog Posts and Analysis / Open, Accountable Government

Torture Photo Disclosure Ban out of War Spending Bill but Still Possible

During the week of June 8, an amendment seeking to block disclosure of photos of abused detainees in U.S. custody was removed from the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 (H.R. 2346). However, Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC), sponsors of the amendment, have pledged to insert the language into other legislation. Moreover, the release of the torture photos is the subject of a lawsuit that may reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Bills Would Require Disclosure of "Fracking" Chemicals

Bills recently introduced in both the House and Senate seek to force natural gas drilling companies to disclose what chemicals are pumped into the ground in a practice known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Although the process has been linked to drinking water contamination and other harms to public health and the environment, companies are currently allowed to conceal the toxic chemicals they use.

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Administration Orders Interagency Review of Classification and CUI

On May 27, the Obama administration released a memorandum requiring reviews of overclassification and the current Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)/Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) process. The memorandum establishes separate 90-day interagency review processes to advise the administration on actions it should take to advance previous efforts to reform problems associated with these issues.

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Administration Seeks Public Input on Open Government

Starting May 21, the Obama administration began to make good on the president's goal of "work[ing] together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration," as expressed in his Jan. 21 memorandum on transparency and open government.

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EPA Plans to Listen to Scientists Again

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced it will increase the influence of scientists and the level of transparency in setting standards for common air pollutants, a reversal of a Bush administration policy that politicized scientific analyses. Clean air advocates are welcoming the policy reversal as a restoration of the role of science in crafting policies that impact environmental and public health.

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Congress Attempts to Restore Teeth to Whistleblower Protections

On May 14, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on H.R. 1507, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill is Congress’ most recent attempt to reform whistleblower protections after failing to pass substantively similar bills in the previous two sessions and abandoning a bipartisan whistleblower amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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Congress Seeks Hidden Truth on Torture

On May 13, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) held a hearing on the treatment of terrorist suspects in the custody of U.S. government personnel. The hearing was the first to formally discuss torture after the release of four key Bush administration memoranda that established broader interrogation policies. The hearing prompted the Justice Department to release two additional documents concerning internal Bush administration deliberations over policy.

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