President Obama introduced his first executive orders today. In addition to a senior staff pay freeze, he imposed tough new restrictions on lobbying within his administration. The new rules are aimed at stopping the "revolving door" of lobbyists into and out of the administration. Senior staff will have to recuse themselves from working on anything they've lobbied for in the past two years and may not work in departments they've lobbied in the past two years. In addition, staff members who leave the administration will not be allowed to lobby the administration for as long as President Obama is in office.
The president also stated that the administration will err on the side of transparency with regard to Freedom of Information Act requests. Requests to withhold information will be subject to review and approval by the Justice Department and administration legal counsel.
He also implored staff to take advantage in any way they could, of input and information from the general public. He didn't give specifics, but emphasized the need to get people more involved and more connected to government and to get away from the idea that government has all the answers.
If this emphasis on ethics and transparency takes hold, it will be a great step in the right direction. Government can make a lot of mistakes and pursue policies that one might vehemently disagree with. But the strength and endurance of this country comes from its ability to correct itself. Communication, transparency and accountability are the keys to making that happen.
Comments
Great. VISIBILITY..
can we see Obama's BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
This call for responsibility from Americans may provoke me to move away from the keyboard periodically and do more than post and comment. Obama may want us to do more than wait for the government to do it.
Actually I think the idea was that govt should pay more attention to the comments you post, maybe even find ways to encourage and access more comments from more people.
justinatoure27@yahoo.com
Hello, I am Justina!
How are you ? hope you are fine and in perfect condition of health.Please I went through your profile and i read it and took interest in it,please if you don't mind i will like you to write me on this ID(justinatoure27@yahoo.com) hope to hear from you soon,and I will be waiting for your mail because i have something VERY important to tell you.
Lots of love
Justina!
if it's that important, just post it here
WOw that is WAY cool.
www.Privacy-Center.net
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