Thomas Jefferson once said, “We might hope to see the finances of the Union as clear and intelligible as a merchant’s books, so that every member of Congress and every man of any mind in the Union should be able to comprehend them, to investigate abuses, and consequently to control them.” Even in the very early years in our nation’s history, Jefferson recognized the importance of ensuring that the government is accountable for how it spends federal dollars and in making information on government spending available to every citizen.
That accountability is even more critical and necessary today. We now spend roughly $3 trillion annually to keep our government operating. This includes about $460 billion in grants, $340 billion in contracts, and billions more in loans, insurance, and direct payments.
In our high-tech society, computers have become such an integral part of people’s lives that terms such as “e-mail” and “surfing the net” have become common, everyday terms in the English language. And “Google,” a popular Internet search engine, has practically become a verb in many of our vocabularies. From our workplace to our homes, we use computers for so many aspects of our daily routines. In addition, every federal agency has a website to provide the public with information about that agency and the services that it offers.
Yet, it would surprise many to learn that there is no single website for individuals, government auditors, or watchdog groups to easily search for and monitor the manner in which the federal government is spending billions of tax dollars each year.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) became law 14 years ago. This law provides individuals with the ability to access government documents, but the process of obtaining these documents can be cumbersome and time-consuming. And the information that is currently available can be far from complete.
Online resources to track federal spending include the Federal Assistance Awards Data System, or FAADS, and the Federal Procurement Data System, or FPDS. FAADS tracks federal grants, but it provides only quarterly data and is not easily searchable. FPDS tracks federal contracts, but it is difficult to use and it does not provide details on what federal contractors are doing with the federal dollars they receive.
The American public has a right to be able to access information about where federal dollars are directed and exactly how these dollars are being spent and it is time for a better tool to accomplish this.
Congress has approved a bipartisan bill, which I supported, that will shine more light on the federal spending process. The bill was earlier approved overwhelmingly by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which I chair.
The “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act,” also known as “Google for Government Spending,” will ensure that a web-based, searchable, government-wide database is developed and available free-of-charge to the public so that every American can see how his or her tax dollars are being spent.
Under this legislation, information on federal awards, including grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other forms of financial assistance, will be readily available to the American public. This transparency will help taxpayers hold the government accountable for its funding and spending decisions.
Nearly all of us have either witnessed or are aware of troubling examples of federal dollars being wasted. Throughout my years as Committee Chairman, my committee has investigated far too many egregious examples of government waste, fraud and abuse. From FEMA purchasing tens of thousands of trailers following Hurricane Katrina that remain in storage in a field in Hope, Arkansas, to the agency sending payments to prison inmates, to homeland security dollars being spent on leather jackets and air-conditioned garbage trucks, the examples of government waste are far too frequent.
At a time when there are so many demands on the federal budget, cases of waste, fraud, and abuse are very troubling.
The American public deserves to know how their tax dollars are being spent. This act, “Google for Government Spending,” will bring greater transparency to federal spending by shining more light on where federal dollars are directed and how they are spent. After all, transparency is the first principle of accountability.
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