A new congressional caucus has been formed to promote open and transparent government reform. Founded May 10, 2012 by Representatives Mike Quigley (IL-05) and Darrell Issa (CA-49) the Bipartisan Transparency Caucus‘s aim is to empower citizen oversight of government action, by requiring government information to be easily accessible online.
Citizens are more willing to participate in an open government because they feel that they have a stake in what their government does. Conversely, when governments operate behind closed doors, citizens perceive government action to be taken arbitrarily. This is why the founding of this caucus is a big deal.
Also of interest, Congressperson Dan Lipinski of the Illinois 3rd district (representing Moraine Valley) is a caucus member.
Research Terms:
- Open Government
- Citizen Participation
- Government Transparency
- Sunshine Laws
- Freedom of Information Act (for each state, and the federal government)
- Open Meetings Laws
- Government 2.0 (Example: Blog by Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood)