The new occupant of the White House had long promised to be much different from the previous occupant, but one issue continued to nag at critics: its refusal to release the names of those visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

After eight years of George W. Bush, President Obama pledged what he called a new era of transparency. But when watchdog groups such as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sought to obtain the logs of those visiting the White House -- say, by executives of coal companies -- the administration balked.

No longer.

Today, President Obama -- in what his press office described as "another indication of his commitment to an open and transparent government" -- announced that records of White House visitors will be released, and that each month, records of visitors from the previous 90-120 days will be made available online.

Obama heralded the change in policy:

We will achieve our goal of making this administration the most open and transparent administration in history not only by opening the doors of the White House to more Americans, but by shining a light on the business conducted inside. Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process.

The White House statement adds, "Aside from a small group of appointments that cannot be disclosed because of national security imperatives or their necessarily confidential nature (such as a visit by a possible Supreme Court nominee), the record of every visitor who comes to the White House for an appointment, a tour, or to conduct business will be released."

However, this new policy will only cover visitors to the White House beginning Sept. 15. Those who visited from Jan. 20 through Sept. 15 will not be part of this policy change. The Associated Press reports that the White House's counsel office "will respond to individual requests for records during that time, but only if those requests are deemed to be reasonable, narrow and specific."

Still, it's the first time in history an administration has agreed to release this information. Often, the White House found itself defending its policy in court; the Bush administration, for example, refused to release the names of those from the oil and gas industry who may have visited the White House to discuss energy policy.

CREW executive director Melanie Sloan was pleased with the change:

Today the Obama administration has proven its pledge to usher in a new era of government transparency was more than just a campaign promise. The Obama administration will have the most open White House in history. Providing public access to visitor records is an important step in restoring transparency and accountability to our government.

Tapped, the blog of The American Prospect, calls it "one small step for transparency":

This is a good move. It's important for Americans to know who has influence over and access to the President. It's likely to cause some headaches for the White House in the long run, particularly with the paranoid style being in fashion in American politics today. Bill Clinton's political opponents once put those logs to good use during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. But it's ultimately for the best.

categories: 1600

11:11 - September 4, 2009

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