July 3rd, 2006
Senators call for open government database
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is pushing for an online, public database of all federal contracts and grants. So is Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Coming from opposite ends of the political spectrum, both senators see the Internet as a way to further philosophical goals around federal spending and open government, the New York Times reports.
Type in "Halliburton," the military contractor, or "Sierra Club," the environmental group, for example, and a search engine would show all the federal money they receive. A search for the terms "Alaska" and "bridges" would expose a certain $223 million span to Gravina Island (population 50) that critics call the "Bridge to Nowhere."
Republican Coburn thinks such a site would discourage government spending. "Sunshine’s the best thing we’ve got to control waste, fraud and abuse," he said. "It’s also the best thing we’ve got to control stupidity. It’ll be a force for the government we need."
Liberal groups, while also praising openness, are hoping for a new appreciation of what government does, like providing clean water and feeding the hungry. "We need to remind people where Uncle Sam helps us each day," said Gary Bass, director of OMB Watch, a liberal group that got its start monitoring the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The House unanimously passed a version of the proposal in late June - one that would omit contracts but include grants that typically go to nonprofits.
That’s a move that satisfies conservatives and threatens liberals.
Spending hawks have sought a spending database for years. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington group, tried to build one itself, but search-engine technology now makes the task easier.
"Now that you’ve got the Internet, you’ll have tens of thousands of watchdogs," said Bridgett G. Wagner of the Heritage Foundation, who is leading a coalition of conservative groups that support the Coburn bill. "That’s what people see in it."
But what about security concerns, especially in a government that has sought to limit public access to information even tangentially related to national security? Coburn said he was comfortable with the overall level of secrecy. His database would adhere to current disclosure rules, he said.
