On May 8, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional trade agreement between the United States and Asia-Pacific countries, kicked off a new round of negotiations. These talks will be held in secret with the text of the trade agreement hidden from the public.

Imagine for a moment that you're in the last few weeks of your current job.  Your final goal is to complete an important, long-term project that you've been working on for several years.  Finishing this project will be a major milestone and will benefit people both inside and outside your organization.  Suddenly, your employer makes a new policy: people aren't allowed to complete projects during their last few weeks with the organization.  You'd probably be confused, even furious, and rightfully so, because all of your hard work would have been for nothing.  A policy like that just wouldn't make sense, yet it's similar to what the House wants to do to those who have been working to develop and improve our nation's public protections. 

Today, the House passed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA Act (H.R. 2146), by a voice vote with strong bipartisan support. The bill to strengthen the transparency of federal government spending was sponsored by Oversight and Government Reform committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and 13 other representatives.

Last week, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) issued regulations to implement the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) at the agency. The council was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to monitor risks to the nation's financial system.