The topic of the day is pork. No, not the kind I like with barbeque sauce.
The kind that costs you and I money.
A politically diverse coalition of over 80 groups sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today regarding that very topic. An important bill, S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act was recently stymied by two cowardly Senators who placed secret holds on the legislation. I wonder what they are fearing? Exposure perhaps? Given that one of them is a pork magician of epic proportions, hailing from a state that rhymes with Vest Wirginia, it is not too difficult to understand the cowardly application of a secret hold.
From the letter, coordinated by the National Taxpayers Union and OMB Watch:
"On behalf of the millions of taxpaying citizens represented by the groups signed below, we strongly urge you to bring S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, to the Senate floor for a vote. The bill, sponsored by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama (D-IL), would direct the Office of Management and Budget to create a publicly-available website that would list every entity receiving federal financial assistance, such as grants or contracts, and the totals awarded for each fiscal year. Such a website would entail very little cost and would greatly increase transparency in the distribution of government funding. At last, those who most deserve to know about this process – the American people – would have a tool to examine and evaluate the federal government’s funding decisions and priorities."
A selected list of the 80+ Individuals and organizations signing the letter include John Berthoud of the National Taxpayers Union, Gary D. Bass of OMB Watch, Doug Bandow of Citizen Outreach, William Westmiller of the Republican Liberty Caucus, Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Former Congressman Bob Barr, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, J. Bradley Jansen of the Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights, Michael D. Ostrolenk of the Liberty Coalition, and many, many, many other lefties, righties, libertarians and independents. Oh yeah, I signed it as well on behalf of my publications.
The letter can be found online at: https://jameslandrith.com/content/view/2840/40/