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Government Spending Would Get Its Own ‘Google’ Under Senate-Passed Bill
By Martin Kady II
Congressional Quarterly
September 8, 2006
The Senate passed legislation Thursday night that would create a massive, Google-like searchable database to track federal spending.
The legislation (S 2590), which aims to create more transparency in exactly who gets how much federal money, passed by a voice vote after both Republican and Democratic senators dropped their objections to it.
The bill had widespread support in the Senate and became something of a cause célèbre in the “blogosphere,” where liberal and conservative bloggers united in trying to figure out which senator had placed an anonymous “hold” blocking the legislation for the past month.
In recent weeks, Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska and Democrat Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia admitted that they had holds on the bill because they wanted more time to scrutinize it. Both senators, however, dropped their objections during the past week.
‘A Profound Bill’
Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican representing Tennessee, had engaged influential blogs as well as government watchdog groups in pushing for passage. Frist also played a role in encouraging Senate offices to answer calls to their offices asking if they were the ones blocking the legislation. He specifically praised “tremendous effort from the blogosphere” in bringing publicity to the legislation.
“This is a profound bill designed simply to shine more sun . . . on federal spending,” Frist said.
The measure, sponsored by Barack Obama, a Democrat representing Illinois, and Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, would mandate creation of a database that could allow anyone to put a phrase or a key word into a search engine and see exactly how much money was being spent in grants, loans or government contracts and what entities were getting the money.
If the bill becomes law, the free site, which would not include classified information or figures, will be up and running by Jan. 1, 2008.
On June 21, the House passed its own, narrower version of the measure (HR 5060) by voice vote. Sponsored by Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Government Reform Chairman Thomas M. Davis III, R-Va., the bill would require creation of a federal database that would focus on grants, not contracts.
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