LAC News
CWA Endorses Proposed Grant Database
By Amelia Wigton
August 2006

Concerned Women for America (CWA) supports the newly proposed Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (S. 2590), which instructs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to create an Internet-accessible database that lists every recipient of federal finding, allowing American taxpayers to see who receives approximately $1 trillion in federal contracts, grants and earmarks, etc.  

This bill is sponsored by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), Barrack Obama (D-Illinois), Tom Carper (D-Delaware) and John McCain (R-Arizona).  S. 2590 is also co-sponsored by a bi-partisan group of 29 senators who span the spectrum from Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) to Harry Reid (D-Nevada).

The proposal passed the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and was placed on the legislative calendar on August 2, 2006. 

Besides its bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill is endorsed by 100 widely ranging organizations. CWA is one of the organizations, as well as Greenpeace and Focus on the Family.

Sen. Coburn, the bill’s chief sponsor, said, “When I tell people about this bill, the response I usually get is, ‘You mean, that doesn’t already exist?’  The idea is just so common sense that it is hard for anyone to oppose – that is, unless they’ve got something to hide.”

“S. 2590 puts the ability to monitor federal funding at the fingertips of taxpayers,” said Lanier Swann, CWA’s Director of Government Relations.  “Government overspending and waste is a remarkable problem for this and future generations of Americans, and the proposed database is a step in the right direction toward fiscal responsibility, accountability and eventual reduction of the national debt.  CWA applauds congressional leaders committed to this legislation and to conscientious government spending.  We stand behind S. 2590 one hundred percent.”

John Hart, a spokesperson for Sen. Coburn, said, “Deciphering where the money goes is a Herculean task. One of the reasons we see corruption is because it is so easy to hide how dollars are appropriated.” 

Sen. Obama said, “All Americans deserve to know where their money is being spent. 'Googling' the government will not only help expose and eliminate waste, but dispel misconceptions about the scope of our commitments.  Many Americans, for example, assume we are spending a large percentage of our budget on foreign assistance when we are not. Whether you're on the left or right, there is no worthy argument against transparency."

CWA is grateful to leaders in Congress who are committed to fiscal responsibility and accountability.