August 27 is the deadline for completion of recommendations to be made by an interagency taskforce assigned by the president that address the issue of secrecy labeling in the federal government.  No indication as of yet as to what those recommendations may contain.  As part of our effort to educate the government and the public on the importance of this issue, we interviewed several experts about the key questions. 

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest figures on the long-term finances of Social Security. 

According to The Hill, the Treasury Department is waiting for the administration's approval before finalizing restrictions on lobbying for Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding, only ten months after the program began.

A controversial natural gas drilling technique is suspected of contaminating drinking water across the country, but more research cannot be done because the drilling companies won't disclose what toxic chemicals they are pumping into the ground. Congress is now considering legislation that would force drillers to disclose what chemicals they are using, but it needs our support against Big Oil and Gas.