TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2009

Sunshine Week shines light on government transparency

BATON ROUGE, La. -- As the grips of a national economic depression continue to tighten around Americans, a growing sentiment around transparency and the right to know exactly how government resources are being expended to prop up various portions of the economic sector has captivated the mainstream public consciousness.

That sentiment is being further advanced this week via the Sunshine Week initiative. This national effort is intended to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast, and online news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools, and others interested in the public's right to know.

The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps certainly is one of those organizations that supports the public’s right to know and has continued to advocate for transparency related to the state of Louisiana’s long-term disaster human recovery efforts, particularly associated with FEMA’s individual assistance dollars provided to the state.

“Transparency is something in which our agency believes and for which we will continue to advocate,” said Dr. Monteic A. Sizer, President and CEO of the Recovery Corps. “Simply put, the public has a right to know what government officials are doing with money and resources that have been provided by taxpayers. That is why we continue to call for transparency and a related set of accountabilities associated with any efforts that are ultimately supported by taxpayer dollars.”

Last week the Recovery Corps announced its 2009 state and federal legislative agenda. Part of that legislative initiative includes efforts to make the allocation and expenditure of public assistance and individual assistance funds dedicated to long-term human recovery more transparent at both the state and federal levels.

At the state level, the Recovery Corps is advocating for a comprehensive recovery accountability system called Taxpayers for an Accountable Human Recovery. The Recovery Corps will seek to make public the amount of taxpayers’ money that as been allocated to Louisiana for disaster recovery aid since the hurricanes of 2005, along with the source of those recovery and individual assistance funds.

This system will have similar goals as the federal system devised to track funds allocated via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the federal stimulus package. Specific goals for the Taxpayers for an Accountable Human Recovery system will be to demonstrate to Louisiana citizens how many recovery-related dollars have been spent, provide data that allows Louisianians to evaluate progress and impacts associated with those funds, and allow our citizens to provide feedback relative usage of the funds.

“It is unacceptable that to date no efforts have been made to publicly document the use and outcomes associated with the public funds allocated for long-term human recovery aid and individual assistance,” Sizer continued. “This lack of transparency has likely led to misappropriations, duplications of efforts, and ineffective spending with no positive outcomes for our people. In these tough economic times, citizens of Louisiana should not continue to accept this lack of transparency and accountability from their government.”

Likewise, it is imperative that the federal government also enact additional policies related to its allocation of public and individual assistance funds that will usher in a higher level of transparency and accountability for those in receipt of federal funding. The federal government owes this to the American taxpayers who are ultimately funding these efforts.

“If the federal government does not demand accountability and transparency by those to whom it provides funds, there will likely be little incentive for those receiving the funds to enact these policies themselves,” said Sizer. “American taxpayers generally care about the well-being of their fellow Americans. But they will not, and should not, tolerate any of their hard-earned dollars going into a black hole with no way to determine whether or not their money has been spent effectively and efficiently.

“Citizens still recovering from disaster should also demand better human services that are timely, accessible, and impactful. These systems do not typically change unless and until people demand action.”

The Recovery Corps acknowledges the recent comments promoting additional transparency within government by both Governor Bobby Jindal and President Barack Obama. It is imperative, however, that those statements eventually turn into effective policy that allows the American taxpayers to ultimately be in a position to see and understand the actions of a transparent government. This will allow American citizens to make important decisions regarding the future of their elected officials based on facts and accomplishments rather than relying on secretive campaigns cloaked by rhetoric, spin, and empty promises.

When outcomes and opportunities provided for people are demonstrated and freedom of information matches the many other freedoms enjoyed by our citizens, America will then enjoy a truly open, transparent government.

ABOUT THE RECOVERY CORPS
The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Baton Rouge, La., and formed in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The Recovery Corps’ mission is to facilitate human recovery for the State of Louisiana in the aftermath of disaster, both natural and man-made. The Recovery Corps has partnered with human service and non-profit organizations throughout the state and the country to deliver assistance as effectively and efficiently as possible, allocating more than $80 million to recovery efforts and assisting more than 30,000 households since January 2006.