In the spirit of the Age of Transparency, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced that members of the House are now required to disclose expenditures online, the Sunlight Foundation announced today. Sunlight, a government reform organization, has been advocating for this measure since March 2008.

The expenditure statements reveal how members spend their "representational allowances" - federal funds allocated to pay staff salaries, official travel, administrative supplies, and other expenses. Until now, the House has been disclosing this information in bound paper volumes known as the "Quarterly Statement of Expenditures."

Sunlight lauded Pelosi's decision in a blog post affirming it as a step toward increasing transparency and accountability.

Perhaps the decision will help the U.S. lawmakers avoid the kind of scandal engulfing the British Parliament over the abuse of taxpayer money by members. The misuse of funds recently caused Hazel Blears, the nation's secretary of state for communities and local government, to resign the New York Times reports.
                                                                                                               -- Eliza Krigman