Transparency, Accountability and Congress
Ellen Miller, Mike Klein, Micah Sifry, and Andrew Rasiej
If, as Justice Brandeis once said, "sunlight is the best disinfectant," then one big reason for the systemic corruption of Congress is that so much of what our public representatives do is hidden from public view. The press, the Fourth Estate, can barely keep up--especially when budgets for serious investigative journalism are shrinking. But new technology and the power of citizen networks offer a way to bring greater transparency and accountability to Congress. At this Berkman Luncheon, the founders of the Sunlight Foundation lead an informal and invigorating discussion of how we can restore health to our democracy.
The Sunlight Foundation's goal is to change the relationship between representatives and voters, producing greater transparency in how elected officials go about their business and allowing voters to hold their lawmakers accountable for what they do in Washington. It aims to focus more investigative attention on misbehavior by the Congress through the development and linking of sophisticated online databases capturing all the stages of the influence-peddling process; engaging citizens in a debate about corruption through the use of interactive Web tools; encouraging more investigative reporting and blogging about Congress and its lawmakers; disseminating critical information in the home districts of those lawmakers found to be engaged in inappropriate activities; promulgating a national campaign for significantly more disclosure by members of Congress as to their interventions in the legislative and regulative process; and rewarding those members who commit to making substantial changes in how Congress works.
Ellen Miller is the Executive Director of the Sunlight Foundation, formerly founding Director of the Center for Responsive Politics and founding Executive Director of Public Campaign.
Mike Klein is Chairman of the Sunlight Foundation.
Micah Sifry is Executive Editor of Personal Democracy Forum and a consultant to the Sunlight Foundation.
Andrew Rasiej is the founder of Personal Democracy Forum and a consultant to the Sunlight Foundation.