UPDATE: Great news! The bill was voted out of committee. This is a step in the right direction, but our work isn’t done. Now it’s more important than ever that you contact your Senator, and tell them to support the 2013 DATA Act.

Today, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will vote on S.994, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, also known as the DATA Act. Its counterpart in the House, H.R. 2061, was reported out of committee in May.

The DATA Act would amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 in a number of important ways. It would require the Treasury Department to set common reporting standards for all government agencies, and would require the Recovery, Accountability, and Transparency Board to oversee this reporting.

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The bill also addresses a number of problems that currently exist with USASpending.gov, the U.S. government-run website that aims to report all spending by federal agencies. The DATA Act would require agencies to use unique identifiers, stipulate that data be published machine-readable formats, and demand disclosure of internal expenditures. It would also allow for bulk downloads of data by anyone who visits the site. These types of easy-to-use formatting and accessibility options are what have made OpenSecrets.org such a powerful resource for tracking money in politics — and we’re encouraged to see the Senate take up a bill that would require the U.S. government to make such options available for tracking federal spending.

Earlier this year, the Center for Responsive Politics signed on to a letter, along with CREW and other pro-transparency organizations, asking the Senate to consider this important piece of legislation. We will be watching this bill’s progress, and will update our users on any changes that are made.

The DATA Act has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. We hope the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will support the bill, and vote it out out of committee so the full Senate can take it up — sooner rather than later. Help us take a stand for transparency: contact your Senator, and tell them to support the 2013 DATA Act

Follow Miriam on Twitter: @soydiemer



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