Welcome Brian Williams, guest blogger for March, 2009
March 1 means that spring is coming(!) and there's a new guest blogger over here at FGI. So let's welcome Brian Williams, research librarian for US Government, Criminology and Law & Society at UC Irvine (and a blogger in his own rights at justcrim.typepad.com). Take it away Brian! We'd also like to thank Shari Laster for being our guest in February. Shari's posts (below) were thoughtful and thorough. Thanks Shari!! As always, if you'd like to help us out and be a guest blogger, email us at admin AT freegovinfo DOT info and include your interests, and a writing sample. Thanks! Continue reading
Brian Williams: BOTM for March, 2009
Brian Williams, research librarian for US Government, Criminology and Law & Society at UC Irvine (and blogs at justcrim.typepad.com) in his own words: I've been using government information - local, regional, state, federal, tribal, foreign, international - throughout the course of my professional career. Whether working as Foreign/International Legal Research Specialist at the University of San Diego or as law librarian at a legal services office on the Navajo Nation, government information has played a significant role in my work. I believe unfettered access to government information is an important measure of democracy. "[G]overnment information needs to be free" -- We live in amazing times: I'm extraordinarily optimistic about the explosion of government information in digital formats and I'm terribly excited by preservation and access challenges in this fluid world we live in. Continue reading
Call for Action: Sign Read the Bill!
Our busy friends at the Sunlight Foundation have started a petition drive to demand that Congress post non-emergency bills for 72 hours prior to voting. This would allow both the public and Members of Congress time to read a bill before a vote. Whether you're a liberal outraged at the USA Patriot Act or a tax-cutting conservative outraged at the stimulus bill, you should be for getting Congress to STOP and READ what they're doing to the nation. If you agree, drop what you're doing and visit www.readthebill.org and add your voice to the movement that asks nothing more than that important legislation gets read. And if you're not convinced that rushed legislation is a bad thing, go read the case studies of bad bills. Then sign the petition. Continue reading
Reminder: Librarian guide on the Federal Budget Process
With the release of President Obama's budget this week, I wanted to draw your attention to a "Guide of the Week" I did last July: Guide of the Week: Federal Budget Process Jerry Breeze's guide hasn't been updated for FY 2010, but I assume it will be when more FY 2010 budget docs are released. As is, it's really good background for people who are just starting to pay attention to the federal budget. Continue reading
Presidential Records
A new CRS report analyzes President Obama's Executive Order 13489, which rescinds President G.W. Bush's E.O. 13233.
- Presidential Records: Issues for the 111th Congress, by Wendy R. Ginsberg, Congressional Research Service, R40238, February 17, 2009.
On his first full day in office, President Barack Obama issued an executive order (E.O. 13489), rescinding E.O. 13233, changing substantially the presidential record preservation policies promulgated by the George W. Bush Administration. E.O. 13489 grants the incumbent President and the relevant former Presidents 30 days to review records prior to their being released to the public. Under the policies of the Bush Administration, the incumbent President, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents, and their designees were granted broad authority to deny access to presidential documents or to delay their release indefinitely. Moreover, former Presidents had 90 days to review whether requested documents should be released. Prior to President Obama's issuance of E.O. 13489, legislation was introduced in the 111th Congress (H.R. 35) that would statutorily rescind the executive order (E.O. 13233) issued by former President George W. Bush. E.O. 13233 allowed the incumbent President—as well as former Presidents whose records were affected—to withhold from public disclosure the records of former Presidents and Vice Presidents or to delay their release indefinitely under claims of executive privilege. In addition to statutorily overturning E.O. 13233, H.R. 35 would reduce the time a President would have review his records prior to their public release. This report will analyze President Barack Obama's E.O. 13489, and discuss its departure from the policies of the previous administration. Additionally, this report will examine H.R. 35 and its possible legislative effects on the presidential records policies of the Obama Administration.Continue reading