Spending database price tag: $15 million
- By Rob Thormeyer
- Aug 10, 2006
Establishing and maintaining a searchable database containing information on all sorts of federal spending would cost about $15 million over the next five years, congressional auditors said.
In a
recent report, the Congressional Budget Office said the Web site, as proposed in
S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, will cost roughly $4 million to create and approximately $11 million to maintain and update.
The legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.),
passed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee late last month. It now awaits Senate action.
The bill would require OMB to set up a searchable Web site containing data on all sorts of federal spending, including contracts, subcontracts, grants, subgrants, loans and other financial assistance. The site must be operational by January 2008.