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| Are there categories of unclassified information data you know exist on paper or in government computers that would be of value to the public if posted and regularly updated on an agency's Web site? |
| CDT and OMB Watch are seeking to identify the |
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| reports or data sets that should be on the Web , |
| but are missing in action due to the failure of the government to use the Internet fully. |
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| The Internet has obvious advantages for making |
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available to the public at no cost. But the record of federal usage of the Internet is spotty. We know that there are documents of obvious publicinterest that the government has not yet put online.
For example, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) uses taxpayer dollars to produce excellent reports on public policy issues ranging from foreign affairs to agriculture to health care.
These reports are posted online, but on an internal system available only to Congressional offices through a password. Citizens can order these reports through their member of Congress, but only by mail, and the general public cannot search through past reports. Some listings of reports are haphazardly made available, but, basically, you have to guess whether there is a report on a subject of concern to you. |
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| Many people are concerned that government agencies are not putting documents on the Internet that that they are required by law to make available to the public in electronic form. Others have pointed out specific courts and court opinions that have not been made available to the public on the Net. To bring pressure to bear on the government to make better use of the Internet, CDT and OMB Watch are searching for categories of information that would significantly benefit researchers, reporters, communities and individuals. |
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| Send us your nomination: a report written by a federal agency, maps or data sets created through government research projects, or judicial decisions and court proceedings that are available on paper but not online. We will pick the ten most egregious cases and then we will use OMB, the Congress and the media to publicize them until the agencies respond. |
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Either fill out a brief form. Or simply send a message to
Tell us if you are a researcher or
student, a government employee, or just a concerned citizen. Please also
let us know if you work for an organization or if you are just representing
yourself.
Your name will be kept confidential. |
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