"Landmark Public Online Information Act [POIA] Jointly Reintroduced In House And Senate"

From a Sunlight Foundation Blog Post by Dan Schuman:

Today Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) reintroduced the landmark Public Online Information Act. If enacted, POIA would bring the government into the 21st century by requiring the government to embrace the presumption that government-held information, already required to be public, must be available online. Data should be free from the shadows of obscurity and brought into the sunlight of the Internet.

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Amid immediate concerns over government transparency projects losing funding,[***]  it is important to push for the sweeping, cultural shift that Washington desperately needs. That’s why we continue to advocate for the information government produces to be available online, in user friendly formats, and available to the public at no cost.

Read the Complete Blog Post

Sunlight Foundation Summary of the Legislation

***More on the Fed. Government Transparency Projects Losing Funding

“Sunlight Foundation Calls on Congress to Keep Funding in Budget for Data Transparency Websites”
Read the Open Letter Sent to Congress

“Save the Data”
Sign the Open Letter, Contact Congress, Etc:

“As Data.gov Goes Dark, 50 Startups Prepare to Take its Place (via Smart Data Collective)
Hat Tip and Thanks: Viz World

No Kidding: Most U.S. Government Transparency Web Sites To Go Dark (via INFOdocket)

Filed under: Data Files, Funding, News