Website & Internet Communications Improvement Initiative

The Commission held public hearings on July 29 and August 25 to receive testimony regarding possible improvements to its website and Internet communications.

Continuation of Website and Internet Communications Improvement Initiative
Status of Website and Internet Communications Improvement Initiative [PDF]
Audio recordings of the Public Hearings
- Testimony from Panel 1
  -Craig Engle, Arent Fox LLP
  -Brian Svoboda, Perkins Coie LLP
  -Michael Toner, Bryan Cave LLP; Former FEC Chairman
- Testimony from Panel 2
  -Matt DeBergalis, ActBlue, Chairman & Founder
  -Paul W. Houghtaling, Political CFOs, Founder
  -Nathaniel Pearlman, NGP Software, Inc., Founder
- Testimony from Panel 3
  -Clay Johnson, The Sunlight Foundation, Director of Sunlight Labs
  -Michael Malbin, Campaign Finance Institute, Executive Director
  -Darrell West, Brookings Institution, Vice President and Director of Government Studies
- Testimony from Panel 4
  - Jonda Byrd, EPA, Chief of Policy and Program Management Branch
  - Martha Dorris, GSA, Acting Associate Administrator of the Office of Citizen Services and Communications
  - Lisa Welchman, Welchman Pierpoint, Founding Partner
- Testimony from Panel 5
  - Jan Baran, Wiley Rein LLP, Partner
  - Robert Biersack, FEC, Special Assistant to the Staff Director for Data Integration
  - Sheila Krumholz, Center for Responsive Politics, Executive Director
Hearing announcement and request for comments as published in Federal Register July 1, 2009 [PDF; 12 pages]
Correction [7/13/2009][PDF; 1 page]
Record Summary of Hearing Announcement
Transcript of 7/29 Public Hearing [PDF]
Transcript of 8/25 Public Hearing [PDF]
Schedule of Witnesses for 7/29 Public Hearing [PDF]
Comments Received in Response to Notice of Hearing

The supplemental information below may be of assistance to commenters.

PDF files can be viewed using the free Adobe Reader available from Adobe.

Documents Cited in Federal Register Notice

Comments on FEC Website sent to Webmanager@fec.gov
Federal Election Commission, Hearing on Agency Practices and Procedures
(Jan. 15, 2009)

Technical Overview

The FEC Web site has both Web and FTP servers. There are various navigational aids: a menu system, a site map, a search engine, and navigational breadcrumbs at the top of primary pages.

Both paper and electronic filings can be viewed. Paper filings are indexed to the images. Electronic filings can be seen as HTML pages or delimited files. One can query subsets of the data taken from both electronic and paper filings. In addition Campaign Finance Maps provide graphical ways for accessing this data.

There are specialized query processes available for searching and retrieving legal materials related to the FEC's enforcement and policy making role such as the Enforcement Query System and the Advisory Opinions Search.

In addition to the thousands of pages and documents on the servers, information is also available through several dynamic applications such as the Commission Calendar and the recent List of Lobbyist/Registrant PACs.

Additional Information on Agency Procedures

FEC Offices
An interactive organizational chart provides access to descriptions of the offices that comprise the FEC and their functions.
Strategic Plan FY 2008-2013 [PDF]
The framework for the FEC’s use of resources to administer and enforce the federal campaign finance laws.

Other Resources

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