In 2006, Michael Klein founded the Sunlight Foundation to empower U.S. citizens to hold their elected officials accountable.
After just two years in existence, the Sunlight Foundation has revolutionized the congressional information access system, driving important changes in how government information is captured, reported, and distributed. With major backing from Michael Klein and Omidyar Foundation, and under the insightful leadership of Ellen Miller, Sunlight has funded innovative new technology platforms including OpenCongress.org, Maplight.org, Congresspedia.org and FedSpending.org. These platforms make comprehensive information regarding political contributions, bills and voting records, earmarks, and government contracts readily available and easily searchable. The Foundation has played an instrumental role in the passage of new legislation mandating further government disclosure of contracting information, which led to the OMB's launch of USASpending.gov. Sunlight also has successfully advocated for adoption of new earmark disclosure rules in the House and Senate, leading to dramatic declines in the total number of earmarks.
