Obama: New Web Site Will Help Challenge “Nation of Secrets”
Senator Barack Obama praised the launch of a new government website yesterday that tracks federal contract awards.
The new website — USAspending.gov — constitutes “an important milestone on the path to greater openness and transparency in the Federal Government,” he said.
“I have been very troubled by the extent to which America has become a nation of government secrets,” said Senator Obama. “More and more information is kept secret or made intolerably complicated and inaccessible. More and more decisions are made behind closed doors with access limited to insiders and lobbyists.”
“USAspending.gov along with watchdog groups will give us all tools to help buck that trend,” he said.
The new website resulted from legislation enacted last year, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, that was sponsored by Sen. Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).
The Office of Management and Budget developed the website with technical support from the non-profit OMB Watch, along with advocacy support from the Sunlight Foundation and other organizations.
The web site does not include information on classified spending and contracting.
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