Groundwork is laid to create a transparent government, official says

Although the groundwork has been laid to make the federal government more open and transparent, few tangible results exist, according to a column published today on the Huffington Post by Ellen Miller, the executive director of the Sunlight Foundation.

Obama has taken perhaps the most substantive efforts ever to create a transparent government during his first year in office, she writes.

“In 2010, the president needs to translate his intention of an open government into bold action that makes transparency something Americans can use to hold government accountable, and that codifies memos and directives into law,” Miller writes.

One highlight during Obama’s first year in office was the reversal of a President George W. Bush-era directive to make government officials cautious about releasing information under the Freedom of Information Act, Miller writes. A declaration that there should be a presumption towards openness in handling information requests is a positive step towards transparency, according to Miller.