If the news from Washington tends to give you indigestion more often than it makes you feel good, here’s a story that should warm your heart with something other than heartburn. Eagle Eye Publishers, a for-profit research and consulting firm in northern Virginia did something recently that’s distinctly odd behavior in the business world – helping a non-profit prepare a free website that, at least at some levels, competes with their own subscription-only database designed for high-budget customers.
One of Eagle Eye’s premier products is their database of government contracts – a much cleaned-up version, and vastly easier to navigate, than the federal government’s own website.
Continue readingA Red Letter Day for Transparency
Two questions were answered on Tuesday: what’s the government spending its money on, and what do members of Congress own.
And when I say answered, I don’t mean in a sound bite or a pie chart or a news conference, though there was one of those too. I mean virtually every question you could dream up about who’s getting federal government contracts and grants, or which companies members of Congress are investing in, you will now be able to answer yourself, in seconds, on the web.
Continue readingMore Electronic Filing
Glenn Reynolds notes that both Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are holding up legislation that would make the Senate have to electronically file their campaign finance reports. This process would save the Federal Election Commission about $250,000 and countless hours of work per election cycle, not to mention the numerous other benefits to campaign finance watchers. Now here's the crazy thing: both Trent Lott and Mitch McConnell already use electronic software to fill out FEC forms. In fact, it is highly likely that they are among the 95% of Senators who use the FEC's own or recommended software.
Continue readingGrowing Constituency for Good Government
Earlier in the week, my colleague Paul Blumenthal expressed justifiable dismay over a report in The Washington Post arguing that the ethical problems of Congress--which can be viewed both as failings of individuals and as the product of an institutional inability to come to grips with shady behavior--was having little resonance as an issue in the minds of voters. Paul offered plenty of examples in his post to counter that argument, and more here on the bipartisan, citizen-driven effort to make the doings of elected government officials more accountable to their bosses (that's us citizens, by the way).
Continue readingBipartisan Transparency Push
On the heels of today’s Jeff Birnbaum article, “Support for Electronic Filing of Senate Candidates' Campaign-Finance Records Gains Momentum,” the blogosphere, left and right, has united to push Senators to file their campaign-finance records electronically. Bloggers from Daily Kos, Red State, HuffPo, Captain’s Quarters, Think Progress, and Wonkette are pushing for the passage of S. 1508, which would mandate electronic filing. S. 1508 is one of many transparency measures that have been languishing in Senate or House committees waiting for the kind of public pressure that bloggers brought to Coburn-Obama and will now hopefully bring to electronic filing. The following is a list of transparency bills that could use a helping hand:
Continue readingTransparency Bill Passes Both Houses
Last night the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act passed both Houses of Congress on voice votes. This is a great victory for transparency in government and for the beginning of the end to the "Closed Door" government. Contracts and grants will be listed in this online searchable database so that all Americans can keep track of the government's spending. I certainly hope that transparent government will help reduce the distrust in government that exists among such a large portion of America. As Sen. Tom Coburn's website reads: "Transparency is the foundation of all accountability." But this victory, one that is especially sweet for the online community, should not be claimed to be something that it is not.
Continue readingHouse to Pass Coburn-Obama, News Conference 2 pm Tomorrow
Update: The bill passes and the Senate agrees, next stop President Bush's desk.
The House version of the Coburn-Obama online contracts and grants database is set to pass today. Sen. Tom Coburn's office just sent out an announcement that Coburn, Sen. Barack Obama, Rep. Roy Blunt, Rep. Tom Davis, and OMB Deputy Director for Management Clay Johnson will "pledge immediate action to implement the grants and contracts database included in the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act." This news conference will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow in room HC-7 of the Capitol. Kudos to all groups and bloggers that have supported this bill and continue to push for greater transparency in Congress.
House, Senate Agree on Federal Spending Database; Bill Must Still Pass House
The House and Senate have agreed on a version of S. 2590, the Coburn-Obama database bill. The press release indicates that the publicly available database that the legislation will create will include both federal contracts and grants (an earlier House bill, Blunt-Davis, would have disclosed grants but not contracts). The bill still has to pass the House, but it looks like it's moving forward. Here's the release:
WASHINGTON---House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.), U.S. Senators Tom Coburn (Okla.), Barack Obama (Ill.), and Tom Carper (Del.), and Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (Va.) today announced that they have reached agreement on legislation to increase accountability and transparency by establishing a public database to track federal grants and contracts. Continue reading
New Secret Hold?
Don't look now, but someone in Washington has apparently decided that it's not fair for Sen. Ted Stevens and Sen. Robert Byrd to hog all pork-hiding, dislcosure-obstructing glory. Rebecca Carr reports that, no sooner were Stevens and Byrd outed for blocking the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn and Sen. Barack Obama, a new anonymous Senator has placed a hold on the bill.
Continue readingAnother holding foul!
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) wasn't alone in placing a hold on the Coburn-Obama transparency bill. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who along with Stevens is a notorious earmarker, also had a hold on the bill. Byrd, however, has announced that he will lift his hold. TPM Muckraker has the scoop and the rest of this statement from Byrd's office:
Senator Byrd wanted time to read the legislation, understand its implications, and see whether the proposal could be improved. Now that there has been time to better understand the legislation, Senator Byrd has released his hold. Senator Byrd believes that the bill should be debated and opened for amendment, and not pushed through without discussion.
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