OMB to issue transparency directive within a few weeks

The Obama administration is poised to issue a long-awaited open government directive as soon as two weeks from now that strikes a balance between new information technology and new policies, White House officials said. The Obama administration is poised to issue a long-awaited open government directive as soon as two weeks from now that strikes a balance between new information technology and new policies, White House officials said. One of the president's first official acts on Jan. 21 was to issue a memo directing the person in the new position of federal chief technology officer to recommend within 120 days steps agencies should take to foster collaboration, participation and transparency in government. But the recommendations did not arrive on May 21, because CTO Aneesh Chopra was not confirmed until that day. Office of Management and Budget spokesman Tom Gavin said on Thursday that Chopra has made his recommendations. "We are close," he added. "In the next few weeks at most. In the next couple weeks, at best," assuring that the document would be out by the end of October. OMB Director Peter R. Orszag will issue the formal guidance. "It will echo many of the recommendations made by the public," Gavin said.