Commentary

Go, go, “Google” government!

A new website, USASpending.gov, serves as a virtual invoice of the top expenditures of federal tax dollars, thanks in part to efforts by Reason and a coalition of other groups who have been urging the presidential candidates to make good on the promise of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act. In August, Reason Foundation’s Amanda Hydro spearheaded distribution of the “Oath of Presidential Transparency” to every presidential candidate. To date, six presidential candidates, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), have signed the oath declaring that, should they win the presidency in 2008, they will issue an executive order during their first month in office instructing the entire executive branch to put into practice the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, creating a Google-like search tool that allows you to see how your tax dollars are being spent on federal contracts, grants and earmarks. You can read the oath, view the signatures of those candidates who have signed it, and related coverage here.