New law lets Americans Google to see where tax money goes

WASHINGTON – Two centuries ago Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We might hope to see the finances of the Union as clear and intelligible as a merchant’s book, so that every member of Congress and every man of any kind – and any mind in the Union – should be able to comprehend them, to investigate abuses and to consequently control them.”

This month Congress took his advice.

And on Tuesday President Bush signed into law the bill that will establish a Google-like search engine Web site listing the federal government’s grants and contracts. Informally called “The Google for Good Government Act,” it will allow anyone with Internet access to see how America’s tax dollars are being spent.

“When we spend your money, we want you to be able to watch us,” Bush said before signing the bill.

The federal government awards more than $400 billion in grants and more than $300 billion in contracts to corporations, associations and state and local governments each year.

“By allowing Americans to Google their tax dollars, this new law will help taxpayers demand greater fiscal discipline,” Bush said.

Bush thanked the bill’s co-sponsors, including Sen. Susan Collins, the chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, for a bipartisan effort. At the bill-signing ceremony, Democrats and Republicans alike applauded the bill.

“The American public deserves to know how their tax dollars are being spent,” said Collins, R-Maine. “Taxpayers will be able to decide for themselves whether they believe their tax dollars are being spent well.”

Collins has led several investigations into government fraud and abuse, most recently the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster assistance performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“This new law will bring greater transparency to and reduce federal spending by shining more light on where federal dollars are directed and how they are spent,” she said.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, the legislation’s formal name, will allow anyone to type in the name of any company, association, state or locality and find out what grants and contracts in excess of $25,000 each they’ve been awarded. The Web site search also will tell the purpose of the award, the amount of money involved, and the agency providing the funds. Only classified grants and contracts will be excluded.

The bill’s backers said they hope it will cast light on earmarks – federal funds set aside for particular congressional districts, states, universities or organizations. In recent years the number of earmarks has skyrocketed, sometimes including more than a thousand in a single piece of legislation.

“It’s a bill that empowers the American taxpayer, the American citizen,” Bush said. “And we believe that the more transparency there is in the system, the better the system functions on behalf of the American people.”