5.1: Transparency in the Administration of Justice

Post the daily calendar of the Attorney General and ensure transparency of resources provided by the taxpayers.

Other Information:

The Attorney General’s Calendar. At his confirmation hearing in January 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder made a pledge: “I will bring to office the principle that has guided my career – that the Department of Justice first and foremost represents the people of the United States.” This commitment should guide every action that the Department takes, and it is those actions by which the Department should be judged. This commitment is also apparent, however, in the manner in which the Attorney General spends his time. While there will always be aspects of the Attorney General’s responsibilities that cannot be disclosed publicly, lest they compromise important national security, law enforcement or litigation interests, there is much that can be disclosed. Each month, DOJ will post the daily calendar of the Attorney General so that his meetings and activities will be readily accessible by the public. Redactions will be kept to a minimum, consistent with the principles laid out in the Attorney General’s FOIA Guidelines. Stewardship of Taxpayer Resources. A key aspect of the Open Government Initiative is to ensure transparency of resources provided by the taxpayers. In a subsequent directive issued by the OMB’s Deputy Director for Management on February 8, 2010, Open Government Directive – Framework for the Quality of Federal Spending Information, OMB provided guidance for agencies to follow in evaluating internal controls over data quality for Federal spending. The directive also required agencies to develop and submit a data‐quality plan for Federal spending to OMB that is consistent with the framework discussed within the guidance. The Department’s plan for meeting this requirement can be found at http://www.justice.gov/open. The Department data‐quality plan discusses the Department’s open government goals specifically related to the transparency and quality of Federal spending information. It describes the significant types of Federal spending information that are disseminated by the Department, along with related data quality internal control initiatives. The plan also addresses the coordination efforts that are occurring within the Department to ensure successful implementation of the data quality requirements and monitoring of progress and performance, including actions taken to identify areas of risk and complete corrective actions. In addition, the plan details the Department’s processes and controls related to the compilation, review and monitoring of the Federal spending data which is reported through USASpending.gov.

Stakeholder(s):

• Attorney General

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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