When I first began tracking the results of President Obama’s Sunlight Before Signing promise to post bills coming from Congress online for five days before signing them, I quickly noticed that the White House was holding many bills for five days in the natural course of business, but not posting them, denying itself easy successes.

Followers of this blog and that issue may recall seeing columns in my Sunlight Before Signing tables titled “Five Days?” That was to say, “Hey, White House! These are easy wins for you!”

Well, as I reported in my last update, the White House has now made a practice of posting all bills on a special section of the Whitehouse.gov web site. And they are posting all the bills they receive.

We no longer need to highlight those five-day bills, so we’ve simplified the chart!

As you’ll see below, we’ve got the date the bill was presented to the president, the date he signed it into law, and a “Yes” or “No” simply to indicate whether there was Sunlight Before Signing compliance or not.

And the results are? . . . getting better—but painfully slowly.

President Obama has signed 213 bills into law now. One was an emergency bill, not subject to the Sunlight Before Signing promise. Out of the 212 remaining bills, he’s carried out his Sunlight Before Signing promise on 54 occasions—just over a quarter of the time.

In 2009, the administration was 6 for 124 — a dismal .049 average. So far in 2010, he’s 48 for 88, giving bills the promised sunlight just over half the time.

That’s a pretty far cry from carrying out his clear promise to put all bills online five days before signing them. But we’re seeing improvement. I’ve long guessed that we’ll see full implementation after the next election when people’s attention turns to the credibility of the president on the 2012 campaign trail.

