Government accountability

[Bottomfeeder 244]

What do they have to hide? I'm glad our guys have nothin' to do with this ####.

Who Placed a Secret Hold On Government Transparency???

Obama-Coburn Accountability Bill Put on "Secret Hold"

August 26, 2006 06:34 PM

from the blogospherePosted at Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

Here's a no-brainer, zero-cost, pure people power issue for Democrats to latch onto for November: Get rid of this "secret hold" crap in the Senate:

Senator who put 'secret hold' on bill to open federal records is a secret, too

WASHINGTON - In an ironic twist, legislation that would open up the murky world of government contracting to public scrutiny has been derailed by a secret parliamentary maneuver.

An unidentified senator placed a "secret hold" on legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., that would create a searchable database of government contracts, grants, insurance, loans and financial assistance, worth $2.5 trillion last year. The database would bring transparency to federal spending and be as simple to use as conducting a Google search.

... Now the bill is in political limbo. Under Senate rules, unless the senator who placed the hold decides to lift it, the bill will not be brought up for a vote.

The measure in question had passed out of committee unanimously and was on the fast track for floor action until the hold was placed. This is an incredible accountability measure, especially for Internet researchers like those who abound here at Daily Kos and other websites. Here's a description of what the mysterious hold is preventing, from Obama's site:

This bill would require the Office of Management and Budget to establish and maintain a single public Web site that lists all entities receiving federal funds, including the name of each entity, the amount of federal funds the entity has received annually by program, and the location of the entity. All federal assistance must be posted within 30 days of such funding being awarded to an organization.

http://porkbusters.org/secrethold.php

http://www.porkbusters.org/

Be sure to visit the Hall of Shame which has Sen. Robert Byrd, Sen. Ted Stevens, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Representative Tammy Baldwin.