WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today sent a letter to Montana’s Senators urging them to join his efforts to shine sunlight into the federal spending process. Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, posted on his website a complete listing of all requests his office received. He also submitted each request to the Appropriations Committee for additional scrutiny.

“The people of Montana need to be involved in this process from the get-go,” said Rehberg. “Public scrutiny after-the-fact is like asking a referee to officiate a game by watching it on TV the next day. Congress must make all funding requests public as soon as we can, and we need to make sure that when those requests go public, it’s not too late for decisions to be made. Montana’s delegation has always been out front when it comes to open government. I am proud to carry that tradition forward.”

To date, the Montana delegation is the only statewide delegation that posts their schedules online. Rehberg has also been a pioneer in online transparency through popular outlets like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

“When it comes to federal disclosure requirements, just doing the bare minimum doesn’t go far enough for Montana,” said Rehberg. “In Montana, we hold ourselves to a higher standard. We need to be more open, more transparent, more honest and more accountable.”

Letter:

Senators Baucus and Tester:

Recently, the House Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member, adopted sweeping new requirements for the appropriations process that are designed to usher in a new era of transparency in Washington. The appropriations process in Washington is broken and needs to be reformed so that taxpayers are getting value for their dollar — and when it comes to spending tax dollars, sunlight is the best weapon against waste. That’s why I’m taking government transparency to a new level by posting on my website every documented request for funding received by my office. I’m also forwarding all of those requests to the House Appropriations Committee so they can be closely scrutinized.

Montanans asked for a billion dollars in Fiscal Year 2010 for a variety of projects, and while only a fraction of those projects will be funded, it must happen in the light of day.

Elected officials should not be allowed to hide in the shadow of secrecy by failing to release details not deemed suitable for public consumption. Folks have a right to know who is asking the federal government for money and who ultimately gets that money. The old way of doing business in Washington, D.C. needs to be scrapped and replaced with an open, honest process that keeps the public informed. I’m inviting you to join me by bringing a similar level of transparency to the Senate appropriations process by posting your fiscal year 2010 appropriations requests to your website. Together we can bring Montana common sense back to Washington for the benefit of our children and their future.

Sincerely,

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman Denny Rehberg today released the following statement underlying the importance of full transparency in all stages of the Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Process. Rehberg, who has supported rules in the U.S. House that require legislation be posted online prior to votes, has posted all requests his office received on his website.

“”The appropriations process in Washington is broken and needs to be reformed so that taxpayers are getting value for their dollar. And when it comes to spending tax dollars, sunlight is the best weapon against waste. That’s why I’m taking government transparency to a new level by posting on my website every documented request for funding received by my office. I’m also forwarding all of those requests to the House Appropriations Committee so they can be closely scrutinized. Montanans asked for a billion dollars in Fiscal Year 2010 for a variety of projects, and while only a fraction of those projects will be funded, it will happen in the light of day.

“Elected officials should not be allowed to hide in the shadow of secrecy by failing to release details not deemed suitable for public consumption. Folks have a right to know who is asking the federal government for money and who ultimately gets that money. The old way of doing business in Washington, D.C. needs to be scrapped and replaced with an open, honest process that keeps the public informed. For real transparency to exist, the public needs to see every request and they can then judge for themselves what Congress chooses to fund.”

The complete list of requests is available online at: http://www.house.gov/rehberg/fy2010requests.pdf