White House agrees to post visitor records online
Open government advocates have scored another victory, with the Obama administration agreeing to publish records of White House visitors on its Web site.
That concession would end four legal disputes initiated by the open government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
“For the first time in history, records of White House visitors will be made available to the public on an ongoing basis,” Obama said in a statement. “We will achieve our goal of making this administration the most open and transparent administration in history not only by opening the doors of the White House to more Americans, but by shining a light on the business conducted inside. Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process.”
Each month, the White House said it plans to refresh its Web site with the records of visitors from the previous three to four months.
Excluded from the disclosure will be sensitive information such as the visits from prospective Supreme Court nominees or appointments involving national security matters.
That exception didn’t much bother CREW.
“The Obama administration has proven its pledge to usher in a new era of government transparency was more than just a campaign promise,” declared Melanie Sloan, the group’s executive director.
CREW had initiated the legal proceedings after both the Bush and Obama administrations had rebuffed its Freedom of Information Act requests to disclose information about visits to the White House from various interest groups and industries.
(By Kenneth Corbin | internetnews)
- Raquel Leoncio
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