House member says he can save feds' transparency websites

Open-government advocate Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, thinks feds won't have to pull the plug on websites such as Data.gov, USASpending.gov, the IT Dashboard and other federal programs that promote transparency, reports Federal News Radio.

Issa maintained that it is his “personal pledge” to keep the sites from shutting down in spite of an announcement this week of $27 million in cuts in the E-Government Fund.

“The specific funding goes away, but reprogramming authority would still be available," Issa told Federal News Radio. "Our view is on a case-by-case basis we will be able to keep them open."

John Wonderlich, writing in the Sunshine Foundation's blog, said Issa's promise is "huge".

One reason it's huge, Wonderlich writes, is because Issa is one of very few politicians -- and a highly ranking one -- to publicly support open-government programs during the budget fight.

"Issa doesn't just speak highly of the effort, though," Wonderlich adds, quoting Issa: ""We will find a way, and this is a personal pledge, to make sure they are not shut down."

The import of that: "On the eve of the budget deal vote, Chairman Issa is linking himself to the sites started by the electronic government fund that we've been fighting to sustain for weeks," Wonderlich writes.