Monday, July 03, 2006

A Timely Idea... Government Openess

On Right and Left, a Push for Government Openness

I applaud this idea completely. I strongly urge all of our congress critters to force the doors of government--especially in the areas of spending--open to allow all of us to peek in on how they are running the show and spending our tax dollars. The more we know, the more we can see the process, the more oversight "We the People" can add to how congress is wasting millions and screwing the pooch. If we have more oversight, we can identify which congress critters, which elected officials and which professional bureaucrats are feathering their own nests and screwing the public... and vote with an informed conscience.

I do not understand the opposition of this proposal by those identified as "the left," because it would expose the entire problems of spending in the congressional process. In fact, I think that every document produced by the government and not genuinely holding a classified status should be available via the Government Printing Office web site as well as the web site of the agency/department producing the documents or data... including all congressional records.

Exasperated by his party's failure to cut government spending, Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, is seeking cyberhelp.

Mr. Coburn wants to create a public database, searchable over the Internet, that would list most government contracts and grants — exposing hundreds of billions in annual spending to instant desktop view.

Type in "Halliburton," the military contractor, or "Sierra Club," the environmental group, for example, and a search engine would show all the federal money they receive. A search for the terms "Alaska" and "bridges" would expose a certain $223 million span to Gravina Island (population 50) that critics call the "Bridge to Nowhere."

While advocating for openness, Mr. Coburn is also placing a philosophical bet that the more the public learns about federal spending, the less it will want.

"Sunshine's the best thing we've got to control waste, fraud and abuse," he said. "It's also the best thing we've got to control stupidity. It'll be a force for the government we need."

But Mr. Coburn's plan, hailed by conservatives, is also sponsored by a Democrat, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, and applauded by liberal groups that support activist government. The result is a showcase of clashing assumptions and the oddest of coalitions, uniting Phyllis Schlafly, a prominent critic of gay rights, with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Liberal groups, while also praising openness, are hoping for a new appreciation of what government does, like providing clean water and feeding the hungry. "We need to remind people where Uncle Sam helps us each day," said Gary Bass, director of OMB Watch, a liberal group that got its start monitoring the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The House unanimously passed a version of the proposal in late June, though in a form that has drawn outside criticism. The House bill creates a database that would omit contracts, which typically go to businesses, but would include about $300 billion in grants, which usually go to nonprofit groups.

"Contracts are awarded in a much more competitive environment," said Representative Thomas M. Davis III, a Virginia Republican who was a sponsor of the bill. That makes them more self-policing, he said. Mr. Davis, whose district includes many government contractors, said grants "are more susceptible to abuse."

But liberal critics see a revival of what they call old partisan efforts to "de-fund the left," by reducing grants to liberal groups or adding conditions that limit their activities.

Mr. Coburn joined them in criticizing the House omission of contracts. Including them in the database, he said, is "the only way you're going to bust these indecent relationships of former Pentagon employees working for defense contractors and getting sweetheart deals from buddies inside."

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