Although enactment of an economic stimulus package could push the federal budget deficit above $1 trillion, political consensus on its necessity is emerging. Political factions are split on the issues of how large and what form a stimulus package should take. Economists, however, indicate that targeted spending can be a powerful weapon to address recession and the effects of economic hardship on American families, even if it increases the deficit. Now is exactly the time to be enacting such fiscal policy.

In the first decision of its kind, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) from designating KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development (KindHearts), a U.S. charity, as a supporter of terrorism without affording the organization basic due process. Treasury shut down the group "pending investigation" in February 2006, but the investigation has never been concluded and the group's assets, including about $1 million, remain frozen.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that cooperated with the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless surveillance program, utilizing power granted in the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

Should U.S. charities and foundations be required to turn over funds to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in order to support humanitarian aid and development in areas where designated terrorist groups are operating? The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is promoting a partnership between USAID and American Charities for Palestine (ACP) as a model for providing assistance and complying with counterterrorism laws. Treasury recently indicated such coordination may become a requirement. This approach has the potential to undermine the independence of grantmakers and nonprofits and to fundamentally alter their relationships with grantees and local communities. It is based on an expansive interpretation of counterterrorism laws that seeks to prohibit vaguely defined "abuse and exploitation" of charities by terrorists.