If you didn’t know, March 15th to March 21st is National Sunshine Week – a celebration of Open Government and Transparency across the U.S. As we reflect on the importance of the Freedom of Information Act, we think it is a great time to reaffirm our support of those who keep the FOIA system going. AINS is committed to the constant improvement of our Freedom of Information solutions ATIPXpress and FOIAXpress. Creating an open and transparent government is the responsibility of both the public and federal agencies.

Sunshine Week is a reminder not only for public activists, but for agencies of the federal government. Many watchdog organizations, FOIA activists, and government agencies host transparency-inspired events during this week. In 2015, some of the events hosted come from the U.S Department of Justice, National Press Club, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Census Bureau. 

AINS would like to extend a sincere thank you to the government employees that keep the FOIA system running smoothly. We will continue to support FOIA efforts through improvements to our FOIAXpress software and training events.

Importance of FOIA in 2015

Open Government and transparency are a hallmark of a great government. President Obama recognized the importance of this idea and said, “My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.” The Obama Administration has vowed to become the most transparent in history. The Obama Administration urges the public to get engaged in transparency efforts in order to enhance the Government’s effectiveness and the quality of decisions the Government makes. Pushes to improve FOIA recently occurred in the Senate and House as well. Both Republicans and Democrats backed a FOIA Reform Bill to limit fees and regulate the statute of limitations on confidential information. The bill is meant to create a “presumption of openness” as well as a universal web-hub for all agency FOIA departments.

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Courtney James is AINS' Marketing & Graphic Design Associate. She has experience with social media, public relations, graphic design, event management, and many other marketing topics. Courtney loves to blog about topics dealing with technology in government, social media, and case management. She holds degrees in Communication and Art from the University of Maryland, College Park.