With that, the full Sunlight Before Signing chart…

Public Law	Date Presented	Date Signed	Posted [(Linked)]?	Posted Five Days?
P.L. 111-2, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009	1/28/2009	1/29/2009	1/29/2009*	No
P.L. 111-3, The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009	2/4/2009	2/4/2009	(2/1/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-4, The DTV Delay Act	2/9/2009	2/11/2009	2/5/2009*	Yes †
P.L. 111-5, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009	2/16/2009	2/17/2009	(2/13/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-6, Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2009, and for other purposes	3/6/2009	3/6/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-7, A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2105 East Cook Street in Springfield, Illinois, as the “Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr. Post Office Building”	2/26/09	3/9/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-8, The Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009	3/11/2009	3/11/2009	(3/5/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-9, To extend certain immigration programs	3/18/2009	3/20/2009	(3/19/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-10, To provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes	3/19/2009	3/20/2009	(3/19/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-11, The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009	3/30/2009	3/30/2009	(3/27/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-12, The Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2009	3/24/2009	3/30/2009	(3/24/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-13, The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act	4/20/2009	4/21/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-14, To designate the United States courthouse under construction at 327 South Church Street, Rockford, Illinois, as the “Stanley J. Roszkowski United States Courthouse”	4/14/2009	4/23/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-15, The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Act of 2009	4/14/2009	4/24/2009	(3/27/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-16, The Statutory Time-Periods Technical Amendments Act of 2009	4/30/2009	5/7/2009	(4/29/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-17, A joint resolution providing for the appointment of David M. Rubenstein as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution	4/28/2009	5/7/2009	(4/23/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-18, A bill to repeal section 10(f) of Public Law 93-531, commonly known as the “Bennett Freeze”	4/28/2009	5/8/2009	(4/23/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-19, The Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009	4/30/2009	5/12/2009	(4/29/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-20, The Protecting Incentives for the Adoption of Children with Special Needs Act of 2009	5/5/2009	5/15/2009	(5/5/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-21, The FERA	5/19/2009	5/20/2009	(5/15/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-22, The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009	5/20/2009	5/22/2009	(5/20/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-23, The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009	5/21/2009	5/22/2009	5/14/2009*	No
P.L. 111-24, The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009	5/20/2009	5/22/2009	5/15/2009*	No
P.L. 111-25, The Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act	5/21/2009	6/2/2009	(5/28/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-26, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 12877 Broad Street in Sparta, Georgia, as the “Yvonne Ingram-Ephraim Post Office Building”	6/9/2009	6/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-27, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 300 East 3rd Street in Jamestown, New York, as the “Stan Lundine Post Office Building”	6/9/2009	6/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-28, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 103 West Main Street in McLain, Mississippi, as the “Major Ed W. Freeman Post Office”	6/9/2009	6/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-29, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3245 Latta Road in Rochester, New York, as the “Brian K. Schramm Post Office Building”	6/9/2009	6/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-30, The Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 Extension Act	6/19/2009	6/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-31, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act	6/16/2009	6/22/2009	(6/12/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-32, The Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009	6/19/2009	6/24/2009	(5/20/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-33, The Native American Heritage Day Act of 2009	6/16/2009	6/26/2009	(6/16/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-34, To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 306 East Main Street in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, as the “J. Herbert W. Small Federal Building and United States Courthouse”	6/19/2009	6/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-35, To designate the Federal building located at 799 United Nations Plaza in New York, New York, as the “Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building”	6/19/2009	6/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-36, The Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009	6/19/2009	6/30/2009	(6/19/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-37, The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009	6/25/2009	6/30/2009	(6/25/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-38, A bill to provide additional personnel authorities for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction	6/24/2009	6/30/2009	(6/19/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-39, To make technical corrections to the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes	6/26/2009	7/1/2009	(6/26/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-40, A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (”WASP”)	6/24/2009	7/1/2009	(6/29/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-41, The Korean War Veterans Recognition Act	7/27/2009	7/27/2009	(7/25/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-42, Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, and for other purposes	7/27/2009	7/28/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-43, A bill to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes	7/30/2009	7/31/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-44, The New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act	7/27/2009	8/7/2009	(7/27/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-45, To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes	7/27/2009	8/7/2009	(7/27/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-46, To restore sums to the Highway Trust Fund, and for other purposes	8/4/2009	8/7/2009	(8/5/09)	No
P.L. 111-47, Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2009 for the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program	8/6/2009	8/7/2009	(8/5/2009)	No
P.L. 111-48, The Miami Dade College Land Conveyance Act	7/31/2009	8/12/2009	(7/31/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-49, The Judicial Survivors Protection Act of 2009	8/3/2009	8/12/2009	(8/5/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-50, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 46-02 21st Street in Long Island City, New York, as the “Geraldine Ferraro Post Office Building”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-51, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 601 8th Street in Freedom, Pennsylvania, as the “John Scott Challis, Jr. Post Office”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-52, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2351 West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, Florida, as the “Elijah Pat Larkins Post Office Building”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-53, The Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act of 2009	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	(8/11/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-54, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 41 Purdy Avenue in Rye, New York, as the “Caroline O’Day Post Office Building”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-55, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 431 State Street in Ogdensburg, New York, as the “Frederic Remington Post Office Building”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-56, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 123 11th Avenue South in Nampa, Idaho, as the “Herbert A Littleton Postal Station”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-57, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1300 Matamoros Street in Laredo, Texas, as the “Laredo Veterans Post Office”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-58, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 702 East University Avenue in Georgetown, Texas, as the “Kyle G. West Post Office Building”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-59, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 19190 Cochran Boulevard FRNT in Port Charlotte, Florida, as the “Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post Office Building”	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-60, To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	(8/11/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-61, Recognizing the service, sacrifice, honor, and professionalism of the Noncommissioned Officers of the United States Army	8/11/2009	8/19/2009	(8/11/09)	No ‡
