April 4, 2011
Open Letter: Congress Must Protect Transparency Programs in Budget Negotiations
Dear Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, and Minority Leader McConnell:We, the undersigned, are writing to express our concerns over proposed budget reductions thatwould effectively eliminate important government transparency programs. The budget for Data.gov,USASpending.gov, the IT Dashboard, and other data transparency and government accountabilityprograms funded through the Electronic Government Fund would be slashed from $34 million to $2million if the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act passed by the House or considered by the Senatebecame law.In recent years Congress and the Executive Branch have taken serious steps toward increasinggovernment transparency. We applaud those efforts. Justice Brandeis said Sunlight is said to be the
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best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman, but these proposed cuts would put the
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American people back in the dark.These e-government initiatives help the government operate more effectively and efficiently,thereby saving taxpayer money and aiding oversight. They increase economic opportunities for smallbusiness. They also increase citizen knowledge of and involvement in the democratic process. Fullyrealized transparency would allow us to track every expense and truly understand how money like
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that in the electronic government fund flows to federal programs. Government spending and
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performance data must be available online, in real time, and in machine-readable formats.An open and accountable government is a prerequisite for democracy. Keeping these programsalive would cost a mere pittance when compared to the value of bringing the federal government intothe sunlight. As you consider the budget for the remainder of this year, please sustain funding for thesevital transparency programs.Sincerely yours,The Sunlight Foundation
OrganizationsCREWCommon CauseMAPLight.orgNational Freedom of Information CoalitionOMB WatchOpen Society Policy CenterOpenTheGovernment.orgParticipatory Politics FoundationProject on Government OversightPublic CitizenThe Reporters Committee for Freedom of the PressU.S. PIRGIndividuals (2,123 as of 10 AM, Monday, April 4, 2011)David AbbottNoble AckersonRyan AcquaottaMichael ActonNathan AdammsChris AdamsGeorgia AdamsJason AdamsJeff AdamsOllie AdamsMikanuk "Larry D. Adams"Thomas AdamskiElizabeth I. AdenHenry AgnewBrian AhierDavid AielloSuren AladjievTony Alberico
Angie AldebolPeter AldhousJoe AldrichTuradg AleahmadNathalie AlegreAlbert AlexanderJeffrey AlexanderMary AlexanderJustin AlfordRyan AlfredDean AllemangBenjamin AllenRichard AllenMike AllredBen AlmanVincent M AmariEmily AmaroSarina AmatoErv AmdahlPat AmentMike AmundsenVictoria AndericaDaniel AndersBruce AndersonJohn AndersonLarry AndersonPatricia F AndersonWilliam AndersonMark AnthoneyEvan ApplegateNicole AptekarLilllian ArboledaSheri ArcheyShlomo Argamon
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Save Online Transparency Programs
A letter from a coalition of organizations and over 2,000 citizens calling for proposed budget cuts to spare Data.gov, USASpending.gov, the IT Dashboard, and other data transparency and government accountability programs.
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