A letter to the editor of The New York Times earlier this week aptly alerted the country to the dangers of anonymous shell corporations, which serve as shadowy pathways for moving money around the globe. Heather Lowe of Global Financial Integrity explained that the secrecy surrounding such corporations enables and encourages a host of illegal behavior.

 Testifying before a Senate hearing on federal spending transparency, Richard L. Gregg, the Treasury Department's Fiscal Assistant Secretary, announced a major advancement in federal spending transparency: starting in 2013, the public will be able to see Treasury data on agency expenses and payments to recipients of federal contracts, grants, and loans.

A new federal agency is making a strong start out of the box by establishing a proactive policy of releasing information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA regulations published today by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) include an important clause committing the agency to proactively disclose the information it collects. The agency adopted the policy in response to a recommendation by OMB Watch.

This morning, Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee reversed their position and allowed a crucial new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) transparency rule to stand. The FCC rule, adopted in April, requires television broadcasters to disclose who is buying political advertisements. These disclosures will be posted in a public online database.