P.L. 111-62, A joint resolution granting the consent and approval of Congress to amendments made by the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact	8/7/2009	8/19/2009	(8/7/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-63, The WIPA and PABSS Reauthorization Act of 2009	9/10/2009	9/18/2009	(9/10/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-64, A joint resolution providing for the appointment of France A. Cordova as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution	9/11/2009	9/18/2009	(9/11/09)	No ‡
P.L. 111-65, To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of Congress to Arnold Palmer in recognition of his service to the Nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship in golf	9/21/2009	9/30/2009	(9/21/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-66, To provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes	9/30/2009	9/30/2009	(9/30/2009)	No
P.L. 111-67, The Defense Production Act Reauthorization of 2009	9/24/2009	9/30/2009	(9/24/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-68, The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010	9/30/2009	10/1/2009	(10/1/2009) and (10/23/09)	No
P.L. 111-69, The Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act	9/30/2009	10/1/2009	(9/30/2009)	No
P.L. 111-70, To amend the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 to reauthorize the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy	9/30/2009	10/9/2009	(10/1/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-71, To amend the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to extend by one year the operation of Radio Free Asia, and for other purposes	9/30/2009	10/9/2009	(10/1/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-72, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to delay the date on which the accreditation requirement under the Medicare Program applies to suppliers of durable medical equipment that are pharmacies	10/7/2009	10/13/2009	(10/7/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-73, The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009	10/5/2009	10/15/2009	(10/2/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-74, To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at McKinley Avenue and Third Street, SW., Canton, Ohio, as the “Ralph Regula Federal Building and United States Courthouse”	10/7/2009	10/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-75, To designate the United States courthouse located at 525 Magoffin Avenue in El Paso, Texas, as the “Albert Armendariz, Sr., United States Courthouse”	10/7/2009	10/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-76, To provide for the transfer of certain Federal Property to the Galveston Historical Foundation	10/7/2009	10/19/2009	(10/7/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-77, To designate the Federal building located at 844 North Rush Street in Chicago, Illinois, as the “William O. Lipinski Federal Building”	10/7/2009	10/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-78, To designate the United States courthouse located at 301 Simonton Street in Key West, Florida, as the “Sidney M. Aronovitz United States Courthouse”	10/7/2009	10/19/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-79, The Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act of 2009	10/7/2009	10/19/2009	(10/7/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-80, The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010	10/16/2009	10/21/2009	(10/9/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-81, The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009	10/16/2009	10/22/2009	(10/16/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-82, A bill to authorize major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes	10/15/2009	10/26/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-83, The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010	10/22/2009	10/28/2009	(10/9/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-84, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010	10/26/2009	10/28/2009	(10/21/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-85, The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010	10/21/2009	10/28/2009	(10/21/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-86, The Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act	10/22/2009	10/29/2009	(10/21/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-87, The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009	10/26/2009	10/30/2009	(10/21/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-88, The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010	10/30/2009	10/30/2009	(10/28/2009)*	No
P.L. 111-89, A bill to provide for additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes	10/30/2009	10/30/2009	(10/29/2009)	No
P.L. 111-90, The Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Amendments Act of 2009	10/22/2009	11/3/2009	(10/22/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-91, The Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009	10/29/2009	11/6/2009	(10/29/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-92, The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009	11/5/2009	11/6/2009	(11/5/2009)	No
P.L. 111-93, The Credit CARD Technical Corrections Act of 2009	10/30/2009	11/6/2009	(10/30/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-94, Proclaiming Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously	10/29/2009	11/6/2009	(10/29/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-95, A bill to amend title 36, United States Code, to grant a Federal charter to the Military Officers Association of America, and for other purposes	10/30/2009	11/6/2009	(10/30/2009)*	No ‡
P.L. 111-96, A bill to allow the funding for the interoperable emergency communications grant program established under the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to remain available until expended through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes	10/30/2009	11/6/2009	(10/30/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-97, The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act	11/4/2009	11/11/2009	(11/4/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-98, A bill to authorize a major medical facility project at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Walla, Walla, Washington, and for other purposes	11/4/2009	11/11/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-99, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10355 Northeast Valley Road in Rollingbay, Washington, as the “John ‘Bud’ Hawk Post Office”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-100, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 37926 Church Street in Dade City, Florida, as the “Sergeant Marcus Mathes Post Office”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-101, To name the South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture in Lane, Oklahoma, and the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 310 North Perry Street in Bennington, Oklahoma, in honor of former Congressman Wesley “Wes” Watkins	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-102, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4282 Beach Street in Akron, Michigan, as the “Akron Veterans Memorial Post Office”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-103, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 140 Merriman Road in Garden City, Michigan, as the “John J. Shivnen Post Office Building”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-104, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1615 North Wilcox Avenue in Los Angeles, California, as the “Johnny Grant Hollywood Post Office Building”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-105, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 115 West Edward Street in Erath, Louisiana, as the “Conrad DeRouen, Jr. Post Office”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-106, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 867 Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, as the “Lim Poon Lee Post Office”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-107, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1165 2nd Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, as the “Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Post Office”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-108, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 936 South 250 East in Provo, Utah, as the “Rex E. Lee Post Office Building”	11/20/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-109, A bill to redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2777 Logan Avenue in San Diego, California, as the “Cesar E. Chavez Post Office”	1/28/2009	1/29/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-110, A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 60 School Street, Orchard Park, New York, as the “Jack F. Kemp Post Office Building”	11/19/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-111, A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 630 Northeast Killingsworth Avenue in Portland, Oregon, as the “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office”	11/19/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-112, A bill to extend the authority for relocation expenses test programs for Federal employees, and for other purposes	11/19/2009	11/30/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-113, A bill to amend title 36, United States Code, to include in the Federal charter of the Reserve Officers Association leadership positions newly added in its constitution and bylaws	12/2/2009	12/14/2009	(12/2/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-114, A bill to permit each current member of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance to serve for 3 terms	12/2/2009	12/14/2009	(12/2/2009)	No ‡
