Transparency in Government Quotes

House and Senate Republicans are now united in adopting earmark bans. We hope President Obama will follow through on his support for an earmark ban by pressing Democratic leaders to join House and Senate Republicans in taking this critical step to restore public trust.

On taking office, Obama promised the 'most transparent' administration in history; yet his record as president has been anything but transparent.

The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.

I've spent a lot of time working on declassified documents - and they do get declassified after decades - you look at the record of declassified documents, and they are mostly concerned with keeping what the government does secret from its own population. It's mostly defense of the power system from its own population. Very little is authentic security.

I believe good governments have nothing to hide. We want to ensure we maintain confidence in our public institutions.

WikiLeaks exposed corruption, war crimes, torture and cover-ups. It showed that we were lied to about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; that the U.S. military had deliberately hidden information about systematic torture and civilian casualties, which were much higher than reported.

When I was elected to Congress, I made a commitment to my constituents that my office would set the standard to be open and transparent.

Some of the best stories that I've gotten, that others have written about this administration, about the previous administration, you have to rely on anonymous sources.

Where civil society thrives, governments operate with more transparency and accountability. This creates a tangible impact on the lives of everyday citizens.

It is necessary to watch people in Washington all the time to keep them from unnecessary expenditure of money.

Americans don't want to hear the answers are privileged and off limits or they can't be provided in public or it would be inappropriate for witnesses to tell us what they know. We are talking about an attack on our democratic institutions and stonewalling of any kind is unacceptable. General Jeff Sessions acknowledged that there is no legal basis for this stonewalling.

The public want honesty from their politicians. Not showy gimmicks.

Allegations that President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich partly in return for donations to his presidential library have raised questions about the value of such institutions and the federal appropriations that support them.

Political leaders, lacking documents that could be kept secret (apart from the occasional exception), lacking media they could control, were of necessity brought into a direct and immediate relationship with their constituents, and therefore under more and direct and immediate control.

Look, all administrations, all governments lie, all officials lie and nothing they say is to be believed. That's a pretty good rule.

Commenting on President James Monroe's reluctance to deal with corruption:] He rather turns his eye from misconduct, and betrays a sensation of pain when it is presented directly to him.

Government that is open and honest will always be able to withstand the light of day.

The American people have a right to know that, when Donald Trump's making decisions, they are being made in their best interests without him lining his pockets.

As a legislator, I saw how effective I could be by being transparent, posting and explaining all of my votes.

I urge the enactment of a civil service law so explicit and so strong that no partisan official will dare evade it, basing all rewards, promotions and salaries solely on merit, on loyalty and industry in the public service.

And I want every one of you, every one of us, 100 senators to look in that camera, and you tell your people back home what you think. Don't hide anymore; none of us. That is the essence of our responsibility. And if we're not willing to do it, we're not worthy to be seated right here. We fail our country. If we don't debate this, if we don't debate this, we are not worthy of our country. We fail our country.

People are drooling for the truth. They want honesty from politicians, and they're not getting it.

In a democracy, the public has a right to know not only what the government decides, but why and by what process.

What would this country be like without the press prying to find out what the government is doing?

The experience of a century and a half has demonstrated that our system of free government functions best when the maximum degree of information is made available to our people. In fact, free and candid discussion of vexing problems is the bedrock of democracy and it may be our surest safeguard for peace.