The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) rule, a policy mandating that public water systems provide annual reports to consumers on the quality of local drinking water. The resulting reports have been criticized for being overly technical, complex, and difficult for the general public to understand or act upon.

While trade negotiations have long involved some level of secrecy, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed regional free trade agreement between the United States and Asia-Pacific partner countries, involves unprecedented levels of work being done behind closed doors. This agreement could curtail crucial activities of state and local governments and would cover profoundly important public policy issues – access to essential medicines, food security, and natural resource management – that deserve extensive public review and discussion. However, intense efforts are being made to block the public from knowing even the most basic content of the agreement.

During the week of Jan. 30, the House began debating a slew of budget reform measures, part of a package of 10 bills proposed by the House Budget Committee that affect everything from budget resolutions to the president’s veto power. Of the 10 pieces of legislation, two have passed the House so far.