P.L. 111-115, To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act to prohibit retroactive payments to individuals during periods for which such individuals are prisoners, fugitive felons, or probation or parole violators	12/14/2009	12/15/2009	No	No
P.L. 111-116, To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend authorizations for the airport improvement program, and for other purposes	12/14/2009	12/16/2009	(12/14/2009)	No
P.L. 111-117, The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010	12/15/2009	12/16/2009	(12/15/2009)	No
P.L. 111-118, Making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes	12/19/2009	12/19/2009	(12/19/2009)	No
P.L. 111-119, A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to clarify the eligibility requirements with respect to airline flight crews	12/9/2009	12/21/2009	(12/11/2009)	Yes
P.L. 111-120, To extend through December 31, 2010, the authority of the Secretary of the Army to accept and expend funds contributed by non-Federal public entities to expedite the processing of permits	12/14/2009	12/22/2009	(12/14/2009)	Yes
P.L. 111-121, Appointing the day for the convening of the second session of the One Hundred Eleventh Congress	12/16/2009	12/22/2009	(12/16/2009)	Yes
P.L. 111-122, A bill to establish a section within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice to enforce human rights laws, to make technical and conforming amendments to criminal and immigration laws pertaining to human rights violations, and for other purposes	12/17/2009	12/22/2009	(12/17/2009)	Yes
P.L. 111-123, To permit continued financing of Government operations	12/24/2009	12/28/2009	(12/25/2009)	No
P.L. 111-124, To extend the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act, and for other purposes	12/23/2009	12/28/2009	(12/23/2009)	Yes
P.L. 111-125, To extend the commercial space transportation liability regime	12/24/2009	12/28/2009	(12/25/2009)	No
P.L. 111-126, To accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti	01/22/2010	01/22/2010	(01/22/2010)	No
P.L. 111-127, The Emergency Aid to American Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake Act	01/27/2010	01/27/2010	n/a E!	n/a E!
P.L. 111-128, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 116 North West Street in Somerville, Tennessee, as the “John S. Wilder Post Office Building”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-129, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 76 Brookside Avenue in Chester, New York, as the “1st Lieutenant Louis Allen Post Office”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-130, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9810 Halls Ferry Road in St. Louis, Missouri, as the “Coach Jodie Bailey Post Office Building”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-131, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 440 South Gulling Street in Portola, California, as the “Army Specialist Jeremiah Paul McCleery Post Office Building”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-132, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 427 Harrison Avenue in Harrison, New Jersey, as the “Patricia D. McGinty-Juhl Post Office Building”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-133, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 16555 Springs Street in White Springs, Florida, as the “Clyde L. Hillhouse Post Office Building”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-134, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 170 North Main Street in Smithfield, Utah, as the “W. Hazen Hillyard Post Office Building”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-135, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Darrow Road in Stow, Ohio, as the “Corporal Joseph A. Tomci Post Office Building”	01/20/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-136, To provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes	01/29/2010	01/29/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-137, To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand veteran eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility, and for other purposes	01/20/2010	02/01/2010	(01/20/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-138, A bill to provide that claims of the United States to certain documents relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt shall be treated as waived and relinquished in certain circumstances	01/22/2010	02/01/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-139, Increasing the statutory limit on the public debt	02/04/2010	02/12/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-140, The Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act	02/04/2010	02/16/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-141, An Act to extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 and Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 until February 28, 2011	02/26/2010	02/27/2010	(02/26/2010)	No
P.L. 111-142, The Social Security Disability Applicants’ Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010	02/25/2010	02/27/2010	(02/25/2010)	No
P.L. 111-143, The Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2009	02/17/2010	03/01/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-144, The Temporary Extension Act of 2010	03/02/2010	03/02/2010	(03/03/2010)	No
P.L. 111-145, The Capitol Police Administrative Technical Corrections Act of 2009	03/04/2010	03/04/2010	(02/26/2010)*	No
P.L. 111-146, The Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010	03/17/2010	03/17/2010	(03/05/2010)	Yes †
P.L. 111-147, The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act	03/17/2010	03/18/2010	(03/18/2010)*	No
P.L. 111-148, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act	03/22/2010	03/23/2010	(03/14/2010)*	No
P.L. 111-149, To amend the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to establish requirements regarding payment of the non-Federal share of the costs of wetlands conservation projects in Canada that are funded under that Act, and for other purposes	03/15/2010	03/25/2010	(03/15/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-150, P.L. 111-150, To permit the use of previously appropriated funds to extend the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, and for other purposes	03/26/2010	03/26/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-151, The Satellite Television Extension Act of 2010	03/26/2010	03/26/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-152, The Reconciliation Act of 2010	03/30/2010	03/30/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-153, The Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010	03/26/2010	03/31/2010	(03/26/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-154, The PACT Act	03/19/2010	03/31/2010	(03/18/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-155, The Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act	04/01/2010	04/07/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-156, Recognizing and honoring the Blinded Veterans Association on its 65th anniversary of representing blinded veterans and their families	04/01/2010	04/07/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-157, The Continuing Extension Act of 2010	04/15/2010	04/15/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-158, The Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act of 2010	04/15/2010	04/26/2010	(04/15/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-159, To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that health coverage provided by the Department of Defense is treated as minimal essential coverage	04/14/2010	04/26/2010	(04/14/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-160, A joint resolution granting the consent and approval of Congress to amendments made by the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact	04/16/2010	04/26/2010	(04/16/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-161, The Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010	04/29/2010	04/30/2010	(04/29/2010)*	No
