Coalition of 36 groups calling for "most transparent" presidential
administration ever
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sen. Barack Obama
(D-IL), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) have signed
oaths declaring that, should they win the presidency in 2008, they will
issue an executive order during their first month in office instructing the
entire executive branch to put into practice the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, a Google-like search tool that
will allow you to see how your tax dollars are being spent on federal
contracts, grants and earmarks.
All of the major presidential candidates have been invited to sign the
"oath of presidential transparency" which is being promoted by a diverse
coalition of 36 groups, led by Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank
that has advised the last four presidential administrations.
"The next president should be committed to transparency and
accountability," said Adrian Moore, vice president of research at Reason
Foundation. "Redesigning the federal government so that it is more
accountable to taxpayers is a nonpartisan issue. Transparency will help
produce a government focused on results instead of our current system,
which is plagued by secrecy, wasteful spending and pork projects."
"Every American has the right to know how the government spends their
tax dollars, but for too long that information has been largely hidden from
public view," said Sen. Obama. "This historic law will lift the veil of
secrecy in Washington and ensure that our government is transparent and
accountable to the American people."
"Government transparency is essential to government accountability.
Americans need to feel they can trust their government," Sen. Brownback
stated.
"When government spends the people's money, it must be done with utmost
possible transparency," Rep. Paul, the first to sign the oath, declared.
"Signing the Oath of Presidential Transparency was a no-brainer for me."
The oath was sent to every presidential candidate who has met the
Federal Election Commission's filing requirements and has "raised or spent
$50,000 or more (the threshold for mandatory electronic filing) from
sources or to payees other than the candidate him or herself." The oath was
first distributed to every presidential candidate's headquarters on July
17, 2007. Subsequently, at least five follow-up emails or calls were made
to each campaign.
Full Oath Online
The complete oath of presidential transparency is available online at
http://www.reason.org/oath/.
About the Coalition
An alliance of 36 diverse groups is advocating the presidential
accountability oath. The following groups are part of the coalition:
American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, American Association of
Small Property Owners, Americans for Tax Reform, Budget Watch Nevada,
Capital Research Center, Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights,
Center for Individual Freedom, Citizen Outreach Project, Citizens Against
Government Waste, Doctors for Open Government, Electronic Frontier
Foundation, Evergreen Freedom Foundation, FreedomWorks, Grassroot Institute
of Hawaii, Iowa Public Policy Institute, Liberty Coalition, Mackinac Center
for Public Policy, Minnesota Free Market Institute, Mississippi Center for
Public Policy, National Taxpayers Union, Nevada Policy Research Institute,
Reason Foundation, Republican Liberty Caucus, Research Accountability
Project, Rio Grande Foundation, Taxpayers League of Minnesota, Texans for
Fiscal Responsibility, The Harbor League, The Performance Institute, The
Project on Government Oversight, The Pullins Report, The Rutherford
Institute, US Bill of Rights Foundation, Velvet Revolution, Virginia
Institute for Public Policy, and Washington Policy Center.
About Reason Foundation
Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing free
minds and free markets. Reason produces respected public policy research on
a variety of issues and publishes the critically acclaimed monthly
magazine, Reason. Reason Foundation does not endorse any political
candidates. For more information, please visit http://www.reason.org.
Government Contact
Presidential candidates interested in signing the oath, or
organizations interested in joining the coalition, should contact Reason
Foundation's Amanda Hydro at (202) 236-9193.
SOURCE Reason Foundation
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Related links:
http://www.reason.org
http://www.reason.com
CONTACT:
Mike Flynn, Director of Government Affairs,
+1-202-427-2127, or Chris Mitchell, Director of Communications,
+1-310-367-6109, both of Reason Foundation
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