Earlier this week, Democratic nominee for President, Sen. Barack Obama introduced new legislation to expand public access to information about government spending.
The bill
(pdf), known as “The Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in
Federal Spending Act of 2008,” was crafted on a bi-partisan basis with
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK).
The bill would expand previous efforts by
Senators Obama and Coburn to provide public access to federal grant and
contract information through the USASpending.gov
web site. It requires copies of each federal
contract and details of the bidding process to be published online and allows USASpending.gov visitors to view
copies of Federal contracts, as well as information about competitive
bidding, earmarks, government lease agreements, work quality, federal
audit disputes, any violations or criminal activities, federal tax
compliance, and government reports.
"In our system of government the best ethics reform has always been
frequent elections and the ability of citizens to hold their elected
officials accountable. This legislation will give the American people
valuable new tools in that effort, " Dr.
Coburn said.
Language in the bill also requires the website's searchability be improved and that methods for reporting errors, ensuring data accuracy,
and auditing the data on the website every six months. These responsibilities will fall on the Office of Management and Budget.
"We should do everything we can to ensure that the American public
can easily access and track how the Federal government does its
business," said Senator Obama. "Our government took an important step
last year by launching USASpending.gov and giving ordinary citizens an
important tool to hold Washington accountable. While USASpending.gov
has had tremendous success, this new legislation will expand the public
information available on the website and improve the quality of
government financial data."
Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, is also an
original co-sponsor of the bill, as is Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE).
In April 2006, Obama and Coburn introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590),
which would publicly disclose all recipients of federal funding and
financial assistance through a website to be established and maintained
by the Office of Management and Budget. The President signed this
legislation into law in September 2006 and USASpending.gov was launched
in December 2007.
Today, USASpending.gov tracks approximately $1 trillion in Federal
grants, contracts, earmarks and loans, provides real-time updates of
data concerning Federal spending, gives users an opportunity to post
comments and provide feedback, and displays spending data according to
contractor, grantee, and congressional district.
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