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Sally Voth
WASHINGTON - Americans might soon have a way to track how the federal government is spending taxpayer money.
A bipartisan bill sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, unanimously passed the Senate on Thursday.
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) would call for all money spent by federal agencies to be traceable on a common website.
"This has been called maybe the most important public disclosure and government act since the [1966] Freedom of Information Act," Warner said on Thursday. "That 's why it's taken two years for us to get it done.
"If it's implemented the right way, this could have a lot more significance than some of the other issues of the day."
The bill is an expansion of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act and would not only require that federal agency expenditures be fully disclosed but also standardized, according to a news release from Warner's and Portman's offices. Additionally, it would lead to simpler financial reporting.
"Two years worth of work [went into the legislation before] we passed the DATA Act, which will allow taxpayers to actually follow the money," Warner said.
The federal government has many financial systems, said Warner, noting that he is a former businessman, and that it can be difficult for the public to navigate the money trail.
"We took a major step forward on that today," he said.
Besides increasing transparency, the bill would eliminate redundant reporting and provides accountability, Warner said.
In addition to not having common standards, the current system isn't user-friendly, he added. "If you Google information down to the level that Google provides, you ought to be able to Google where your tax dollar goes."
As governor in 2002-06, Warner said, he established accounting standards, and Virginia was ranked as the best-managed state in the union in the Pew Charitable Trust's 2005 Government Performance Project.
"This is a step of trying to bring those kind of reforms as well to the federal government," he said.
A similar bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives, also a bipartisan effort. It is sponsored by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md.
"This kind of crosses the ideological spectrum," Warner said.
Thursday's vote followed a partisan dispute over judge confirmations, he said, but the DATA vote was unanimous.
"We actually got something done in a way that was bipartisan, unanimous," Warner said.
The news release from Warner and Portman encourages the House of Representatives to quickly pass its version of the act.
"During a time of record $17 trillion debt, our bipartisan bill will help identify and eliminate wasteful spending by better tracking federal spending," Portman states in the release.
A bipartisan bill sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, unanimously passed the Senate on Thursday.
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) would call for all money spent by federal agencies to be traceable on a common website.
"This has been called maybe the most important public disclosure and government act since the [1966] Freedom of Information Act," Warner said on Thursday. "That 's why it's taken two years for us to get it done.
"If it's implemented the right way, this could have a lot more significance than some of the other issues of the day."
The bill is an expansion of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act and would not only require that federal agency expenditures be fully disclosed but also standardized, according to a news release from Warner's and Portman's offices. Additionally, it would lead to simpler financial reporting.
"Two years worth of work [went into the legislation before] we passed the DATA Act, which will allow taxpayers to actually follow the money," Warner said.
The federal government has many financial systems, said Warner, noting that he is a former businessman, and that it can be difficult for the public to navigate the money trail.
"We took a major step forward on that today," he said.
Besides increasing transparency, the bill would eliminate redundant reporting and provides accountability, Warner said.
In addition to not having common standards, the current system isn't user-friendly, he added. "If you Google information down to the level that Google provides, you ought to be able to Google where your tax dollar goes."
As governor in 2002-06, Warner said, he established accounting standards, and Virginia was ranked as the best-managed state in the union in the Pew Charitable Trust's 2005 Government Performance Project.
"This is a step of trying to bring those kind of reforms as well to the federal government," he said.
A similar bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives, also a bipartisan effort. It is sponsored by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md.
"This kind of crosses the ideological spectrum," Warner said.
Thursday's vote followed a partisan dispute over judge confirmations, he said, but the DATA vote was unanimous.
"We actually got something done in a way that was bipartisan, unanimous," Warner said.
The news release from Warner and Portman encourages the House of Representatives to quickly pass its version of the act.
"During a time of record $17 trillion debt, our bipartisan bill will help identify and eliminate wasteful spending by better tracking federal spending," Portman states in the release.
