Jan 21, 2009

New Obama Orders on Transparency, FOIA Requests

By Ed O'Keefe, The Washington Post

In a move that pleased good government groups and some journalists, President Obama issued new orders today designed to improve the federal government's openness and transparency. The first memo instructs all agencies and departments to "adopt a presumption in favor" of Freedom of Information Act requests, while the second memo orders the director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue recommendations on making the federal government more transparent.

"The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears," Obama said in the FOIA memo, adding later that "In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public."

His memo on government transparency states that the Obama Administration "will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government." The order directs the yet-to-be-named chief technology officer to work with the OMB director to develop an "Open Government Directive" in the next four months.

Just in case new OMB director Peter R. Orszag needs any suggestions, the Sunlight Foundation -- a group dedicated to improving government transparency -- has several.

"I’m pretty damn pleased that the issue of transparency in government is such a high priority for the new administration," said director Ellen Miller. Each agency should do an audit of its information and data how it makes it available, Miller said. The administration should also redefine the definition of "public information" to mean that government information is not public until it is posted online in an easy-to-download format.

"The devil is in the details," Miller cautions, noting that the new new memos and executive orders had not been posted on the new White House Web site by late afternoon Wednesday.

Obama today also froze the salaries of senior White House staffers and issued executive orders on presidential records and new ethics guidelines for presidential appointees.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 21, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Act

A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants." In our democracy, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public.

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.

I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency, and to publish such guidelines in the Federal Register. In doing so, the Attorney General should review FOIA reports produced by the agencies under Executive Order 13392 of December 14, 2005. I also direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to update guidance to the agencies to increase and improve information dissemination to the public, including through the use of new technologies, and to publish such guidance in the Federal Register.

This memorandum does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA



THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 21, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Transparency and Open Government

My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.

Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use to the public.

Government should be participatory. Public engagement enhances the Government's effectiveness and improves the quality of its decisions. Knowledge is widely dispersed in society, and public officials benefit from having access to that dispersed knowledge. Executive departments and agencies should offer Americans increased opportunities to participate in policymaking and to provide their Government with the benefits of their collective expertise and information. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public input on how we can increase and improve opportunities for public participation in Government.

Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of

Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation.

I direct the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of General Services, to coordinate the development by appropriate executive departments and agencies, within 120 days, of recommendations for an Open Government Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB, that instructs executive departments and agencies to take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in this memorandum. The independent agencies should comply with the Open Government Directive.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

This memorandum shall be published in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

All hands meeting on Thur with Anastasio. Could it be a new round of RIFs? Heard LLNL is going to do another RIF in April.

Anonymous said...

Better get use to Riff news for the next 2-3 years, or until LANL is reduced by the 20% that has been planned by DOE/NNSA.

Anonymous said...

Last week the Director announced his new "Director's Outlook" web page to keep LANL employees informed on his latest thoughts. Today we find out he's going to have an All-Hands meeting.

Could it be that the recent warm weather is making the fuzzy Ewok emerge out of his deep winter hibernation?

The first poster got the date wrong. It's happening on Monday. Here's the official blurb from the LANL web page:

========================
Anastasio all-employee meeting is Monday

Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio will talk about opportunities, challenges, and priorities for the coming year at an all-employee meeting Monday, January 26.

=========================

It begins at 1 pm over at the NSSB Auditorium.

Anonymous said...

There will be no layoffs so stop spreading fear and rumors. The Federal government is trying very hard to save all the jobs it can, not create additional unemployment problems.

Anonymous said...

Mikey's got religion all of a sudden: an All-Managers Meeting and an All-Employee meeting in the same month. Plus, a call for one-liner ideas on how to improve the working environment at LANL, and a new Leadership Workshop for team leaders and up.

So the question is, where did the aliens hide the real Mikey???

Anonymous said...

Instead of a necessary reduction target of 20%, which is about 1600 FTE's, perhaps LANS could reduce salaries by 10 to 20%. That would send some folks packing for better (and higher-paying jobs) elsewhere. That would certainly be fitting with the sacrifices that our beloved President is telling us!

Anonymous said...

At the very least, expect to see an announcement of a mandatory salary freeze.

We may be getting ready to even experience salary reductions. There will certainly be salary reductions if employees are required to kick in around 5% to 10% of their salaries to help salvage the TCP1 pension.

Mandatory reductions in work hours may also be employed to help reduce expenses in the next fiscal year.

Anonymous said...

Will management also experience a reduction in salary and/or a freeze on their wages? Better yet, do not take their bonus thereby saving many many jobs in addition to demonstrating to the rank and file that they really do care about LANL!!! Agnew and Hecker would have done just that for the good of LANL!

Anonymous said...

"Better yet, do not take their bonus thereby saving many many jobs in addition to demonstrating to the rank and file that they really do care about LANL!!!" (8:14 AM)

You must be joking? The Bechtelites are not here to take a pay cut. We are not run by a non-profit academic institution any longer. It's ALL about the money. Have you yet to realize this after two and a half years under the for-profit LLC?

Anonymous said...

