The Senate has passed legislation, S-2590, establishing a public, searchable online database showing how much federal agencies and other entities receiving federal funds got in each of the past ten years, an itemized breakdown of transactions, the entity’s location and primary location of performance, and unique identifiers for the entity and its parent entity.
The House has passed a similar measure, and only recently was a hold on the Senate bill — called the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 — removed.
Under the bill, federal funding includes federal financial assistance and expenditures including grants, contracts, sub-grants, subcontracts, loans, awards and other forms of financial assistance, but does not include credit card transactions or minor purchases.
Specific agency responsibilities have not yet been established, but agencies have been directed to comply with forthcoming OMB guidance.
“OMB stands ready to work with federal agencies to establish a single, user-friendly website so that the public can scrutinize how government is spending taxpayer dollars,” said OMB director Rob Portman.
