It�s official. We can now �google� our government. And by �our government�, I do mean the U.S. government. Great googly moogly! What happened? How is this so?
In the last week of September, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Federal Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, requiring the federal government to provide a user-friendly, searchable database of all its contracts and grants online.
The �Google your Government� law will allow nearly (insert pinky in mouth here) one trillion dollars of government contracts and grants to accessible to ordinary American citizens online. This doesn�t mean that we�ll be able to access the money or the contracts. It just means that, should you care enough to know, you can now find out where your tax dollars are really being spent.
�Google your Government� was originally sponsored from both sides of the Senate aisle by Democrat Barack Obama (IL) and Republican Tom Coburn (OK). Conservatives like the law because they think public access to government will rein in profligate lawmakers.
In the words of National Taxpayers� Union spokesperson Sam Batkins, �It could be a deterrent to lawmakers who think they can hide special programs or spending in the federal budget.�
For liberals, the new law has merit because they think it will show that social programs aren�t enough of a government priority. Gary Bass of the organization OMB (Office of Management and Budget) Watch says, �When you and I go to the store, we get a receipt. This is America�s receipt for our tax dollars.�
Now you won�t be able to find the new database today. The law requires the database to be online by January 1, 2008- almost fifteen months from now. For instant gratification junkies among the crowd, the OMB Watch group will host their own version of the database by November, 2006.