P.L. 111-162, A bill to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes	04/29/2010	04/30/2010	(04/29/2010)*	No
P.L. 111-163, The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009	04/27/2010	05/05/2010	(04/23/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-164, To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs blind rehabilitation center in Long Beach, California, as the “Major Charles R. Soltes, Jr., O.D. Department of Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation Center”	04/26/2010	05/07/2010	(04/26/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-165, To provide that Members of Congress shall not receive a cost of living adjustment in pay during fiscal year 2011	05/03/2010	05/14/2010	(05/03/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-166, The Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009	05/06/2010	05/17/2010	(05/06/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-167, The Blue Ridge Parkway and Town of Blowing Rock Land Exchange Act of 2009	05/13/2010	05/24/2010	(05/13/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-168, To provide for the sale of the Federal Government’s reversionary interest in approximately 60 acres of land in Salt Lake City, Utah, originally conveyed to the Mount Olivet Cemetery Association under the Act of January 23, 1909	05/13/2010	05/24/2010	(05/13/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-169, To provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former President John Adams and his legacy, and for other purposes	05/13/2010	05/24/2010	(05/13/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-170, To amend title 39, United States Code, to clarify the instances in which the term “census” may appear on mailable matter	05/13/2010	05/24/2010	(05/13/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-171, The Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010	05/13/2010	05/24/2010	(05/13/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-172, The Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009	05/17/2010	05/24/2010	(05/18/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-173, To clarify the health care provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that constitutes minimum essential coverage	05/21/2010	05/27/2010	(05/21/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-174, The Federal Judiciary Administrative Improvements Act of 2009	05/21/2010	05/27/2010	(05/21/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-175, The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010	05/17/2010	05/27/2010	(05/18/2010)*	Yes
P.L. 111-176, To designate the Department of the Interior Building in Washington, District of Columbia, as the “Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building”	05/28/2010	06/08/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-177, The Extending Immunities to the Office of the High Representative and the International Civilian Office in Kosovo Act of 2010	05/27/2010	06/08/2010	(05/27/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-178, The FBI Families of Fallen Heroes Act	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-179, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1210 West Main Street in Riverhead, New York, as the “Private First Class Garfield M. Langhorn Post Office Building”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-180, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 109 Main Street in Swifton, Arkansas, as the “George Kell Post Office”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-181, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 West Highway 64 Bypass in Roper, North Carolina, as the “E.V. Wilkins Post Office”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-182, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 43 Maple Avenue in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, as the “Ann Marie Blute Post Office”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-183, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9727 Antioch Road in Overland Park, Kansas, as the “Congresswoman Jan Meyers Post Office Building”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-184, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 7464 Highway 503 in Hickory, Mississippi, as the “Sergeant Matthew L. Ingram Post Office”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-185, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 45300 Portola Avenue in Palm Desert, California, as the “Roy Wilson Post Office”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-186, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 930 39th Avenue in Greeley, Colorado, as the “W.D. Farr Post Office Building”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-187, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2-116th Street in North Troy, New York, as the “Martin G. ‘Marty’ Mahar Post Office”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-188, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 119 Station Road in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, as the “Captain Luther H. Smith, U.S. Army Air Forces Post Office”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-189, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 Westwood Avenue in Westwood, New Jersey, as the “Sergeant Christopher R. Hrbek Post Office Building”	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-190, To amend the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 to extend the operation of such Act for a 5-year period ending June 22, 2015, and for other purposes	06/01/2010	06/09/2010	(06/01/2010)	Yes
P.L. 111-191, A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to authorize advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill	06/14/2010	06/15/2010	(06/10/2010)	No
P.L. 111-192, The Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act	06/24/2010	06/25/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-193, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2000 Louisiana Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the “Roy Rondeno, Sr. Post Office Building”	06/17/2010	06/28/2010	[06/17/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-194, A joint resolution to provide for the reconsideration and revision of the proposed constitution of the United States Virgin Islands to correct provisions inconsistent with the Constitution and Federal law	06/30/2010	06/30/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-195, Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010	06/28/2010	07/01/2010	[06/24/2010]	No
P.L. 111-196, National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010	07/01/2010	07/02/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-197, Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010, Part II	07/01/2010	07/02/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-198, Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010	07/01/2010	07/02/2010	No	No
P.L. 111-199, Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act	06/25/2010	07/07/2010	[06/25/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-200, Congressional Award Program Reauthorization Act of 2009	06/25/2010	07/07/2010	[06/25/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-201, Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War and reaffirming the United States-Korea alliance	06/25/2010	07/07/2010	[06/25/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-202, To permanently authorize Radio Free Asia, and for other purposes	07/01/2010	07/13/2010	[07/01/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-203, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act	07/15/2010	07/21/2010	[06/30/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-204, Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010	07/20/2010	07/22/2010	[07/15/2010]	Yes †
P.L. 111-205, Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010	07/22/2010	07/22/2010	[07/15/2010]	No
P.L. 111-206, Shasta-Trinity National Forest Administrative Jurisdiction Transfer Act	07/19/2010	07/27/2010	[07/19/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-207, Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010	07/19/2010	07/27/2010	[07/16/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-208, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1981 Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, as the `Clarence D. Lumpkin Post Office’	07/19/2010	07/27/2010	[07/19/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-209, To amend the effective date of the gift card provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009	07/15/2010	07/27/2010	[07/16/2010]	Yes
P.L. 111-210, Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003	07/27/2010	07/27/2010	[07/27/2010]	No
P.L. 111-211, To protect Indian arts and crafts through the improvement of applicable criminal proceedings, and for other purposes	07/27/2010	07/29/2010	[07/23/2010]	Yes †
P.L. 111-212, Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010	07/29/2010	07/29/2010	(03/24/2010)	No
P.L. 111-213, Independent Living Centers Technical Adjustment Act	07/29/2010	07/29/2010	[07/29/2010]	No

