Editorial Memo: White House Stalls Its Commitment to Transparency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 17, 2010

Contact: Liz Bartolomeo 202-742-1520

At a time when ethics issues are making headline news—consider the pending ethics charges against Reps. Charlie
Rangel (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA)—is the White House short-changing its commitment to transparency
and ethics reform?

It certainly looks like the White House’s commitment to a more transparent government is teetering just at the time
when we recognize that many of the early promises are still left wanting. Upon taking office 18 months ago,
President Obama touted the need for greater transparency within government and pledged systemic reforms in a
series of statements, directives and staff appointments. His commitment to opening government was applauded by
nearly everyone, in part because it was seen as a much-needed antidote to cynicism and distrust of government and
its officials. But now the White House is appearing to waiver on these promises.

Just over a week ago, it was announced that the full time position of “Ethic Czar”—now held by Norman Eisen,
Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform —would be eliminated. Taking over Eisen’s
duties will be White House Counsel Robert Bauer and Domestic Policy Counsel Steven Croley, who will be adding
these myriad of issues—from implementation of the Open Government Directive, to improving FOIA and adding
whistleblower protections to lobbying reform, among many others—to their already full portfolios. This bodes
poorly for keeping the momentum set in place by Eisen. And Bauer’s career history as a lawyer who consistently
argued for allowing more special interest money in politics (Bauer was the architect of a decision that legalized “soft
money”) can hardly be described as having the DNA of a “reformer.”

Here are six examples of what still needs to be done.

Earmark Transparency: In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Obama called for a single searchable
database of all earmarks and earmark requests. In the months since then, the Earmark Transparency Act (ETA)—a
landmark bill that would require Congress to create an online, searchable database for all earmark requests—has
been introduced in the House and Senate but has since stalled now that both chambers are in recess. The time is ripe
to pass the ETA, and yet the White House has remained silent on the issue since the State of the Union address.

Open Government Directive: The Open Government Directive—Obama’s memorandum to establish a system of
transparency, public participation and collaboration in all federal agencies—can either become a dated, rhetorical
memo or a transformative commitment to a new era of openness. Only if the White House holds agencies to their
requirements and plans can the Directive have real force, though. OMB Director Peter Orszag has left, and with
Eisen leaving, enforcement of the Directive seems uncertain

Citizens United: The White House has stated its commitment to passing a legislative fix to the Citizens United v
FEC Supreme Court decision. But now, obstruction in the Senate has pushed the DISCLOSE Act, the main
legislative fix being considered in Congress, to the brink of failure. The White House needs to give this issue proper
attention to ensure that the public can see who is spending money on our elections.

Lobbying Disclosure Reform: President Obama also called for reform of lobbying regulations in his 2010 State of
the Union address. Only a serious effort from an already busy administration has a chance at addressing this
problem.
Executive Disclosure: The White House made some meaningful first steps in posting ethics filings online, requiring
extensive stimulus lobbying disclosure and posting the White House visitor logs records online for the first time.
However, these are not well-established policies, and, therefore, need a steady hand and a clear commitment to
become permanent, reliable, effective policies. Unfortunately, it’s unclear who will carry the banner forward on
these important new policies.

Whither Ethics.gov?: On the campaign trail, Obama promised to build a Ethics.gov, a single website with ethics
and accountability information to transform government accountability. The White House so far has been mum on
its progress, if any.

The Sunlight Foundation is a non-partisan non-profit that uses cutting-edge technology and ideas to make
government transparent and accountable. Visit SunlightFoundation.com to learn more about Sunlight’s projects,
including TransparencyData.com and Party Time.

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