Obama vows to open up federal government with memo

In the first few days of his administration, President Barack Obama took action to promote openness in the federal government.

"Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their government is doing," the president said in a memo. It told his staff he would be running an open administration and directed them to follow suit, Jennifer LaFleur wrote in her Citizen Watchdog column in the Dallas Morning News.

Obama also issued a memo on FOIA that directed agencies to work toward disclosure when fulfilling requests.

"The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fear," the memo said.

The actions are in contrast to the policy of the Bush administration. Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001 issued a memo telling federal agencies that his office would support their decisions to withhold information.

"When you carefully consider FOIA requests and decide to withhold records, in whole or in part, you can be assured that the Department of Justice will defend your decisions," the Ashcroft memo said.

In his memo, President Obama asked the new attorney general to issue guidelines on FOIA, "reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency."

An Obama memo also directed agencies of the federal government to use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their government.

Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org, said it would be "an enormous change for government openness and accountability and for the ability of the public to meaningfully participate."

The president also reversed an order by President Bush that gave formerly presidents and their heirs broad authority to stop the release of White House records.