(Parentheses indicate a separate Whitehouse.gov page with a link to Thomas legislative database)
* Page now gone, but it was either directly observed, evidence of it appears in Whitehouse.gov search, or White House says it existed.
[Brackets indicate a link from Whitehouse.gov to Thomas legislative database]

† Bill was posted for five days after final passage, though not formal presentment. Counted as “Yes.”

‡ Link to final version of bill on impossible-to-find page.

E! Emergency legislation not subject to five-day posting

Sunlight Before Signing—Simplified! is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

I wrote the other day that it was poor implementation of President Obama’s Sunlight Before Signing promise to post bills for public review before Congress has sent them to the president. (The ideal time to start the Sunlight Before Signing five-day clock is “presentment,” the formal step when Congress sends a bill to the president.)

Today, three bills that have not been presented to the president are posted on Whitehouse.gov as if they are ready for him to sign. (One of them, S. 1508, has been cleared for the president, but not presented. The other two haven’t seen final votes in Congress.)

(Update: Later this morning, a fourth bill was added. H.R. 5502 has been passed by the House and Senate and cleared for the White House, but not presented, according to the Thomas legislative reporting system. It may be that the bill has been presented, but the fact is not yet reported on Thomas. Similarly, H.R. 4173 did have its final vote in Congress yesterday—it was my error to say otherwise—but its presentment is not indicated on Thomas. Based on that, I presume it has not been presented, but I cannot be sure. These facts—ahem—“cloud” this critique of Whitehouse.gov practice.)

They have the notation “In Progress” next to them rather than the date on which they were posted. What that means is lost on me, and I’m a lawyer with years of experience on Capitol Hill and more than a decade in public policy. Where does this leave Joe and Jane Six-Pack?

Transparency is about making public policy accessible to ordinary people so they can oversee their government. This doesn’t help.

Overall, the news remains good. The White House has created an institutional practice of posting bills online for five days before the president signs them, as he promised he would do. Perhaps it’s because we’re coming so close to full implementation of an important transparency promise that it’s disappointing to see this odd detour into posting bills that are not ready for the president’s signature.

Sunlight Before Signing . . . Clouded is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Early this month, I reported on President Obama’s recent moves to implement Sunlight Before Signing and improvements in his Sunlight Before Signing average. The news is good, though we’ll pause here to highlight a small quibble with White House practice.

The essence of the president’s promise to post bills online for five days was to give the public a chance to review the legislation coming to him from Congress for a decent interval before he signs it. If Whitehouse.gov consistently posts all bills Congress passes, as promised, the public will develop a consistent practice of taking a last look before it becomes law.

One day, the national crowdsourcing effort may turn up an error or a late-coming provision that causes the president to send a bill back to Congress for retouching. Its influence overall will be to discourage members of Congress from slipping last-minute, parochial amendments into bills that they know will become law just hours later.

A White House practice of posting bills before they come down Pennsylvania Avenue would frustrate development of the habit of public review. If bills are posted prematurely, ordinary Americans who do not follow the day-to-day of the legislative process will see their time wasted when they review the early version of a bill only to find that it is later amended by Congress.  People will shy away from participating in public review of bills coming to the president.

This is currently the risk with H.R. 4173, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, Congress’ plan to revamp financial services regulation in the United States. It was posted on Whitehouse.gov June 30th, the day that the House-Senate compromise on the bill passed the House, and it is the only bill on the “Pending Legislation” page at this writing. But the Senate did not agree to the conference report at that time, and the bill may see changes before it passes, or it may fail to pass altogether.

We credited the White House with a Sunlight Before Signing “win” when it posted the DTV Delay Act for five days after final passage, even though it wasn’t five days after presentment—the formal step in which Congress passes a bill to the president. This is because a bill will be unchanged after final passage. The public can review it confident that it is in its final form.

This is not the case with the financial services regulation revamp. The bill should not be getting sunlight on the White House’s web site while it still sits in Congress. A bill that the White House expects to receive is not “pending” in a sense consistent with President Obama’s Sunlight Before Signing pledge to voters and the public.

Sunlight Before Signing: ‘Expected’ Is not ‘Pending’ is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

I have written here once or twice before—well, 26 times, but who‘s counting?—about “Sunlight Before Signing“—President Obama’s campaign promise to post bills he receives from Congress online for five days before signing them.

It was his first broken campaign promise, but a presidential term lasts four years, and a pledge like this is redeemable. So I have been delighted to see moves over the past few weeks to implement President Obama’s simple, but important transparency promise.

First, Whitehouse.gov began posting all legislation that comes to the president’s desk from Congress. An early decision to exclude “insignificant” legislation such as bills to rename post offices needlessly drove down the White House’s Sunlight Before Signing average.

Why would the public want to know about such things? Perhaps because the numerous post office renamings passed this year stand in contrast to the budget resolutions not passed this year. Foremost, all bills should be included in Sunlight Before Signing because that was the president’s promise.

More importantly, though, the White House’s web site recently added a section covering something fairly central to the president’s role: legislation! In Whitehouse.gov’s “Briefing Room,” there is now a legislation section, in which you can find lists of pending legislation (the stuff getting its five days of public review),  signed legislation, and vetoed legislation.

(The signed legislation section is a bit of a jumble. It’s in no apparent order, it does not include public law numbers, it has different “signed” dates for some bills than the Thomas system has, and it even lists a few bills that have not been signed into law.)

Crucially, each of these pages has RSS feeds that make it easy for the public to stay informed about what bills have reached the president’s desk to get their five-day review. Voters and bloggers can easily get a quick sense of what Congress and the president are doing. Think of the social studies teacher who might use the bills Congress sends to the president in any given week for a class assignment.

Each time a bill reaches the president, it will pop up in RSS feeds nationwide. A habit of civic awareness can take root thanks to these RSS feeds, and the administration deserves credit for implementing them, even if it has done so tardily.

Thanks to these changes, the Obama administration’s Sunlight Before Signing average is on the rise. When we last reviewed things, just under 10% of bills had received the Sunlight Before Signing treatment, even though many were held for five days at the White House as a matter of course.

