WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement today applauding House passage of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA):

“Transparency is critical to our democracy – especially for a federal government that spends more than $3.7 trillion each year,” Sen. Warner said. “And in this tough economic climate, we should be doing all we can to ensure that taxpayers and policymakers can follow the money to hold our government more accountable.

“I want to thank Chairman Darrell Issa and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings for their work on DATA. I’ll continue working with my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bipartisan legislation as soon as possible.”

The House passed DATA by a vote of 388-1 today. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Accountability recently passed DATA unanimously. The legislation will now move to the full Senate for consideration. 

Sen. Warner, chairman of the Budget Committee’s bipartisan Government Performance Task Force, has worked consistently to protect taxpayers by demanding greater efficiency and better performance from federal agencies and programs. Sen. Warner was a lead sponsor of the 2010 Government Performance and Modernization Act, which is now law and requires federal agencies to annually report on their highest and lowest performing programs. Sen. Warner also has been a leading voice on Capitol Hill for the reform or elimination of federal programs that overlap or are ineffective.