Vilsack to lead open data delegation? The irony
Somebody forwarded me a press release from the United States Department of Agriculture touting Secretary Tom Vilsack as leading the G-8 International Conference on Open Data for Agriculture. The press release says the U.S. government places a high priority on access to data.
Really?
This is the same agency that routinely denies or hides information from the public. The Argus Leader is suing USDA in federal court to force the agency to release food stamp payments to vendors. USDA has also refused to release details about a study that is being conducted to study the buying habits of people on food stamps.
USDA has also refused to release information about rural broadband loans.
The agency has also been making it harder to get farm subsidy payment information.
Maybe Vilsack should worry about the openness in the department he oversees before leading a delegation on open access to data.
