House transparency caucus vows to regain public's trust in government

Twenty-seven Members of Congress kicked off a congressional transparency caucus on Thursday with a panel discussion on how the government can earn back Americans' trust.

One of the group's first actions will be to ensure that information posted on the Web from every branch of government is consistent, searchable and downloadable. The uniform level of reporting would allow citizens to have a better context for comparing spending figures such as federal officials' compensation and earmarks, or appropriations for lawmakers' pet projects. The goal of the caucus, which was announced in March, is to advance transparency and accountability across government. Measuring these goals will require online access to government information in formats that can be searched and downloaded for free, according to the caucus' principles. The group plans to make such information available by educating lawmakers, taking legislative action and overseeing existing polices.