In 2009, the administration was 6 for 123 on Sunlight Before Signing, a poor .049 batting average. In 2010 so far, 37 of the 69 bills due for Sunlight Before Signing—there was one emergency bill—got the SBS treatment. That’s a 53.6% rate.  And in the month of June, 16 of 19—84% of bills—got Sunlight Before Signing.

Overall at this point, the Obama administration has complied with the president’s Sunlight Before Signing promise 22.5% of the time. The first year is pulling the numbers down, and things are sure to get better going forward.

We’ll keep reporting on this campaign promise. In the third and fourth year of the term, we expect President Obama to be pretty near 100%. It’s terrific that the population can develop the habit over the next few years of looking at all the bills that get to the president’s desk. We’ll have a more engaged, self-governing citizenry as a result.

Now here’s the table of all bills President Obama has signed into law and their Sunlight Before Signing status.

(Parentheses indicate a separate Whitehouse.gov page with a link to Thomas legislative database)
* Page now gone, but it was either directly observed, evidence of it appears in Whitehouse.gov search, or White House says it existed.
[Brackets indicate a link from Whitehouse.gov to Thomas legislative database]

† Bill was posted for five days after final passage, though not formal presentment. Counted as “Yes.”

‡ Link to final version of bill on impossible-to-find page.

E! Emergency legislation not subject to five-day posting

Obama Administration Moves to Implement Sunlight Before Signing is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

As I noted on Monday, the White House has begun posting the bills Congress sends down Pennsylvania Avenue so they can get a final public review. This was a promise President Obama made on the campaign trail.

The posting of bills actually began some time ago. I mistakenly believed that a promise administration officials made to the New York Timeshad been broken. But with no link trail leading from the Whitehouse.gov homepage to the posted bills, there was no way to find them. This was only technical sunlight, not the actual warming, disinfecting rays the president promised. So, sadly, we can’t put the many bills that got posted this way in the “win” column.

With a link on the homepage pointing to bills awaiting the president’s signature, a new era in Sunlight Before Signing is about to dawn. The White House’s current dismal SBS percentage (1 for 114, or .009) will be rising soon, and could ultimately be quite high!

Did the administration fail to execute on this simple promise from the beginning? Yes. But the good news is that we’re going to see implementation: average Americans will get a look at the bills that come to the president’s desk before he signs them, with an opportunity to say their piece.

That’s simple transparency, and as I’ve articulated elsewhere it will have salutary effects, reducing last-minute shenanigans in Congress.

Before we take a look at the full Sunlight Before Signing chart, here are some of the numbers:

• President Obama has signed 114 bills into law.
• Of those, 86, or 75%, have been held at the White House for five or more days as a matter of course. Simply posting them accessibly on Whitehouse.gov for comment would have fulfilled the president’s pledge.
• Forty-seven bills (41%) have been posted on Whitehouse.gov for five days, but without links leading visitors or search engines to them, they can’t be counted as fulfillments of the Sunlight Before Signing promise.
• One bill has been posted online for for five days, accessible to the public for their review, before receiving the president’s signature: The DTV Delay Act, Public Law 111-4.

Without further ado, the chart that lays out the Obama administration’s Sunlight Before Signing record so far:

* Page now gone.

† Bill was posted for five days after final passage, though not formal presentment.

‡ Link to final version of bill on impossible-to-find page.

Sunlight Before Signing: Turning the Corner! is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

The White House’s web site, Whitehouse.gov, has begun posting the bills Congress sends down Pennsylvania Avenue so they can get a final public review. This actually began some time ago, but a link from the home page now directs visitors (and search engines) to the bills that await the president’s signature.

This is an important step toward fulfilling President Obama’s campaign promise to post the bills he receives from Congress online for five days before he signs them. I’ve written about it several times, most recently here.

Take a look for yourself: On the Whitehouse.gov home page, a link at the bottom of the “Featured Legislation” column says “Comment on Pending Legislation.”

Currently, four bills are listed there, arranged in order by the dates they were posted. The final language isn’t posted at the link, and it takes a little sophistication to find the final version at the linked-to page on the Thomas system, but this is substantial progress.

Kudos to the White House for moving toward full implementation of President Obama’s Sunlight Before Signing promise.

Sunlight Before Signing Progress: Whitehouse.gov Encourages Public Comment is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

There was some buzz earlier this year when the White House used the free, open-source Drupal content management platform for Recovery.gov. Now the administration’s marquee Web site Whitehouse.gov will be using it.

The AP story linked just above does a good job of recounting the benefits of open source in this application: chiefly, low cost and high security.

Arnold Kling wrote recently on the Library of Economics and Liberty blog relating the work Elinor Ostrom did to win the Nobel prize in economics to how the Internet enables private provision of public goods—no regulation, little to no centralized authority at all.

Open source is nothing if not an example of that, and it’s good to see this use of open source joining many others across the big, beautiful Internet.

Whitehouse.gov Switches to Drupal is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

An editorial in the New York Times the other day reminded me that it’s a good time for another look at the Obama administration’s record on transparency.

