VIDEO RELEASE: White House Transparency Behind Closed Doors?

WASHINGTON, DC – The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today released “White House: Transparency Behind Closed Doors?“, a video highlighting the White House’s recent refusal to explain an Executive Order which would politicize the federal procurement process. In its handling of this contentious Executive Order, the White House underscores its failure to live up to President Obama’s own open government and transparency promises.

CLICK HERE to Watch “White House: Transparency Behind Closed Doors?”

“The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. And the way to make government accountable is to make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they’re being made, and whether their interests are being well served.” – President Barack Obama: January 21, 2009

Yet during a May 12 joint Oversight and Small Business Committee hearing on the proposed Obama Executive Order mandating the disclosure of political donations by government contractors, senior White House aide Daniel Gordon captured this Administration’s view of “open government”:

“Does it strike you at all as being ironic to invoke confidentiality and not answering questions when we’re having a hearing about transparency?” – Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC)

“It does not, sir. I think there are discussions, even about transparency and developing rules about transparency that we need to be able to have quietly and behind closed doors.” – Hon. Daniel Gordon, Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President

The Mission of the Oversight Committee “is to hold government accountable to taxpayers, because taxpayers have a right to know what they get from their government.” Right now, American taxpayers are funding a White House that believes private donations should be injected into the nonpartisan government contracting process. How does that deliver on President Obama’s promised open and accountable government?

Retweetables:

RT @GOPOversight: WATCH “.@WhiteHouse: Transparency Behind Closed Doors?” VIDEO: http://bit.ly/kd5A2l #tcot #p2

RT @GOPOversight: what does the most “transparent” .@WhiteHouse ever REALLY think about transparency? VIDEO: http://bit.ly/kd5A2l #tcot #p2

RT @GOPOversight: why is .@WhiteHouse politicizing federal contracts? Their answer? We can’t tell you. VIDEO: http://bit.ly/kd5A2l

RT @GOPOversight: how does .@WhiteHouse treat your right to know? Like this: http://bit.ly/kd5A2l #opengov

RT @GOPOversight: what do private donations have to do w/ effective federal contracting? .@WhiteHouse won’t say: http://bit.ly/kd5A2l

RT @GOPOversight: you have a right to know why .@WhiteHouse is politicizing gov’t contracts. You pay for them: http://bit.ly/kd5A2l

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