Security and Secrecy
Feb 8, 2016
Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story
As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...
read in fullFeb 4, 2016
Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans
Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...
read in fullJan 25, 2016
U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...
read in fullJan 22, 2016
Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.
UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...
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2010 was a banner year for government transparency, with many significant advances and only a few disappointments. However, there were other events outside the world of government openness that seeped into the collective consciousness, and one of the most notable was the rise of the Tea Party in American politics. For this year-in-review article, we decided to take a somewhat tongue-in-cheek approach to assessing and commenting on events in government openness, playing off the theme of tea. Thus, we present to you … the Teas of Transparency.
When the 112th Congress convenes in January, attention will be focused on the newly Republican-controlled House. On transparency issues, House Republican leaders have sounded positive tones. However, it remains to be seen whether bipartisan consensus on meaningful transparency can be achieved or whether transparency will be wielded as a partisan weapon.
On Nov. 4, President Obama signed a new 
On Sept. 23, President Barack Obama addressed the United Nations (UN), calling on countries to strengthen government openness. He emphasized the importance of transparency in fighting corruption and increasing civic engagement. At a world summit the day before, Obama trumpeted his administration's new global development policy, which pledges more transparency related to U.S. aid activities. However, the administration refused to release the text of the policy, and details remain sparse.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed several changes to its regulation of chemicals that should improve the public's access to crucial information. The improved data collected under the proposed rule will help the agency and the public identify potential chemical risks and take action to manage those risks.
Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards
People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...
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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us
The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...
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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies
New scientific research shows that the current levels of...
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