PRESS RELEASE
-For Immediate Release-
November 29, 2007

Contact: Brian Gumm, (202) 234-8494, bgumm@ombwatch.org

OMB Watch Celebrates One Year of FedSpending.org with New Version of Site

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2007—To celebrate the one-year anniversary of FedSpending.org, OMB Watch today released a new and improved version of the website. The new version includes a complete FY 2006 data set for both contracts and federal assistance spending. The upgraded site also incorporates major functionality improvements, including the addition of a mapping feature on all searches, creation of a streamlined and powerful SuperSearch for all advanced searching needs, and increased flexibility in retrieving more extensive summary data through expandable summary tables.

The mapping feature (which can be accessed either through the map icon that appears in the upper right-hand corner of all search results or through level of detail options) allows users to view the geographic distribution of federal spending. The mapping displays a state-by-state breakdown of spending at the national level or the breakdown of congressional district spending at the state level. In addition, OMB Watch has given FedSpending.org users the capability of expanding tables within the "summary" view to display all data. Now the summary tables of the top products and services or top funding agencies for any search results can be expanded to list all of the data in these categories.

For both the contracts and assistance spending data, the advanced search options in FedSpending.org have been consolidated and redesigned into a more versatile and powerful SuperSearch. The consolidation of these options simplifies the user interface and expands the possible search variations to allow users to more easily find the specific information they are looking for on the site.

The new version of FedSpending.org builds upon improvements made on Sept. 20. At that time, OMB Watch added search options, provided greater accessibility for people with disabilities, and incorporated patches and upgrades for reported bugs.

For more information about FedSpending.org, please visit http://www.fedspending.org/aboutthissite.php.

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OMB Watch is a nonprofit watchdog organization dedicated to promoting government accountability, citizen participation in public policy decisions, and the use of fiscal and regulatory policy to serve the public interest.