The editorial lauded a new policy of disclosure for the Secret Service’s logs of White House visits, naming the visitor, who set up the meeting, where it was held, and how long it lasted. The Times gushed: “[T]he administration is well on course to be the most open in modern times, with such earlier initiatives as the online Data.gov to allow citizen access to huge amounts of federal agency information.”

These things are good—and the White House certainly means well—but I’m a little less enthusiastic, and I think the Times set the bar at the wrong height: A ham sandwich is more transparent than recent administrations. Candidate Obama made some firm commitments about transparency that are better for gauging his performance.

Disclosure of White House visitor logs is a small step forward, but I agree with the Times that a three to four month delay in revealing visits is too long. Much of this information is computerized at the White House and could be revealed in real time or within 24 hours. Also, visits that are not revealed for security or diplomatic reasons should be noted as such so that the quantity of such visits can be tracked over time and misuse of this secrecy ferreted out.

It’s also slightly ironic to see the Times sing President Obama’s transparency praises while the White House flouts a transparency commitment made to the paper back in June. For a story called “White House Changes the Terms of a Campaign Pledge About Posting Bills Online,” White House spokesman Nick Shapiro told New York Times reporter Katherine Seelye, “[O]nce it is clear that a bill will be coming to the president’s desk, the White House will post the bill online.” It hadn’t happened yet when I wrote about it in July, and it still hasn’t happened, even though 22 more bills have passed into law since then.

Below the jump is an updated ”Sunlight Before Signing” chart, reflecting all the bills President Obama has signed to date. Still only one (of sixty-one bills) has been posted on Whitehouse.gov for five days before signing. (That’s a .016 average, baseball fans.)

The DTV Delay Act was online for five days after final passage in Congress, though not formal presentment to the president, but I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt to count it as a win.

I’ve amended the chart to highlight an interesting thing: Two-thirds of the time (41 of 61), the White House has held bills for five days or more before President Obama has signed them. The only thing keeping him from fulfilling his promise as to these bills is the simple failure to post them on Whitehouse.gov. It’s hard to understand why the White House is not taking this easy step. The “Presidential Actions” page seems like a good place for it.

On measurable commitments, we have seen weakness, but, as I say, the White House certainly means well. This was confirmed for me again last week when Cass Sunstein, the new administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, invited a small group of transparency advocates including myself in for a meeting. We highlighted many angles of the transparency issue to him, mine being earmarks.

During the campaign, now-President Obama said, “[W]e will put every corporate tax break and every pork barrel project online for every American to see. You will know who asked for them and you can decide whether your representative is actually representing you.”

Since then, it has been WashingtonWatch.com, not the White House, tracking and disclosing earmarks. But an OMB representative told Federal Computer Week in August that it would begin tracking and disclosing congressional earmarks from the request stage in the next budget cycle.

I passed a copy of the FCW article to Sunstein and some of the OIRA staff members who joined us at the meeting. I’m hopeful that they will follow through on this commitment. I’m looking forward to reporting tangible results to go along with the good intentions flowing from the White House!

Obama Transparency Update II is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Page one of today’s Washington Times—above the fold—has a fascinating story indicting the White House for failing to disclose that it will collect and retain material posted by visitors to its pages on social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube. The story is fascinating because so much attention is being paid to it. (It was first reported, as an aside at least, by Major Garrett on Fox News a month ago.)

The question here is not over the niceties of the Presidential Records Act, which may or may not require collection and storage of the data. It’s over people’s expectations when they use the Internet.

Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the White House signaled that it would insist on open dealings with Internet users and, in fact, should feel obliged to disclose that it is collecting such information.

Of course, the White House is free to disclose or announce anything it wants. It might be nice to disclose this particular data practice. But is it really a breach of privacy—and, through failure to notify, transparency—if there isn’t a distinct disclosure about this particular data collection?

Let’s talk about what people expect when they use the Internet and social networking sites. Though the Internet is a gigantic copying machine, some may not know that data is collected online. They may imagine that, in the absence of notice, the data they post will not be warehoused and redistributed, even though that’s exactly what the Internet does.

There can be special problems when it is the government collecting the information. The White House’s “flag@whitehouse.gov” tip line was concerning because it asked Americans to submit information about others. There is a history of presidents amassing “enemies” lists. But this is not the complaint with White House tracking of data posted on its social networking sites.

People typically post things online because they want publicity for those things—often they want publicity for the fact that they are the ones posting, too. When they write letters, they give publicity to the information in the letter and the fact of having sent it. When they hold up signs, they seek publicity for the information on the signs, and their own role in publicizing it.

How strange that taking note of the things people publicize is taken as a violation of their privacy. And failing to notify them of the fact they will be observed and recorded is a failure of transparency.

America, for most of what you do, you do not get “notice” of the consequences. Instead, in the real world and online, you grown-ups are “on notice” that information you put online can be copied, stored, retransmitted, and reused in countless ways. Aside from uses that harm you, you have little recourse against that after you have made the decision to release information about yourself.

The White House is not in the wrong here. If there’s a lesson, it’s that people are responsible for their own privacy and need to be aware of how information moves in the online environment.

A Bizarre Privacy Indictment is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog