Maybe, just maybe, our federal leaders will really embrace transparency this year. There is some positive news coming out of President-elect Obama's recent meeting with congressional leadership. According to ABC News:
Democratic and Republican sources tell ABC News that President-elect Obama's meeting with the bipartisan congressional leadership of the House and Senate went well with some quick agreement on the need for expeditious action as well as oversight and transparency for the pending, yet-to-be-drafted multibillion dollar stimulus package.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, argued that public dissatisfaction with the Troubled Asset Relief Program money to help stabilize the nation's financial systems and the way it was rammed through the Congress demands more transparency and accountability with the stimulus bill.
"I agree with you," the President-elect said, adding later that he would "demand complete transparency and accountability in doing it." ยท
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Vir., suggested said the bill should be put on the Internet a week before Congress votes on it.
Mr. Obama smiled and said something along the lines of, "maybe if I was better at faking it , I'd say, 'Great idea -- we'll take you up on that.' But we've actually talked about this idea."
Obama turned it over to incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel who essentially said they would do the Republicans one better. They're planning a Google-like search function to show every program funded by the stimulus package, whether it comes in under or over-budget, whether it is meeting its intended purpose, and how many jobs it is creating.
This is a fantastic idea and should be expanded to the full federal budget. In fact, it's not a bad idea for the state budget either and would be a natural complement to the new state budget website.
Hat tip: Sam Taylor
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