Democracy

August 2, 2007 -- Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate today approved a comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform bill, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, by a vote of 83-14.

Among its many provisions, the bill will slow the revolving door between Congress and the lobbying world, require disclosure of lobbyists who bundle campaign contributions, and increase transparency in the legislative process by requiring earmark transparency and preventing new earmarks from being added in the dead of night. (A summary of the bill can be found at the end of this press release.)    » read more »

07/12/2007 -- WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote a letter to David Addington, Vice President Cheney’s Chief of Staff, asking for answers about reports that the Vice President’s office demanded control of the visitors logs of the Office of the Vice President from the Secret Service.    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- (Lincoln, Neb.) Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman announced the formation of a work group to explore concerns regarding hiring procedures in state government. The work group will review the state’s anti-nepotism laws and make recommendations to the Governor whether changes in procedure or state statute are needed.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2007 — The report, Governance Matters, 2007: Worldwide Governance Indicators 1996-2006 being launched today by the World Bank Institute and the World Bank Development Economics Vice-presidency, shows that a number of countries - including in Africa - are making progress in improving governance and fighting corruption. This is encouraging given that good governance and corruption control are fundamental for long-term growth and reducing poverty.    » read more »

July 10 - Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) took to the Senate floor today to urge senators to adopt an amendment they plan to offer later this week that would restore the habeas corpus protections stripped as a result of last year’s Military Commissions Act.    » read more »

07/10/2007 -- Washington, DC - Senator John Kerry today announced that he will co-sponsor legislation aimed at preventing the President from writing so-called "signing statements" when he signs bills - a little known measure that allows the White House to effectively circumvent Congress. Under the bill, a president could not issue a signing statement if it substantially altered the original legislation. Kerry co-sponsored the legislation with Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn) and the measure could be voted on as early as this month if it is added as an amendment to the defense spending bill.    » read more »

July 3, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC - As the 41st birthday of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) approaches, a coalition of groups urged the U.S. Congress to pass a bill - currently locked behind a closed door - that would reform the FOIA and make it work better for the public. The OPEN Government Act (S. 849) would enact common-sense reforms to the FOIA and put in place incentives for federal agencies to process FOIA requests from the public in a timely manner.    » read more »

6/28/2007 -- House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) Released the Following Statement in Response to the President's Assertion of Executive Privilege in Response to the Committee's June 13 Subpoena for Documents:

"The president's response to our subpoena shows an appalling disregard for the right of the people to know what is going on in their government.

The executive privilege assertion is unprecedented in its breadth and scope, and even includes documents that the administration previously offered to provide as part of their 'take it or leave it' proposal.    » read more »

Senators' Measure To Get Rid Of REAL ID Stalls Sweeping Immigration Bill

June 27, 2007 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester brought the debate over immigration reform to a grinding halt today on the Senate floor. After opponents of Baucus and Tester’s amendment to strike REAL ID requirements failed to muster a majority of votes, debate on the controversial immigration bill came to a standstill.    » read more »

June 26, 2007 -- A global decline in the rule of law, particularly in Africa and Asia, was a major political development in 2006, data released today by Freedom House indicated.    » read more »

26 June 2007 -- The following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s address to the seventh Global Forum on Reinventing Government, as delivered in Vienna, today, 26 June:    » read more »

June 21, 2007 -- The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.”    » read more »

Discloses earmarks to improve government transparency

June 21, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today announced that he had requested federal funding for the following projects, in the amounts designated by his constituents and several national organizations, as part of this year's annual appropriations process:

Adler Planetarium, to support replacement of its projector and related equipment, $3,000,000    » read more »

June 19, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on the ongoing detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, on her 62nd birthday:    » read more »

Simplification of Minority and Small Business Registration; Proposals Highlight Meeting of Attorney General’s Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force

June 19, 2007 -- Richmond- Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell welcomed the Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force to Richmond today for a full meeting featuring 63 new recommendations to reduce excessive and burdensome regulations in Virginia.    » read more »