With fewer than 30 working days left before Congress adjourns for its August recess, the legislative branch is once again faced with a pile of must-pass legislation and a ticking clock. Before the end of 2010, Congress must pass a spate of bills to renew a set of expiring tax provisions, prevent stiff pay cuts for Medicare doctors, fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and prevent the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the middle class. Congress is likely to truncate its legislative calendar so that members can return to their districts to campaign for this year's elections, lowering the odds of passing other "big-ticket" legislation like climate change policy and immigration reform.

Some members of Congress have started to explore exempting certain nonprofits from the DISCLOSE Act, the bill developed by Democrats to respond to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. While some nonprofits are concerned about donor disclosure requirements in the bill, other groups are concerned that exemptions or changes to the bill would render the legislation ineffective. These organizations worry that without strong disclosure requirements, the bill would allow political ads sponsored by anonymous sources to flood the airwaves at election time.