Dan Epstein on FoxNews.com: Does it take a lawsuit for the White House to be transparent?

Read the full story here. Fox News

“Dan Epstein writes on FoxNews.com today, “On his very first day in the White House, the president remarked “transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.” So when Cause of Action asked the Office of Management and Budget(OMB) to release documents that might indicate some coordination between federal agencies and members of Congress on administrative earmarks, in addition to concerns that grant dollars were not being doled out competitively, there should have been no objection.

But the OMB has failed to release these documents. So Cause of Action is taking the White House to court, because taxpayers deserve to know if federal agencies are working behind the scenes with members of Congress to create pet projects with their tax dollars. In an era where transparency is not just touted, but promised, it is incredibly disappointing to be faced with an administration that refuses to cooperate.”

Heritage Foundation: Heritage Investigation Leads to Lawsuit Against the White House

Read the full story here. Heritage Foundation

“A public advocacy organization is suing the White House for failing to disclose its administrative earmarks, and cites a Heritage Foundation investigation as evidence.

Cause of Action, an organization that uses public advocacy to ensure transparency in government, announced its suit last week.”

 

Politico: Group sues over ‘agency earmarks’ data

Read the full story here. Politico

“The government accountability group Cause of Action is suing the Obama administration over the practice of ‘agency earmarks,’ alleging that the Office of Management and Budget is not complying with open records Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests about the practice.

Agency earmarks, in contrast to legislative earmarks, are a process where federal agencies use their discretionary funds to give out grants. Upon taking over the House in 2010, Republicans put a ban on the practice of legislative earmarking — but some lawmakers have nevertheless found ways to fill bills with pet projects.

‘By continuing to remain silent, the OMB is precluding American taxpayers from knowing the truth,’ said Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action. ‘The time for playing shell games with administrative earmarks has come to an end.'”

Office of Management and Budget