Transparency bill headed to President’s desk
The House last night passed their version of the Coburn/Obama transparency in government bill. Now it heads to the President’s desk for his signature. A press release announcing passage from Roy Blunt’s office is in the extended section.
WASHINGTON—Legislation championed by House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (Va.) to increase budget accountability and transparency by establishing a public database to track federal grants and contracts passed the House tonight by voice vote.
“This bill will enhance the accountability and transparency in the federal budget process,” Blunt said. “It’s a great, bipartisan plan to make sure tax dollars are spent wisely. The database is a simple, straightforward way to hold the budgeting process accountable to the people.”
“This is a huge victory for all who believe sunshine is the best disinfectant,” Davis said. “This legislation will empower everyone with access to the Internet to review federal grants and contracts to see how their tax dollars are being spent. It will provide transparency and accountability to the grant making process and allow for continued improvement of transparency in federal contract awards.”
The federal government awards approximately $300 billion in grants to roughly 30,000 different organizations annually. Each year, roughly one million contracts exceed the $25,000 reporting threshold. The Blunt-Davis bill will ensure that those expenditures are readily accessible to the media, the public, and Members of Congress.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act will:
Eliminate Wasteful Spending by empowering everyone with access to the internet to begin reviewing federal grants and other forms of taxpayer assistance for waste, fraud, and abuse;
Ensure Compliance with Federal Law by requiring grantees to also disclose their subgrantees, and
Ensure Compliance with Lobbying Restrictions by identifying entities receiving federal grants that would be subject to lobbying restrictions in existing law.
With House passage of S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, and the enrollment correction containing the House-Senate compromise agreement, the final bill will now go to the president for his signature.
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