In the wake of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and while Congress debates the massive stimulus bill,  the  Coalition for an Accountable Recovery was created to promote accountability for both federal government agencies doling out the trillions of dollars,  for the states and for the companies that benefit from recovery funds. The best way to assure taxpayers that the funds are being used responsibly is to provide "radical" transparency on stimulus spending and to make the details of the stimulus available in online, in real time.

No great surprise to here that the Coalition (of which Sunlight is a member)  is calling on Congress to require online reporting that allows the public to easily search, sort, track and download data on the use of recovery. Each state should be required to report on all funds they receive and all data should be presented in a uniform manner, making sure it is compatible with the USASpending.gov Web site. The Coalition has also state that   the newest technology should be applied to both the Recovery.gov Web site and USASpending.gov to make the information more accessible for everyone

Sunlight has joined the over 30  groups as part of the coalition, including the Center for Responsive Politics, Common Cause, National Institute for Money in State Politics, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org, Project on Government Oversight and Taxpayers for Commonsense.

Sunlight has joined with seven other organizations in calling on the McCain and Obama campaigns to provide more details about their bundlers, the "mega-fundraisers" who are very skilled at using their business and personal contacts to raise large amounts of campaign cash for a specific candidate. By clicking on the following links, you can view the letters sent to John McCain and Barack Obama.

Bundlers are well-connected political players such as corporate executives and lobbyists collect far more money from friends, business associates and other contacts than they are allowed by law to give as an individual donor. Bundling is a big source of funds for the campaigns, earning the bundlers great access and power within a campaign and, for those fortunate to have chosen the right horse, great access and sway in the new administration. (Think Ambassadorships, appointments to regulatory commissions like the SEC, FCC, and other plumb positions.) McCain and Obama have voluntarily listed how much their bundlers have raised their campaign but in the most general terms.

Specifically, we are asking McCain and Obama to:

• report on their Web sites the exact amount bundlers have raised for the campaign;
• ask their party's national committee to track and disclose bundling funds coming to the party;
• to disclose bundler's locations by city and state, as well as their occupations and employers, matching FEC requirements for any donor contributing more than $200;
• and for individual contributors of $200 or less, we are asking the candidates to disclose the number of contributors and cumulative amounts by ZIP code and country (for those Americans living oversees).

Sunlight, in signing the letters joins the Campaign Finance Institute, Center for Responsive Politics, Common Cause, Democracy 21, League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG.

In the letter, we acknowledged to the campaigns that we are asking for information presidential campaigns have not provided in the past. "But, to borrow a phrase," the letter says, "for those whom much private money has been contributed, much is required." Indeed.