Opinion: Obama comes out for open government
January 25, 2009
EDITORIAL
The [Uniontown] Herald-Standard
We've written a lot about open government at the state and local level, including the need to update the Pennsylvania open records law. But one of the orders issued by President Barack Obama shortly after taking office is worth noting in this space as well.
Obama has directed that federal agencies change the way they interpret the federal Freedom of Information Act, which in most respects was already far superior to Pennsylvania's old open records law. Obama says that when federal agencies get information requests, they are to err on the side of openness, as opposed to looking for legal reasons to withhold the information.
This is akin to the big change in Pennsylvania law that occurred last year, when the new open records law "flipped" the old presumption that most records were not public unless the requester could prove otherwise. Now in the Commonwealth, those records are presumed public unless the agency can prove why they should remain under wraps.
Obama campaigned on many themes, including having a more transparent government, but strengthening citizens' ability to obtain information at the federal level wasn't a big or sexy election debate topic. In this respect, his action after taking office comes as a welcome surprise, and to the extent that it reveals something about his philosophy of governance, everyone should be pleased.
This is a president who has said that just because a government agency can use its legal power to keep information private does not mean that it should. "For a long time, there's been too much secrecy in this city," said Obama in announcing the change.
While there certainly are circumstances where information is too sensitive to reveal, most of the time that is not the case. By setting a tone for openness very early on, Obama is signaling another profound departure from the mind set of the outgoing administration, which was roundly acknowledged as one of the most secretive in history.
At the same time, Obama acknowledged that the change did not go as far as he would like toward making government "as honest and transparent as it needs to be."
Obama signaled there may be more to come by saying, "These historic measures do mark the beginning of a new era of openness in our country. And Iwill, Ihope, do something to make government more trustworthy in the eyes of the American people, in the next days and weeks, months and years to come."
In that regard, both parties in Congress should realize that the more people know about their government, the better that democracy works. They should embrace any furtherance of that concept.
We think Obama has made a big change for the better.
The [Uniontown] Herald-Standard
We've written a lot about open government at the state and local level, including the need to update the Pennsylvania open records law. But one of the orders issued by President Barack Obama shortly after taking office is worth noting in this space as well.
Obama has directed that federal agencies change the way they interpret the federal Freedom of Information Act, which in most respects was already far superior to Pennsylvania's old open records law. Obama says that when federal agencies get information requests, they are to err on the side of openness, as opposed to looking for legal reasons to withhold the information.
This is akin to the big change in Pennsylvania law that occurred last year, when the new open records law "flipped" the old presumption that most records were not public unless the requester could prove otherwise. Now in the Commonwealth, those records are presumed public unless the agency can prove why they should remain under wraps.
Obama campaigned on many themes, including having a more transparent government, but strengthening citizens' ability to obtain information at the federal level wasn't a big or sexy election debate topic. In this respect, his action after taking office comes as a welcome surprise, and to the extent that it reveals something about his philosophy of governance, everyone should be pleased.
This is a president who has said that just because a government agency can use its legal power to keep information private does not mean that it should. "For a long time, there's been too much secrecy in this city," said Obama in announcing the change.
While there certainly are circumstances where information is too sensitive to reveal, most of the time that is not the case. By setting a tone for openness very early on, Obama is signaling another profound departure from the mind set of the outgoing administration, which was roundly acknowledged as one of the most secretive in history.
At the same time, Obama acknowledged that the change did not go as far as he would like toward making government "as honest and transparent as it needs to be."
Obama signaled there may be more to come by saying, "These historic measures do mark the beginning of a new era of openness in our country. And Iwill, Ihope, do something to make government more trustworthy in the eyes of the American people, in the next days and weeks, months and years to come."
In that regard, both parties in Congress should realize that the more people know about their government, the better that democracy works. They should embrace any furtherance of that concept.
We think Obama has made a big change for the better.
