The DOD, Cyber Security & Congressional Committee Fundraising

Before I delve into Friday’s Transparency Recap, I want to let the open government community know about a very encouraging conversation VoterWatch had with C-SPAN. On Thursday, VoterWatch’s co-founder, Perla Ni, and I joined C-SPAN’s co-president, Robert Kennedy, for a phone conversation about the availability of C-SPAN’s Congressional content.

The conversation went swimmingly and showed us first hand the rapid speed at which C-SPAN has met (and is continuing to meet) the demands that are posed in today’s technological age. Aside from taking the time to discuss VoterWatch’s work, Kennedy offered us a variety of options that will assist us in our quest for high-quality Congressional committee content. After all, high quality content is an essential component for our VoterWatch media player. As details unfold, we will be sure to cue you in.

We would like to give a round of applause to C-SPAN for stepping up to the plate and assisting the open government community in its quest for engagement and full government disclosure. And now, for Friday’s recap:

Today, the CREW blog reported on a letter that the Department of Defense wrote in response to CREW’s concerns over Sioux Manufacturing. CREW’s initial concerns were voiced to the DOD over evidence that Sioux Manufacturing “...has been outfitting our nation’s troops with substandard Kevlar helmets.” Some of these helmets were allegedly used by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On a different—but equally interesting note—the Corruption Chronicles published an entry about North Carolina’s educational ban on illegal immigrants. According to CC, the North Carolina community college system is the first state system to issue such a ban.

“[They] announced a statewide policy this week barring undocumented students entirely from seeking degrees at any of its 58 schools. A handful of public institutions forbid illegal immigrants from enrolling, but this marks the first statewide policy blocking illegal aliens seeking a taxpayer financed college education.”

In other news, the Secrecy News blog reported that the Senate Armed Services Committee feels as though the new Cyber Security Initiative is too secretive. The Senate report stated the following:

“It is difficult to conceive how the United States could promulgate a meaningful [information warfare] deterrence doctrine if every aspect of our capabilities and operational concepts is classified.”

And some encouraging news: OpenSecrets.org is now tracking fundraising information by Congressional committee. Clearly, this will prove useful in terms of government transparency and accountability. According to the Capital Eye bog,

“Congressional committees are the legislative trenches—and the bigger the bill, the higher the stakes, the more generous the campaign donations to members of the committee with jurisdiction over the issue.”

That’s all for today. Stay tuned for Monday’s Transparency Recap!

by billy

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