An investigation begins into the Friends of Angelo. Stevens’ conviction prompts reform group push. Some people don’t like transparency. That... View Article
Continue readingTransition Recommendations
Lots of folks are starting to think about the transition to a new Administration. We know of at least 2... View Article
Continue readingBill Allison on the Bridge to Nowhere
Sunlight’s Bill Allison was on Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN last night discussing the Bridge to Nowhere and the votes... View Article
Continue readingCompetition We Like: Who’s the Most Transparent?
Mike Allen at The Politico reports that the Obama/Biden campaign is planning to use disclosure as a way to challenge... View Article
Continue readingIn Broad Daylight: Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit
The Detroit Big Three are seeking $50 billion in government loans. Their big lobbying push begins as Congress comes back... View Article
Continue readingPresidential Cribs and Personal Financial Disclosure
Since the presidential race has turned into an episode of MTV Cribs – next up, web ads with seizure inducing... View Article
Continue readingSubsidies
On his campaign Web site, John McCain laments that “wasteful special interest subsidies are not moving us toward an energy... View Article
Continue readingBundlers Galore
Three makes a trend, right? Today, there are three news stories on presidential bundlers – campaign contributors who solicit money... View Article
Continue readingGroups Demand More Transparency in Fundraising from McCain and Obama
Sunlight has joined with seven other organizations in calling on the McCain and Obama campaigns to provide more details about... View Article
Continue readingUSASpending.gov 2.0
In October 2006, Sunlight grantee OMB Watch set up FedSpending.org, a free, searchable database of federal government spending. Subsequent updates have allowed public access to approximately $16.8 trillion in federal government spending, with complete annual data from FY 2000 through FY 2006 and partial data available for FY 2007. The site was so successful that the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) set up USASpending.gov within the Office of Management and Budget, which Congresspedia dubbed "the ‘Google' of federal spending" by bringing tremendous transparency to how and where government spends tax dollars. As the site says, it's searchable and accessible by the public for free, and includes for each federal award:
1. The name of the entity receiving the award;
2. The amount of the award;
3. Information on the award including transaction type, funding agency, etc;
4. The location of the entity receiving the award; and
5. A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award.
U.S. Sens. Tom Coburn and Barack Obama, the original sponsors of the FFATA in 2006, recognize there is more to be done. Moments ago, Coburn and Obama introduced the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008 (S. 3077), which would require the federal government to go beyond summary data on contracts it currently posts.
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