BLUNT-DAVIS BUDGET TRANSPARENCY BILL SIGNED INTO LAW
-OMB to implement database to track expenditures

September 26, 2006

WASHINGTON---President George W. Bush today signed into law legislation championed by House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) to increase budget accountability and transparency by establishing a public database to track federal grants and contracts.

"We spend a lot of time and a lot of effort collecting your money," President Bush said. "We should show the same amount of effort in reporting how we spend it."

"This new law will enhance the accountability and transparency in the federal budget process, ensuring that our tax dollars are spent wisely," Blunt said. "This is a win for citizens, who will be able to track the way their tax dollars are spent, and it's a victory for the media, who will be able to keep an eye on federal government expenditures."

"This is a huge victory for all who believe sunshine is the best disinfectant," said Davis. "This legislation will empower everyone who has access to the Internet to review federal grants and contracts to see how their tax dollars are spent. It will provide transparency and accountability to the grant-making process and allow for continued improvement of transparency in federal contract awards."

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act was championed in the Senate by Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

The federal government awards approximately $300 billion in grants to roughly 30,000 different organizations annually. Each year, roughly one million contracts exceed the $25,000 reporting threshold. The new database will ensure that those expenditures are readily accessible to the media, the public, and Members of Congress.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act will:

Eliminate Wasteful Spending by empowering everyone with access to the internet to begin reviewing federal grants and other forms of taxpayer assistance for waste, fraud, and abuse;
Ensure Compliance with Federal Law by requiring grantees to also disclose their subgrantees,
Ensure Compliance with Lobbying Restrictions by identifying entities receiving federal grants that would be subject to lobbying restrictions in existing law.