Pay freezes spread during recession - AP News, Jan22, 09

Squeezed employers seek an alternative to layoffs

WASHINGTON (AP) - What do Tropicana Casino and Resort, Avis and the White House now have in common?

They're all freezing the pay of some of their workers. It's part of a growing trend by employers facing the fallout — economic and political — from a brutal recession.

For companies, pay freezes are a key cost-cutting tool for surviving hard times.

For President Barack Obama, who ordered a pay freeze for White House employees earning over $100,000 a year, the move on his first full day in office sent a message to a nervous country: We're in this together.

"During this period of economic emergency," Obama said, "families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington."

The unemployment rate has bolted to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent. Last year, 2.6 million jobs vanished, the most since World War II. The jobless rate is expected to march upward and layoffs to pile up even with a multibillion-dollar stimulus package being crafted by Obama and Congress.

More squeezed employers, though, are seeking an alternative to layoffs. They're turning to pay freezes, pay reductions and other cost-cutting options, such as ending their contributions to 401(k) accounts.

"All of that hurts, but nothing hurts more than losing a job," said Allen Sinai, chief global economist at Decision Economics Inc. "It is a growing trend as companies try to cut costs. Going forward, we will see more of this, absolutely."

The Federal Reserve has taken notice. In a recent survey of economic conditions, it observed that in some parts of the country, companies were resorting to "pay freezes or reductions in compensation."

A wide range of employers have followed suit. In some cases, they're imposing pay freezes or cuts to avoid immediate layoffs, though economists say such steps tend to lead to layoffs anyway. In other cases, employers are cutting or freezing pay and laying off workers.

Anonymous said...

6:11am - "There will certainly be salary reductions if employees are required to kick in around 5% to 10% of their salaries to help salvage the TCP1 pension."

Please explain how this is a salary reduction if it occurs.

Anonymous said...

Well, it's ok to freeze salaries, but don't mess with my bonus!

MIKEY!

Anonymous said...

HazelO'leary will love this. More oepness for the sake of our adversaries.

Hurry up 2012!

Anonymous said...

To 11:22- This was tongue in cheek! Anyone and everyone who has worked for LANS knows that LANS management will never "not take their bonus thereby saving many many jobs in addition to demonstrating to the rank and file that they really do care about LANL!!!" Again I repeat Agnew and Hecker would have done just that for the good of LANL! Sad but so very true.

Anonymous said...

Frank, I wish you would keep on topic.

This post is about LANL RIF & Anastasio all-employee meeting...not FOIA & Gov. Transparency :)

Anonymous said...

I agree that Agnew and Hecker would not have taken bonuses. I doubt that John Browne would have either. BUT, you can bet your sweet ass that Nanos would have grabbed his!

Anonymous said...

Transparency ... perhaps, but not for LANS. I think Chu should come and have an all-hands with employees and dig for dirt and corruption at LANL.

Anonymous said...

http://www.ananuclear.org/Issues/GlobalNuclearEnergyPartnership/Library/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/182/Nuke-Watch-New-Mexico-Press-Release.aspx

Follow to NNSA web site. NTS will get the next "DARHT type " facility. LANL will attempt to get more science work.

Anonymous said...

LANL will "attempt" to get more science work?

Don't make me laugh. With FTE rates at insane levels, getting more science work at LANL is going to be an almost hopeless struggle. The only areas that will grow at LANL under LANS will be in the number of positions for upper management and for production and facility engineers (CSEs).

Anonymous said...

We lost our CIA program to another institution because of how expensive it is to do business at LANL.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that we are seeing what is beyond "transparency" - it means that our research programs will be subject to the same review processes that legitimate scientists are forced to endure. It can only serve to improve the performance of the whole lab. I say that with the assumption that those people who fail to find funding will not be put on overhead!

Anonymous said...

We heard 3,500 to go at LLNL by 2010. Anyone down there at LANL heard the word? Of course it's all being denied by ULM. What's the Obamanator's outlook on cost cutting that LLNL and LANL?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like LLNL is being targeted to go into 'life support' mode.

NNSA probably feels that with the huge budget cuts likely coming their way courtesy of the new Congress, they have to begin taking drastic actions. LLNL will be largely shucked off to save what's left of the nuclear weapons research complex.

Even LANL will soon be feeling some serious budgetary pain if it doesn't begin to rapidly grow its non-nuclear project base. Time is slipping away for LANS to make the necessary changes so that LANL can survive.

Anonymous said...

Disagree 10:35. LANS will continue to whatever it is directed to do with the funding it receives - whether it be with the current workforce or a modified one. It will evolve its PBIs to adjust and continue to collect most of the fee. (Can't find my copy of a fee presentation, but IIRC most of the fee does not depend directly on the funding level.)

Anonymous said...

1/23/09 7:48 PM - Secretary Chu won't have to dig too deep to find the top levels of corruption and fraud at LANL. The stench permeates the upper management.

Anonymous said...

5:54 pm and others-

Last week, our AD for SMS was out soliciting LANL programs on behalf of Q cleared workers at LLNL who are about to be out of jobs.

Not a good sign if you ask me.