| June 27, 2006 Vol. 7, No. 13:
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House Passes Half-Hearted Disclosure Bill, Alternative Remains Popular in Senate
The House passed legislation last week that would provide for a free, searchable database to disclose information about government grants. H.R. 5060 sponsored by Reps. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Tom Davis (R-VA) passed the House on a voice vote on June 21, under suspension of the rules. The bill does not address disclosure of federal contracts, which accounted for some $339.7 billion in federal spending in 2004 alone.
Meanwhile, a Senate bipartisan bill to create transparency for both grants and contracts, The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, continues to enjoy bipartisan support. Its sponsors, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Barack Obama (D-IL), Tom Carper (D-DE), and John McCain (R-AZ), are working closely with OMB and other stakeholders to create a meaningful alternative to the Blunt bill. Coburn expects to hold a hearing on the bill some time this summer in his Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security Subcommittee.
OMB Watch has made available on its website analyses of the House grants disclosure bill and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act.