Transparency is crucial in a democracy – and in a 21st century democracy, transparency means public access to information online. This report considers four key areas of transparency in the U.S. state and federal governments: campaign finance, lobbying, procurement, and public officials’ assets. The report describes the features needed for effective online disclosure in these areas and highlights leading practices in the states. Some information about each of the four topic areas is currently disclosed online by many states, as well as the federal government. However, there is wide variation within each area in the method and manner of online disclosure.
The so-called Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act, 
Leading up to the release of Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget resolution proposal, the question has not been whether House Republicans will adhere to the federal spending agreement reached in last year’s debt ceiling deal (
Today, the House 
April will mark the two-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster that killed eleven people, injured seventeen others, and released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. On March 16, the Senate passed a widely supported measure that would section off 80 percent of the fines BP has paid and direct those funds to the five Gulf states impacted by the spill.
Currently, federal officials are being called to explain how the president's FY 2013 budget request would impact our public protections. As it moves forward with the appropriations process, Congress should refrain from using spending bills to enact ideological policy measures.