Government Spending Transparency Legislation Getting Attention of the Press
by Matthew Madia, 7/21/2006
In the considerably divided legislative body that is Congress, it is rare to see a bill gain so much positive attention from both sides of the aisle. It has also gained the support of a whole slew of advocacy groups from all stripes of the ideological spectrum. As a staunch proponent of S. 2590, OMB Watch’s Executive Director, Gary Bass, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Federal Fiscal Management this week in support of this bill.
But the bill is also gaining a lot of attention in the press as well. See, for instance, these editorials in two of the nation’s most widely-read newspapers.
The Washington Post:
Why doesn't the majority, which pays for all this waste, rise up in revolt against the sheer gluttony of it?
The answer is that the taxpaying majority doesn't care, not least because it is oblivious. But maybe there is hope. In the era of online political organization and Internet search, information on pork-peddling scandals ought to spread faster and more widely.
The Los Angeles Times:
It's hard to find fault with legislation that promotes such transparency - and it's no surprise that there are enthusiasts on both sides of the aisle, including co-sponsors Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). A refreshingly motley combination of interest groups, including Greenpeace, the Heritage Foundation, the Family Research Council and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, are also onboard.
UPDATE: The Christian Science Monitor was another major paper carrying coverage of the effort to enact this legislation:
A Move to Lift the Veil on U.S. Spending
