The federal government has launched a website, www.usaspending.gov, detailing a myrad of details about apparently every federal contract issued. I’ve spent just a short few minutes on it, but it appears to be a revealing look into the line-by-line transactions in a large part of the national treasury’s checkbook. You know, that big checking account you pay into first before depositing what’s left over into your own personal account.

This website is the brain child of Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R), together with Barak Obama (D-IL). Kudos to them and to Ohio Senator George Voinovich (R) who co-sponsored the legislation, and to Rob Portman, who as OMB director, spearheaded the effort to compel the federal bureaucracy to deliver in good faith on the promise of the Coburn-Obama measure. Namely that overwhelming transparency of government is every citizen’s right and thanks to technology, now a feasibility. And that with 300 million eyes reviewing the nation’s checkbook, it will be a bit more difficult for Duke Cunningham’s and Bob Ney’s and William Jefferson’s (although there may be an honest explanation for that ATM built into his freezer) to get away with violating the public trust.

NOW…if only Ohio government ($52 billion a year in spending and counting) could similarly open its checkbook for us to examine! State Representative Tom Brinkman (R-Cincinnati) has legislation in the works which would get the state moving in this direction. Watch for its introduction sometime next year.

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