Open Government
Public Online Information Act (POIA)
On April 4, 2011, Rep. Israel re-introduced the Public Online Information Act (POIA) (H.R. 1349), a bill that would require all public executive branch information be available online. He first introduced this legislation during the 111th Congress (2009-2010).
“Right now, our government will stamp something ‘public’ and lock it away in a warehouse in Maryland. That's about as accessible and transparent as a nuclear missile silo," Rep. Israel has said. “It’s time for ‘public’ to mean something different. People across the country – from scholars to school children – should be able to see any public government information from the convenience of their computer.”
The Public Online Information Act (POIA) requires executive branch agencies to publish all publicly available information on the Internet in a timely fashion and in user-friendly formats. The legislation requires each agency to establish a searchable catalog of all disclosed public documents. It also creates an advisory committee to help develop government-wide Internet publication policies.
OMB’s E-Government Administrator and CIOs at independent agencies are responsible for crafting regulations to implement POIA. The public is granted a limited private right of action (similar to that under FOIA) to guarantee that the government lives up to its transparency obligations. There are commonsense exemptions for trade secrets, matters of national security, personal privacy and other information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
Internet disclosure of public records becomes mandatory three years after enactment of the bill. Public records generated, updated or released after enactment must be published online.
Public information that would be required to be online under my bill but currently is not includes:
- Pension plan annual filings with the Secretary of Labor on how plans are funded, and the underlying assumptions behind their investment strategies.
- Reports disclosing lobbying activities (SF-LLLs) by government contractors and grantees made in connection with winning a grant.
- Filings by high-level government officials of their personal financial interests.
- Reports of when executive branch officials’ travel is paid for by third parties, and not the government.
- Tax returns of organizations that are exempt from federal taxation.
- Videos maintained by the National Archives.
Information about the Public Online Information Act is also available at http://thepoia.org.
Efforts for Greater Transparency
Rep. Israel has worked in Congress to increase transparency. As a Member of the House Appropriations Committee, he supported unprecedented transparency reforms. He is also one of the few Members of Congress to voluntarily post his personal financial disclosure on his website.
Rep. Israel has compiled this list of "open government" resources. Visit these sites to learn about how the government is spending tax dollars or how you can participate in the government process.
If you have an idea about putting this data to work or more resources that should be added, please contact Rep. Israel's office.
Open Government Links
- Financial Disclosures: Read Rep. Israel's Appropriations requests and personal financial disclosure.
- Open Book New York: Track New York’s federal stimulus investment.
- Data.gov: Datasets from the federal government and tools to help use them.
- Open Government Initiative: See what the White House is doing for transparency and participation.
- Regulations.gov: All regulations issued by government agencies and a place to discuss them.
- HealthCare.gov: Latest news and information on the health care reform law.
More on Open Government
Washington, DC- Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03) released the following statement after his vote to override President Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). Rep. Israel was an original cosponsor of the legislation that passed the House unanimously earlier this month:
Northport, NY. –Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03) released the following statement after participating in a House Veterans Affairs hearing today at the Northport Veterans Hospital. The hearing was held to inquire about recent reports of deficiencies at the hospital and a veteran suicide in a parking lot on facility grounds in August.
Washington, D.C. –Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03) introduced two bills aimed at increasing American manufacturing and creating jobs in New York. The “American Parks American Products Act” would require the National Park Service to only sell merchandise that is made in the United States, and the “Bring the Jobs Home Loan Act” would authorize Small Business Administration (SBA) loans that would assist businesses that want to re-shore manufacturing jobs.
Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY), Congressman Patrick Meehan (R-PA), and Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) released the following statement after receiving a response from The Pokémon Company notifying the Members that Nianitic, the developer of Pokémon Go, had removed the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) from the game:
Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Steve Israel (D –New York) introduced the Public Online Information Act of 2016, groundbreaking transparency legislation that would require executive branch agencies to make their public documents available online.
Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY), Congressman Patrick Meehan (R-PA), and Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) sent a bipartisan letter to the developer and publisher of the popular mobile game Pokémon Go, urging them to remove the PokéStops at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) that encourages Pokémon Go users to play the game inside the museum. Reps. Israel, Meehan and Deutch are appointed members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
Washington, D.C. —Today, Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) secured a provision in the Fiscal Year 2017 Defense Appropriations bill that would help ensure that no bias exists when making security clearance determinations. The amendment would direct that in fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017 the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, submit a report detailing the number of clearance denials along with a list of countries and the number of time each country was cited as the cause for denial.
Washington —Today, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) announced that he will not seek reelection this November. He released the following statement:
“Nearly 16 years ago, I was honored to take the oath of office and stand on the House Floor for the first time. Now, I’ve decided to leave the House in 2017. I hope to continue to be involved in public service, but it is time for me to pursue new passions and develop new interests, mainly spend more time writing my second novel.
Washington— Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, voted in support of the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which includes key provisions for New York, including Queens and Long Island. Passed by the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 316-113, the omnibus appropriates $1.1 trillion in spending through FY 2016.
Kings Point, NY— With only 5 legislative days left to avoid a government shutdown, Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03) announced legislation that will ensure United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) midshipmen can continue attending classes in the event of a shutdown. The Midshipmen Education Certainty Act would automatically appropriate funding to USMMA for the duration of a government shutdown. If Congress does not pass a bill to fund the government by October 1st, the government will shut down and USMMA will be forced to close its doors for the second time in two years.