Open-gov sites likely to stay online under new CR funding

from ExecutiveGov:

The latest proposal for a continuing resolution to come out of the House Appropriations Committee includes $17 million for the Office of Management and Budget’s E-Government program, which administers funds for open-government sites, Federal News Radio reports.

However, while a marked increase from the $2 million previously proposed, it is still a far cry from the $35 million the administration has requested.

However, it will likely be enough to keep running eight open-gov websites slated to go dark in May because of a lack funding.

Read the rest here.

Many Federal Agencies Missed Deadline for Transparency Web Page

ProPublica and its Transparency Tracker reports that 27 of 64 independent federal agencies don't have an "open government" web page, despite the directive requiring them to do so by February 6.

The White House's Open Government Dashboard lists 29 agencies as having open government sites.

The next transparency deadline is March 8, when the White House Office of Management and Budget is supposed to provide a framework for "how agencies can use challenges, prizes, and other incentive-backed strategies to find innovative or cost-effective solutions to improving open government."

For more info, click here.

Troubled housing agencies receive stimulus money

USA Today and a representative from the Office of Management and Budget reviewed audits to identify 61 housing authorities who have been cited at least three times for mismanaging money. More than $300 million in stimulus dollars will go to these agencies despite their poor history.

The federal government will soon send more than $300 million in stimulus funds to 61 housing agencies that have been repeatedly faulted by auditors for mishandling government aid, a USA TODAY review has found.

The money is part of a $4 billion effort to create jobs by fixing public housing projects that have fallen into disrepair. Recipients include housing authorities in 26 states that auditors have cited for problems ranging from poor bookkeeping to money that was spent improperly, according to the review of summaries the agencies must file with the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The government has promised to closely monitor how the agencies spend the money. Still, some watchdog groups are concerned. "I think taxpayers are going to have to steel themselves to hear that a lot of this money has gone down the tubes," says Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste.

More here.