Law creates searchable database of federal contracts, grants
The federal government will establish an easily searchable Internet database of contracts and grants as a result of legislation passed by Congress.
The idea, pushed by both liberal and conservative groups, is to bring more transparency to how the government is spending taxpayers’ money. The federal government awarded more than $380 billion in contracts last year and gave away another $300 billion in grants.
The government’s current contracting database is hard to use and often contains inaccurate or incomplete information. The Office of Management and Budget promised to fix the data problems by January 2008, when the new search engine is scheduled to be launched.
The text of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590) is available at thomas.loc.gov
My favorite part. He stood up, clapped his hands together and said, “You’re dismissed,” with a big smile. He breezed out of the room, waved to various sections, head-nodded in general directions, and thanked the crowd, but only Ace got the coveted handshake. The end seat served him well. After that, we had a briefing with Clay Johnson of OMB about the nitty-gritty of implementing the bill. I was encouraged to see that there are deadlines in place for making it happen and that OMB is aggressively seeking blogger and public input on what the new site should do.
The whole thing was a thrill for me, a great recognition of what blogging can do, and a move toward making government more transparent and accountable to the public. All around, a very good day.
From Senator Bill Frist,
This morning President Bush will sign into law the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, legislation authored by Senators Coburn and Obama of which I’m a proud co-sponsor. This law creates a single, easily searchable database capable of tracking approximately $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and loans … a veritable Google for pork.
As I said when this legislation passed the Senate, this law represents a triumph for transparency in government, for fiscal discipline, and for the bipartisan citizen journalism of the blogosphere.
To learn more about Porkbusters, click here.